Thank you for your interest in hiring a College of Arts & Letters student for a professional project this summer! These projects will take fewer than 45 hours to complete and will run for one month this summer (June 1 – July 1). Employers will determine work schedules with their selected students.
Priority deadline to submit a project: March 25.
Students will apply to projects from April 8 – May 9, and hiring should occur before May 23. Students will have the option to apply for multiple projects. Projects may hire multiple students, though that will need to be communicated in the proposal. All approved projects will receive further instructions related to this hiring period.
What does an Arts & Letters Projects experience look like?
- Short-term & flexible (virtual or in-person): Opportunities should last fewer than 45 hours during the month of June (June 1 – July 1).
- Professional experiences: These projects are professional in nature but do not require affiliation with a formal organization.
- Defined goals: Projects should have a concrete goal that can be accomplished within the set timeframe. Some examples include: designing a logo, cleaning and analyzing data, researching grant opportunities and copy editing professional documents.
- Mentorship: Beyond skill-building and completing a professional task, these projects are learning opportunities for students, supported through your guided mentorship.
- Educational purpose: Per Department of Labor internship guidelines, Arts & Letters Projects should be work that complements, rather than replaces, responsibilities typically completed by paid staff, while providing significant educational benefits to the student. Educational benefits might include building or refining skills, learning about the industry field or project focus, and practicing professional competencies, like teamwork and communication.
- Compensation: We encourage employers to compensate students for their work. Our recommended minimum rate is $13/hr. We also recognize that not all employers are in a position to financially support students right now, so for Summer 2024, MSU College of Arts & Letters will provide students with a $350-$700 stipend for the completion of their Arts & Letters projects.
- Credit: Students are not eligible for credit for these Project experiences. The length of time for the project (44 hours) is less than one credit hour.
Tips for Writing a Project Posting:
Project descriptions should be as detailed as possible so students completely understand the full scope of work and outcomes expected upon completion. Project descriptions should include the following information:
- A brief summary of your company or organization, including details about its mission and core values
- Overview of project responsibilities, tasks, and projected end goals
- Desired skills and qualifications needed for the project. Be sure to highlight if you prefer applicants who have particular skills or knowledge.
- The anticipated student learning outcomes upon completion of the project, articulating the skills and knowledge that a student can gain for the experience.
Example project posting:
Our organization is located in Lansing, Michigan and we design interactive educational trainings for clients. It is our hope that by creating engaging content, we are moving people from passive viewers to active participants and we will better achieve learning outcomes.
We are looking to expand our public presence and are looking for a content creator to produce engaging social media posts and develop a social media campaign targeting our audience within healthcare. While it’s not necessary to have a healthcare background, we are looking for a student who is passionate to make an impact and can communicate that mandatory training doesn’t have to be boring! This will involve working closely with our Marketing team, including weekly check-ins. We are open to working with multiple students for this position across several social media platforms and welcome any skills in writing, photography, graphic design, and videography.
Learn more about how to work with a student to support their professional development and your organization’s work in a remote setting.
Questions? Reach out to Maggie Harris, harri486@msu.edu