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TPW Internships and Workplace Learning

TPW students often apply their writing skills they are learning in the classroom to work with industry, community, and nonprofit partners. TPW students complete internships, experiential learning courses, and independent study projects. Here, you’ll find summaries of students’ work and lists of internships available for TPW students. 

If you are a TPW student interested in finding an internship that fits your interests and schedule, please reach out to the program director, Kari Campeau, at kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu.

TPW Students' Internships - Past Highlights

Where have TPW students interned before? What kind of work have interns done? This section highlights past students’ internship experiences and accomplishments.

Office of Research Services Grant Writing Internship

ORS Grant writing interns work on faculty research teams to plan, write, revise, and manage grant proposals. Interns worked on all stages of the grant writing cycle, including prospecting, contacting program officials, writing original proposals, revising existing proposals, and revising proposals with program reviewer feedback. 

Interns have contributed to complex grant projects written for large, federal funders, including NEH, NIH, NSF, NEA, and PCORI, as well as foundations and local grants. The program has expanded to include community partnerships, and interns also partner with nonprofits and community groups to plan, write, and submit grant proposals.

Fall 2023 Interns 

Spring 2023 and Summer 2023 Interns

  • Jack Aldrich, English - Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology
  • Julia Jensen, Masters of Public Health - Epidemiology, Public Health
  • ​Morgan Klaus, English - Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology + Psychology
     

Butterfly Pavilion - Grant Writing Internship

Fall 2023

Make4Covid - Technical Writing Internship

Spring 2021

  • Stacia Johnson, English - Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology

​​​Stacia worked on a technical writing project for the Make4Covid, a group of 2000+ volunteers who came together across Colorado to design, manufacture, and distribute protective gear to Colorado medical providers and first responders throughout the first year of the Covid pandemic.

Stacia collected the organization's materials (instructions, SOPs, protocols, internal communications) and wrote a Make4Covid playbook that documents their story -- it narrates the organization's evolution, explains its principles, and archives all of its SOPs to create and distribute protective equipment all over the state.

Current Internships for TPW Certificate Students

Do you want to build your technical writing skills and your professional network and relationships through workplace learning? 

Below is  a list of current internship openings for Technical and Professional Writing students. Please contact Kari Campeau with any questions - kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu 

Current Openings - applications accepted on a rolling basis

We currently have three open internships:

Professional Writing Intern at Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP)

Partner/Dept: Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP)

Job Title: Technical and Professional Writing Intern

Position Commitment:  3-7 hours per week

Position Commitment: hybrid, remote, or in-person

Credit / Payment:
Student interns will earn 3-12 credits for their work (students will enroll in English 3939)
This is an unpaid internship, but interns are eligible for a CU Denver internship scholarship, in which you would earn a $4,500 stipend for the semester.

Length of Internship: Students can apply for an internship that takes place during:

  • Spring 2024 semester (partial or full semester)
  • Summer 2024 semester
  • ​Fall 2024 semester

Application Documents: All applicants should submit the following:

  • A CV/resume
  • ​A cover letter that covers the following two questions:
    • What do you hope to learn through this internship?
    • ​Why are you interested in work that is based in community organizing and social change? 

Deadline for applications: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

How to submit application: 
Please send your application to Kari Campeau at kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu. 

About LCJP: Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP) is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit that conducts Restorative Justice (RJ) work; LCJP holds RJ workshops in Longmont Colorado, and also helps other organizations start RJ services by offering consultations and training. LCJP’s main types of work include the following:

  • Community Restorative Justice services in Longmont, CO
  • Consultations for other entities looking to build Restorative Justice programs or Restorative communities
  • Trainings for volunteers and professionals who want to support and get involved with Restorative Justice initiatives or want to apply restorative practices to their work

LCJP’s work advances the following mission: 

LCJP Builds Community Through Collaborative And Inclusive Restorative Practices And Gives People The Opportunity To Heal And Create Justice In Their Community And The World.

Be sure to explore LCJP’s website to learn more about the org and what they do – here, you’ll find examples of projects like a theater program for teenages (Your Story, Your Power), testimonies from clients about how RJ has changed their lives, data about RJ impact, and more. 

Purpose: 

This internship is an opportunity to bridge your technical and professional writing skills, as well as your narrative and creative skills, into areas of community organizing and social change. Interns will work with LCJP to revise and create materials that help convey what Restorative Justice (RJ) is and to amplify the stories of different people and groups involved in RJ.

