Start this autumn 2026 and build toward an internship or real-world project by spring 2027. Follow the pathway through your first year, with the chance to get a paid internship with gesture, the College of Arts and Sciences’ early career lab; to bring an internship you find elsewhere; or take on a hands-on internship project in gesture. Whatever internship path you take, we will help you apply, get ready for, and make the most of the internship experience once you’re there.
Your First Step: Build a Story That Opens Doors
Autumn 2026 | 1 Credit | In Person
Before you can show what you can do in an internship, you have to help someone see what you bring and why it matters. This is where story and identity come in. Even if you’ve only just arrived at UW, you already have experiences worth talking about. In this course, you’ll practice turning these experiences into stories (introductions, resumes, applications, and interviews) that give people something to remember. Through feedback and practice, you’ll learn to shape your professional identity into a story for different opportunities and help others see why you’re ready for these opportunities.
Before the Internship: Practice How Work Works
Winter 2027 | 1 Credit | In Person
Most internships won’t come with a syllabus, and you don’t have to wait for your first one to start practicing. In this course, you’ll take on projects that give you a safe place to fail, learn from feedback, and try again as you move beyond “What am I supposed to do?” and start asking “What does this person or problem need from me?” You’ll practice figuring out what needs solving and how you can create value, so you’re ready to step into an internship and contribute from day one.
Internship Lab: Make More of Your Experience
Spring 2027 | 1 Credit | In Person
An internship gives you experience. gesture helps you learn with it. Whether you bring an internship you’ve found or join the gesture team as an intern, you’ll take this course alongside that experience, giving you a space to make sense of challenges, feedback, and ambiguity while building stories from what you’re learning. You’ll practice noticing what you bring to new situations, how it shapes what you see and do, and what you can carry forward into whatever comes next.
gesture internship opportunities (paid or for course credit) depend on available projects, funding, student readiness, and team capacity. Participation in the pathway does not guarantee an internship
Ready to start?
Enroll in the autumn course: Your First Step: Build a Story That Opens Doors
If you have any trouble registering, please reach out to gesture@uw.edu, and we'll provide you with an add code.
When registering, choose either ARTSCI 150 section D or E. The title and description are different on MyPlan, but this is the correct course.