Position Overview:

Position Type: Internship, Stipend, Undergraduate Student, Graduate Student

Handshake ID: Job #10935546

Hiring Manager: Wendy Low

Term: Academic Year 2026-2027 

Year Stipend: $1500 ($750/semester) 

Estimated Start Date: August 2026 

Application Deadline: For priority, apply by April 26. Applications welcome until position filled. 

Internship Description:

Do you always find yourself talking about social justice? Are you the friend in your group who's always adding “nuance” to the conversation? Then we’re looking for you! Social Justice Dialogue Facilitation Fellows work for the Center for Social Justice Dialogue and are supervised by professional staff within the Center. 

The main role of this internship is to support the work of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue (CSJD) in cultivating a campus community where everyone feels empowered and equipped to engage in difficult dialogue across differences of identity, background, and lived experience. Built on a foundation of Intergroup Theory and other social justice education frameworks, interns will co-create and deliver workshops on topics of identity, social justice, and dialogue to student populations. Further, students will support projects including MediaBytes, Your Story Belongs Here, InterACT, FYS: Race, Social Justice, and Dialogue, and other departmental programs. They may also support collaborative dialogue programs in partnership with other departments on campus (e.g. The Women’s Center, Center for Democracy and Civic Life, Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging, etc). Facilitators are expected to work a maximum of ten hours a week which includes weekly staff meetings to engage in deep learning, prepare for workshops, and continue developing student-focused programming. Interns engage in ongoing training, reviewing key activities, facilitation skills, and foundational introductions to various social justice concepts. Interns must be available for these training sessions as well as program retreats.

Upon the completion of more advanced training (including Restorative Practices) and a full year of participation, students will have the opportunity to apply to a “senior internship” position to facilitate higher stakes dialogues.

General Responsibilities:

• Develop, facilitate, and promote peer-led workshops on topics related to identity, social justice, and dialogue to student populations 

• Engage in ongoing learning and development connected to dialogue and facilitation

• Co-create the continued foundation for IDEAL and InterACT programs, as well as contribute ideas and content for workshop curriculum 

• Support CSJD programming through attendance, marketing/promotion, co-facilitating activities within larger dialogues and workshops, etc.

• Meet with the primary supervisor and attend regular student staff meetings (dependent on student availability)

• Serve as departmental “student liaison,” gathering information about current student “hot topics” and  needs and wants connected to dialogue 

• Serve as an ambassador for IDEAL and InterACT programs, as well as CSJD more broadly 

• Follow all area regulations within the Code of Conduct (this is provided during the staff onboarding process)

• Fulfill all other duties and responsibilities as appropriate and assigned (including, but not limited to occasional  oral / written reflections, time tracking, etc.)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must be a full-time, matriculating undergraduate or graduate student at UMBC;

• Must have and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (semesterly checks will be conducted);

• Must be able to commit to a minimum of Spring Semester for at least 10 hours per week; oppurtunity to renew

  • Interns are strongly encouraged to enroll and fulfill all the requirements PRAC098 offered through the Career Center each semester, but especially for their first full semester of the internship program. Learn more about PRAC here.

• Must be committed to being a positive role model and demonstrate leadership skills;

• Must demonstrate ability to interact and communicate mindfully in person and online with diverse students, staff, faculty, and other campus community members;

• Must be flexible with schedules depending on relevant programs, events and/or student professional development opportunities; 

• Must have flexibility to work evening and weekend hours on occasion;  

• Must attend all training sessions

• • Please hold the following dates for upcoming programs:
    • Training is likely to occur for 2-3 days August 10-14, 2026. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience with designing/implementing and facilitating programs

• Demonstrated experience with myUMBC, Gmail, Google Drive, Canva, Instagram, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and/or Illustrator 

• Demonstrated basic knowledge in any of the following areas: the relationship between identity, power, privilege and oppression, intersectionality, social justice-related theories, intergroup dialogue (e.g. Critical Race Theory, Feminist/Womanist Theory, Queer Theory, Social Identity Theory)

• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience through student organization leadership, civic engagement and/or activism

• Have summer and winter availability; and

• Have verbal, spoken, and/or written multilingual skills

This internship is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

To apply, find the position on Handshake with the ID: 10935546

Overall Series Description:

Media Bytes is a signature series  from the Center for Social Justice Dialogue with programs designed and facilitated by Social Justice Dialogue Facilitation Fellows. Programs in this series  invite participants to engage social justice topics through shared media and meaningful dialogue. In this series, we listen to short “bytes” of podcasts, films, or TV clips, or songs and come together for guided conversation. Media Bytes encourages curiosity, critical listening, and collective reflection as we unpack complex issues, one byte at a time.

Session Descriptions:

1. Rest is Resistance 

Wednesday March 25th, 7:00-9:00pm, Women Gender and Equity Center (Commons) 

Event Link: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/152157

Join us for a fun and reflective evening rooted in rest, dialogue, and community! We’ll be watching one of Tricia Hersey’s talks on rest as resistance and engaging in dialogue on how rest and collective care are tools for collective liberation. Come for a chance to reflect, chat with new friends, enjoy some snacks/refreshments, and decorate your own rest journal.

