Located in the heart of England’s Lake District in Grasmere, the Wordsworth Trust offers a fourteen-week unpaid internship to four BYU undergraduates per year. The trust includes Dove Cottage, the home (from 1799 to 1808) of William and Dorothy Wordsworth; the Jerwood Centre, which houses rare books, most of the Wordsworths’ surviving manuscripts , and extensive holdings in Cumbrian art, history, and culture; and the Wordsworth Museum. Interns are trained in curating books and manuscripts, managing research projects, and working in visitor services at the gift shop and museum. In their free time, students can complete BYU assignments, explore the Lake District, and take inexpensive weekend trips to London, Edinburgh, Manchester, and elsewhere. With this internship, it is possible to gain a deep appreciation of Romantic-era literature, history, and culture; extensive skills in archival methods and museology; and twelve BYU credit hours, six of which can fulfill English-major requirements.
Wordsworth Trust Internship
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QUALIFICATIONS
The Wordsworth Trust internship offers places to advanced English majors, HBLL student employees intent on library careers or museum studies, and juniors and seniors in related fields (e.g., history, humanities, art history) with a 3.7 GPA or higher.
For English students, ENGL 291 and 292 are required and ENGL 374 highly preferred.
Students need strong speaking and writing skills, an ability to work well with others, the self-assurance to be the only Latter-day Saint and likely the only American on staff, and the maturity and dependability to preserve BYU’s strong relationship with the Trust.
DATES
Internships are generally fourteen weeks long and correspond roughly with BYU’s academic calendar.
Fall interns generally go from late August through early December.
Winter interns from mid-January through late April.
Spring/Summer interns from early May through mid-August.
HOUSING
The trust has reserved a private, furnished bedroom for BYU interns in a house directly across from Dove Cottage. Interns share a bathroom and kitchen facilities with trainees and researchers from other British and North American institutions.
COST
TBD
Cost includes LDS undergraduate tuition ($2,810 per semester in 2018–19) plus housing, insurance, and visa fees.
It does not include airfare, meals, travel expenses, or personal expenses.
Approximate total expenses are $7,000 before scholarships, stipends, and other financial aid are applied. Figures may vary.
FUNDING SOURCES
Although this is an unpaid internship, resourceful students can often find ways to make it extremely affordable. University, departmental, and private scholarships, as well as federal financial aid (such as Pell Grants and Stafford loans) may be applied toward the program’s cost.
English Department interns are eligible to receive internship stipends ($1,500–2,500) from the College of Humanities if they meet qualifications.
HBLL interns receive a comparable library scholarship to help pay their expenses.
Other potential funding sources include experiential education stipends from students’ major or minor, $1,500 ORCA grants from BYU, Richard Wordsworth Memorial Fund scholarships from the English Department, Global Opportunity Scholarships from the Kennedy Center, and thesis funding from Honors.
COURSE CREDIT AND PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING
Interns receive 12 credit hours during the fall and winter semester or 6 credit hours during spring terms and 6 credit hours during summer term for a total of 12 credit hours combined.
English majors generally earn 9 credit hours of ENGL 399R (three of which fulfill the major’s English-Plus requirement), and 3 credit hours of ENGL 384 (which fulfills the Major Authors requirement), but some other course combinations are possible according to individual needs.
Students from other majors should work with their department’s internship advisor to arrange credit hours and coursework.
Accepted students are also encouraged to take HCOLL 396R (Internship Preparation) during the second block of the fall or winter semester prior to their internship. This is a requirement for Humanities funding.
APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINES
Spots are filled as qualified applicants come forward rather than after a particular deadlines; therefore, as early as a year before their prospective internship start dates, interested students should arrange to meet with one of the faculty coordinators listed below to determine if they are a good match for this program. To apply, submit the following to either one of the faculty coordinators: 1) CV or resume, 2) names and contact info for two literature (or related field) professors and at least one former employer, 3) aA copy of your best paper from a literature course, 4) a letter explaining of each of the following:
• how this internship will enrich your education and future career
• why you are interested Wordsworth and Romantic-era literature, history, or art
• what factors might possibly keep you from completing this internship
A faculty committee will review these materials and determine whether to nominate the student. If nominated, students must complete an ISP application (which includes a nonrefundable $35 processing fee) and a formal application and CV for the trust. The trust will arrange a Skype interview. Contingent on all the above, the trust will issue a formal offer, after which the student may begin travel plans.
Deadline: 12 Oct 2019 (win); 15 Feb 2019 (fall)
FACULTY COORDINATOR
Nick Mason (nick_mason@byu.edu) will be associate coordinator.
While the faculty coordinators and ISP will provide logistical and academic supervision, no BYU faculty member will be on site during students’ internships. Interns’ primary supervisor will therefore be Jeff Cowton, the trust’s head curator.
PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS
ISP reserves the right to cancel this program, revise its offerings, or make any adjustments to the preliminary cost estimates due to conditions beyond its control.