Interns should have an interest in community building and social change. However, interns do not need to have previous experience in these areas or in RJ specifically.

Interns will have the chance to contribute to one or more of the following three projects (as well as other work that might arise). These projects are as follows:

Project 1: Awareness Campaign

What is Restorative Justice? If you’re not totally sure, that is ok! And you’re not alone. In light of the fact that many people don’t know what RJ is or have only a fuzzy idea of the concept, LCJP is looking to put together a suite of materials that can help explain RJ to different communities and groups. For this project, interns will

  • conduct user research (e.g., interviewing, focus groups, usability and user testing), 
  • conduct secondary research (what other RJ resources exist?), and
  • help compose and test a suite of outreach and public educational materials that LCJP can use to help build awareness about RJ.
  • ​create content for LCJP’s social media, website, and newsletter

Project 2: Storytelling Project 

In honor of LCJP’s 30th anniversary, LCJP is embarking on a storytelling project. The project will elicit, convey, and circulate stories of different persons and groups who have been involved with LCJP (e.g., folks who have participated in and/or led RJ programs, formerly incarcerated folks who have experienced RJ, advocates, educators, LCJP staff, community members, and community partners). Interns on this project will 

  • help to plan the project scope and outcomes, 
  • conduct story-telling interviews with storytellers, 
  • capture and preserve stories (e.g., recording, transcribing, filming, writing), 
  • edit and weave together stories in film, audio, and/or digital mediums. 

Project 3: Brand Kit

LCJP is also working on a “brand refresh” that would ideally involve updating and revising LCJP’s website, considering a name change, and sharpening the website’s copy. For this project, students will conduct user research (e.g., interviewing, focus groups, usability and user testing) to determine a revision plan 

  • Evaluate existing website and social media channels
  • Revise website
  • Write a social media communications plan
  • Write social media posts
  • write a style guide that can guide LCJP’s communications.

Skills and Knowledge Gained:

Skill How
Written Communication Writing and revising public-facing content about RJ; crafting and revising others’ stories
Project management and teamwork Contributing to long-term and collaborative projects
Working for social change Partake in and learn about the work that LCJP does to support local people and communities through RJ work and to spread knowledge and awareness about RJ
Collaboration and community engagement

Contributing to long-term and collaborative projects

Working across different and diverse communities and groups - LCJP staff, communities involved in RJ work, communities LCJP wants to reach, LCJP clients, LCJP partners
Research skills

Designing and conducting user research to learn about LCJP’s target communities and audiences 

Conducting secondary research to learn about RJ and to learn how other orgs have communicated about RJ (what works? What doesn’t? What questions should we be asking?
Critical thinking

Participating in concept development and the development of storytelling projects and public communication/education project
Professional communication skills Corresponding supervisors, colleagues, LCJP clients and partners, and community members; using project management tools; using editing and mark-up tools
Web writing/web design

Helping to evaluate, revise, write, and design web content/web page

Environmental Writing Intern at Environment for the Americas

Partner/Dept: Environment for the Americas (EFTA)

Job Title: Environmental Writing Intern

Position Commitment:  3-5 hours per week

Position Commitment: hybrid

Credit / Payment:
Student interns will earn 3-12 credits for their work (students will enroll in English 3939)
This is an unpaid internship, but interns are eligible for a CU Denver internship scholarship, in which you would earn a $4,500 stipend for the semester.

Length of Internship: Students can apply for an internship that takes place during:

  • Spring 2024 semester (partial or full semester)
  • Summer 2024 semester
  • Fall 2024 semester

Application Documents: All applicants should submit the following:

  • A CV/resume
  • ​A cover letter 

Deadline for applications: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

How to submit application: 
Please send your application to Kari Campeau at kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu. 

About Environment for the Americas and their Internship Program:

Environment for the Americas is a nonprofit organization; their mission is to engage diverse people in careers in the sciences, natural resources, conservation, bird conservation, and education. 

