Call for Applications
2026-2027 Kaplan Institute Public Humanities Graduate Practicum
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Mon., October 12, 2026 (11:59 pm CT)
The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities is pleased to invite PhD students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences to apply for the 2026-2027 Public Humanities Graduate Practicum. The Practicum setting encourages thoughtful, creative, ethical, and experimental humanistic work that extends beyond the boundaries of the academy. Fellows in this year-long cohort-based practical training program will develop a public humanities project while receiving training, feedback, and financial support from the Kaplan Institute.
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 below (aside from #6), 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.
Requirements
1) Participation in program orientation, one fall and one winter mentorship meeting, and three lunchtime project workshops spread over the year. Workshops will be held on Thursdays 12-2pm (this year, tentatively: January 21, February 4, February 25). Fellows will present on their projects and receive feedback during one of these sessions and are expected to attend and engage with their cohorts’ projects during the other sessions.
2) Participation in two community-engaged learning excursions across the year.
3) Attendance at two public humanities talks/roundtables/speaker events, including the Kaplan Public Humanities Keynote.
4) Participation in a “micro-credential” offered by the Public Humanities Practicum, or development and execution (with consultation and support of practicum leads) of a personalized plan for learning a new skill to support your public humanities project. This should be roughly a 5-point plan detailing at least 8-10 hours of training. Training could include: interviewing faculty/practitioners; attending a non-curricular workshop or class on- or off-campus; attending events in the Chicago area focused on the skill; researching and writing a how-to manual; working in one-on-one sessions with a librarian; and so on. For AY 2026-27 the micro-credential options offered by the Public Humanities Practicum will include “Critical Mapping Tools for the Public Humanities” and “Zine and Bookmaking.”
5) Submission in the third week of May 2026 of a reflection on students’ participation in the program, documentation of their progress through requirements, and a budget and timeline for completion of their project.
6) Presentation of their project and learned skills in a Public Humanities Project in Fall 2027.
Tentative 2026-27 Practicum schedule
- Orientation: [date TBD]
- Winter Workshop dates: 12-2pm on January 21, February 4, February 25
- Critical Mapping for the Public Humanities Micro-Credential: Weekly between early April and mid May 2027
- Zine and Book-Making Micro-Credential: [dates TBD]
Deadline to apply
Monday, October 12, 2026 (11:59 pm CST)
Eligibility
Any Northwestern PhD student in the humanities or humanistic social sciences is welcome to apply. The program is open to doctoral students at all stages of their training. Prior experience in public humanities work is not required.
Fellows must commit to pursuing a publicly engaged project throughout the year. Projects may be individual or collaborative in nature, and may take any number of forms—podcasts, public syllabi, short films, walking tours, exhibits, community events, etc.—provided that they engage in a meaningful way with publics beyond the university (see our FAQs for more information on the public humanities).
Application instructions
Apply via this Microsoft Forms link:
Application: 2026-27 Kaplan Institute Public Humanities Graduate Practicum – Fill out form
**Microsoft Forms content:
- Contact and Program Information
- CV
- Describe the project you would like to pursue. Why is this project important? Who are your intended collaborators? Who is your intended audience?
- What skills will you need to attain or to develop to new ends to undertake this project? What ideas do you have for attaining/developing those skills? What resources have you found, and what resources do you still need to find?
- What motivates you to undertake community-engaged work? Why is this work important to you?
- Why do you want to participate in this Practicum? What are you hoping to contribute to it, and to gain from it?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What constitutes a Public Humanities project?
We consider any endeavor that seeks to engage with communities or audiences beyond the university to be a public humanities project. You can read about the projects of past Kaplan Public Humanities Graduate Fellows here. For a useful description of the public humanities, see Daniel Fisher's A Typology of the Publicly Engaged Humanities at Humanities for All. This site also contains a database of publicly engaged projects that may be a useful source of ideas and inspiration.
I’m interested in publicly engaged work but don’t have a fully developed project in mind at this stage. Should I still apply?
Yes! In order to apply, you will need to propose a single, feasible project idea that you would like to pursue as part of the workshop. However, we understand that your plans may evolve or shift radically during the year as you learn from other participants, outside speakers, and the workshop conveners. You may even find other workshop participants who would like to build a project collaboratively. This is fine, so long as you are committed to pursuing some form of publicly engaged project this year.
At what degree stage is it best to participate in this Practicum?
You are welcome to apply at any stage in your doctoral training. The Practicum is designed to benefit any PhD student interested in developing a public humanities project and theorizing about the importance of this work. You may wish to consider factors such as your current availability (Do you have time to devote to the project this year?) and your own research and professionalization goals (Do you want your public humanities project to be an extension of your dissertation work? Do you want to create connections early in your program that will benefit you later on? Do you see your project as a multi-year endeavor that you need to start now?).
Application support
Practicum convener Dr. Jayme Collins is happy to answer questions about the program, discuss project ideas, or assist with application strategy. You can contact her at jayme.collins@northwestern.edu.