Public Humanities Graduate Practicum
The Kaplan Institute’s Public Humanities Graduate Practicum is a year-long, cohort-based practical training program that allows PhD students to develop a public humanities project while receiving training, feedback, and financial support from the Institute. Applications are accepted each fall; the application deadline for the 2026-2027 Practicum is October 12, 2026. See instructions at the Call for Applications page.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Please note the new practicum structure for AY 2026-27
The aim of the Practicum is to support graduate students in learning new technical skills and in developing and applying research, creative, and interdisciplinary methodologies in new practical contexts. The program provides a structured, collaborative environment where graduate students can explore the practice of publicly engaged work while developing independent public humanities projects. The program is open to all graduate students in humanities and humanistic social sciences disciplines and offers one means of completing the practical training requirement of the Public Humanities Cluster.
Throughout the academic year, each fellow will be responsible for completing the program requirements, listed below, to support an individual or collaborative public humanities project of their own design. Program requirements guide students through different kinds of practical skill-building in the public humanities within the frame of their own project. These skills include: community engagement and dialogue, technical skill development, and critical reflection on project development.
Upon completion of program requirements (aside from #6 on Call for Applications page), practicum students will receive a $750 grant to execute their project over the summer months. Students will then be expected to present on their experiences in a fall symposium.
Public Events
Each year, Kaplan also hosts a number of public events in connection with the Practicum. These sessions seek to bring together a broad audience in dialogue around issues of publicly engaged scholarship. Visit our Events page for more information.
PROJECTS
Practicum Fellows design and pursue a range of projects, including podcasts, public syllabi, short films, walking tours, exhibits, community events, etc. You can read about the former Fellows and their projects on our Past Fellows page.
The Public Humanities Graduate Practicum is sponsored by the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, the Center for Civic Engagement, and Northwestern Career Advancement