1. The Sound of Resistance: A Lesson From Sinners

Friday April 17th, 4:00-5:30, Commons 318

Event Link: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/152876

Inspired by the film Sinners, this interactive dialogue invites participants to explore how music carries the experiences, struggles, and resilience of communities across generations. Centering the powerful “I Lied To You” scene, we will reflect on the historical role of music in Black culture and examine how songs can communicate truth, challenge injustice, and preserve stories that might otherwise go unheard. Together, we’ll explore how music has shaped social movements, sparked cultural conversations, and united people across differences. By the end of the event, participants will contribute to a collective playlist that reflects the sounds of our generation; songs that capture the power of music to inspire, resist, and create lasting meaning. Join us for an evening of dialogue, reflection, and community as we ask: what gives music the power to transcend generations? 

1. Meaning in Bollywood Music

Monday April 20, 6-8pm, The Center for Wellbeing

Event Link: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/152883

Join us for an engaging and reflective evening centered on music, language, and cultural meaning. Dialogue and Meaning in Bollywood Lyrics invites participants to thoughtfully explore the depth behind popular Bollywood songs, examining how lyrics convey emotion, identity, and cultural narratives that often extend beyond direct translation. Through a guided selection of songs, we will analyze key lyrical excerpts in both their original Hindi/Urdu and English translations. Participants will engage in facilitated dialogue to consider how meaning is shaped by language, context, and personal experience. What nuances are lost or transformed in translation? How do cultural references and poetic expression influence interpretation? This program creates space to critically reflect on these questions while learning from diverse perspectives.

The Social Justice Dialogues Cohort Experience (SJDCE) at UMBC invites participants from all perspectives and experiences to engage in meaningful conversations across difference. Rooted in intergroup dialogue theory, SJDCE provides a space to learn and practice the skills, tools, and mindsets necessary for effective communication across diverse identities and lived experiences — with courage, empathy, and openness.

The Social Justice Dialogue Cohort Experiences at UMBC are 8 two-hour dialogue circles that bring together students, faculty, and staff, to engage in sustained, facilitated dialogue across difference. Each cohort meets weekly within one of UMBC's vibrant cultural centers: The Mosaic, The Pride Center, and The Gathering Space.

In a time of growing polarization and deepening social divides, and fear surrounding living authentically, the Social Justice Dialogues Cohort Experience (SJDCE) offers a way forward, not through debate or persuasion, but through connection, listening, and shared learning.

Cohorts will be split between faculty/staff and students (both undergraduate and graduate), allowing participants to forge meaningful relationships with peers similarly passionate about social change, leadership and humanizing pedagogies. 

Students interested in applying for the pilot program can do so here. Additionally, faculty and staff can nominate students by emailing csjdialogue@umbc.edu by March 10.

Faculty and staff can apply here. Applications are due by March 12.

This is a pilot that is a part of a larger research project, meaning cohort sizes are limited and the 2026 sessions will be used to collect data for assessment purposes.

These events are open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

Critical social justice has a history in the Women's, Gender, & Equity Center, and we are excited to bring back this work now within the Community & Culture unit in the Division of Institutional Equity.

All events are open for participation from students (grad and undergrad), staff, and faculty!

The events apart of Critical Social Justice Week are as follows: 

Cup-Filling Activism: Supporting Student Organizers Through Community, Care, and Capacity Building

McNair x Critical Social Justice Week

Saturday, February 7, 2026 · 1 - 2:30 PM

Sondheim Hall: 101

Racial Healing Discussion Panel

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 · 3 - 5 PM

Library and Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn

On Caring for Community

The Pursuit of Equity and Justice at UMBC with University Leadership

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 · 4:30-6 PM

SKYLIGHT in the Commons

Chat and Chew: All About Love

Read with us and engage in discussion

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 · 12 - 1 PM

Library and Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn

More details about each event can be found on the WGEC or CSJD myUMBC Page. 

These event is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

This semester, the Center for Social Justice Dialogue had the pleasure of reintroducing the InterACT dialogue program to campus. Here are some highlights:

Join us in The Mosaic (Commons 2b23) biweekly on Thursdays 3:00pm - 4:30pm for SistaCare!

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."

SistaCare is a community-care and dialogue group that explores the ways undergraduate and graduate students who identify as Black/Africana women and femmes, regardless of their gender expression, experience campus communities. Weekly sessions will explore experience, impact, and connection and are open to all individuals regardless of their sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. Come to learn, share, and connect!

This semester's sessions are as follows:

• 9/25: Kickoff: Who are We?
  (RSVP here)

• 10/9: Representation and Socialization

• 10/23: Intersecting Identities and Intersectionality

• 11/6: Bodies + Body Politics - All Shapes and Sizes

• 12/4: Skin + Hair and the Spectrums of Color and Texture

• 12/18: Radical Care and Reflection

To request accommodation(s) or to inquire about event accessibility, please get in touch with us via email, csjdialogue.umbc.edu, with "Sistacare" in the subject line. All sessions are open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.