Seek a pre-approved placement through the English Department – OR – find your own!

For more information about possible placements, please email English_Internships@uml.edu. 

Categories

Broadcasting

In this exciting and highly competitive field, internships are difficult to come by, but our students have landed positions through diligent searching and careful preparation. Search and see! Students must apply for broadcasting internships on their own. We may have some contacts—ask!

Communications

This broad field encompasses many professional writing activities built around reaching target audiences, including newsletters, video, social media, and email and print communications. Lots of jobs in this field, so get some experience!

Development

One of the most in-demand fields, development is business-speak for fundraising. Writing internships and jobs in development include grant and proposal writing, direct mail, electronic communications such as newsletters and websites, event planning, supporting materials for prospect cultivation, etc.

Editing & Publishing

An attractive field for many English majors, publishing is a highly competitive industry—even for its internships—but a few of our students have landed positions through diligent searching and careful preparation. Often internships in this field are paid and thus not eligible for course credit; most of those are in the Boston area, and students from Boston colleges are also applying for those positions. Students seeking such positions should get help from the Career & Co-op Center. It is possible to find unpaid editing/publishing internships at smaller, local presses/publications.

Education & Youth Programming

Internship opportunities in education include working with youth K-12 in after-school programs, shadowing high school teachers and contributing lessons to a class, developing curriculum for a hands-on learning center, and more. Great for those considering careers in teaching!

Journalism & Media

These internships often focus on print reporting, but sometimes they include using social media, making videos, or blogging. Some experience writing for The Connector and/or taking journalism courses is preferred (though not required) for these positions.

An English degree is among the preferred BAs to precede a law degree, so law firms may welcome English majors as interns. Often these positions are not advertised, so students may need to approach firms and offer their services. Some students have sought out positions, usually as law offices assisting low-income or disadvantaged people. Almost every semester we place a student with the local legal aid office, and students have had a uniformly positive experience there. If you plan to pursue a law career, please take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain experience that will set you apart from others applying to law school!

Library Science

English is a great field of preparation for working in libraries. Librarians employ management, information technology, and education tools for the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources. For this career, usually people need to earn at least a Master’s degree; completing a library internship is a great first step. These are rarely paid positions, and they usually don’t advertise, so you need to be proactive. Students must apply for the following (and other library internships not listed here) on their own.

Marketing

Students often think of marketing as a business major’s field, but English majors make excellent matches for marketing positions. Marketing involves the promotion of products and services, but also of ideas, causes, and organizations. A marketing internship may social media and presentations, as well as producing advertisements, flyers, brochures, or reports. Get your foot in the door!

Museum & Public Programming

Especially in the Merrimack Valley and Greater Boston, there are many positions available in public arts and humanities institutions and organizations. Most of these are with museums and cultural organizations, ranging from researching and writing for exhibitions to building public programming. Such positions are sometimes but not usually paid but can be a gateway to employment in a popular regional industry. (FYI: UMass Lowell now offers a Master’s degree in Public Administration with Public Arts and Humanities track.)

Public Relations

Defined by the Public Relations Society of America, public relations is “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Work in the field includes such things as writing press releases, maintaining media relations, social media, and creating materials to promote good relations with the public.

Social Media

Excellent social media skills are in high demand in the working world. Competence in various platforms is preferred for social media internships: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. It is worth contacting organizations or businesses on your own to gauge their interest in accepting an intern for social media. Lots of opportunities out there!

Technical Writing

Almost all technical writing internships with companies should and will be paid positions. That said, nonprofits might need interns with skills in writing in technical genres such as proposals, reports, data visualizations and tables, and documentation.