Intersectional Internship Experiences across TPC Programs

Barriers, Supports, and Programmatic Change

Abstract

This article reports on interviews conducted with students from various intersectional positionalities and institutions regarding their experiences in TPC internship programs. It contributes to scholarship on internships in higher education and TPC by focusing on barriers and supports that interns encountered throughout their internship experiences. Findings show that interns’ experiences were affected by various factors, which include: dominant cultural narratives surrounding internships, the liminal positionality that interns are often expected to occupy, the type of mentorship interns receive from faculty members, how well support for interns is integrated into their host site communities, and the material barriers/supports that interns face. Based on these findings, this study offers concrete recommendations for bolstering support structures in TPC internship programs for all students.