This internship is an opportunity to bridge your technical and professional writing skills, as well as your narrative and creative skills, into areas of environmental communication, education, and outreach. Interns will work on a range of writing and communication projects including the following:

  • Digital storytelling - putting together stories about EFTA’s fellow interns doing work in conservation and environmental science in partnerships with national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and other sites.
  • ​Annual report - helping to write and design ETFA’s annual report
  • Social media - composing a plan and set of templates for ETFA’s social media channels; composing social media posts
  • Website - leading a website redesign and revision project
  • Education materials - revising and composing outreach and education materials for diverse communities

Qualifications: 

  • Strong written communication skills
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to work well in a team, including remote teams

Additional Qualifications: 

  • Experience with web content creation and web design
  • Interest or experience in science or environment communication, research, and/or outreach

Partner/Dept: Colorado State Department of Public Safety (CDPS)

Job Title: Technical and Professional Writing Intern

Position Commitment:  3-7 hours per week

Position Modality: hybrid or remote

Credit / Payment:
Student interns will earn 3-12 credits for their work (students will enroll in English 3939)
This is an unpaid internship, but interns are eligible for a CU Denver internship scholarship, in which you would earn a $4,500 stipend for the semester.

Starting date and length: Flexible - let’s talk about your preferences.

Application Documents: All applicants should submit the following:

  • A CV/resume
  • A cover letter 

Deadline for applications: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

How to submit application: 
Please send your application to Kari Campeau at kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu. 

About the Internship
The Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) consists of five operational divisions that cover a breadth of safety programs and services, and a sixth division that provides support for the operational divisions. Students would be working on a series of projects for the Emergency Response unit.

The projects are described in more detail below. Interns would work primarily on one of several types of projects:

  • Revising print and digital materials to meet accessibility guidelines
  • Writing instructions and documentation
  • Working on UX (user experience) design projects.

Intern projects include tasks such as the following

  • Develop PowerPoint templates
  • Revise PowerPoints to meet accessibility standards and best practices
  • Design a weekly report template to provide stakeholders with a weekly summary of events
  • Re-write Salamander “how to” documents to ensure ADA and other accessibility compliance
  • Revise manuals
  • Revise FEMA trainings and toolkits for emergency preparedness exercises
  • update Standard Operating Procedures and other guidance documentsDetail and graphically portray diagrams in reports
  • Usability review of web and project management interfaces - Usability and UX remote testing

You will also have the opportunity to join planning sessions and meetings, which will give you direct experience working in government and public safety settings. 

Qualifications: 

  • Strong written communication skills
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to work well in a team, including remote teams

Additional Qualifications: 

  • Interest in emergency services and public safety
  • Experience with accessibility and ADA compliance in technical and professional writing
  • Experience with user experience (UX)

Partner/Dept:  Strategic Initiatives Bureau at Denver Police Department

Job Title: Technical Writing Intern

Job Location/Address: Interns can work in a remote or hybrid capacity. 

Purpose: 
This internship focuses on revising and rewriting an operations manual used by the Denver Police Department.  
The intern will have the opportunity to work on a complex writing project and to write operations, documentation, standard operating procedures, and technical definitions. This manual establishes and communicates procedures and policies in the Denver Police Department. 

Skills and Knowledge Gained:

Skill How
Written communication Writing and revising an operations manual
Technical writing Writing and revising different technical genres within the operations manual
Project management and teamwork Contribute to and help manage a complex document used and written by many diverse stakeholders
Technical editing Use markup and remote collaboration tools to edit a complex, technical document
Workplace research skills

Conduct secondary research into how other similar policy documents are written and circulated. Make recommendations about DPD’s approach.
Professional communication skills Corresponding supervisors, colleagues, DPD partners, and community members; using project management tools to run and participate in collaborative, ongoing work

Minimum Qualifications: 

  • Strong written communication skills
  • Ability to work independently

Additional Qualifications: 

  • Interest in and/or experience with writing policy documents and documentation
  • Interest in and/or experience with technical editing
  • Interest in and/or experience with project management in professional settings
  • Research experience

Position Commitment: 
3-7 hours per week

Credit / Payment:
Student interns will earn 3-12 credits for their work (students will enroll in English 3939)
Interns are eligible for a CU Denver internship scholarship, in which you would earn $18.00/hour

Length of Internship:
Students can apply for an internship that takes place during:

  • Spring 2024 semester
  • Summer 2024 semester
  • Fall 2024 semester

Application Documents: All applicants should submit the following:

  • A CV/resume
  • A cover letter 

Deadline for applications: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

How to submit application: 
Please send your application to Kari Campeau at kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu.