Medical Humanities Practicum

Rice University - Medical Humanities Practicum

Information and Submission Form for Fall 2026 or 2026-2027 Academic Year

The practicum in medical humanities at Rice University is a rigorous educational opportunity that pairs researchers in the Texas Medical Center or other health-related organizations with students who assist with health-related research projects. Rice students earn 3 course credit hours per semester by assisting with research or formal scholarship projects that engage the humanities or interpretive social sciences. In the past, students have supported research by, for example, helping manage and analyze qualitative data; assisting preparation of manuscripts for journal submission; contributing to literature reviews; conducting, coding and analyzing interviews; and helping produce videos, slide decks and decision aids for use by patients, health care providers, and health care educators. Administrative tasks should be minimal. Practicum students meet regularly with Rice faculty as part of the practicum course, which supports students in developing academic research skills. For past projects, see https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/year-long-practicum-0; https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/one-semester-practicum

Expectations of Practicum PIs/project sponsors:

The practicum students’ engagement with research should be designed with the academic rigor of Rice University in mind. Students should understand the broad questions the research addresses and their role in it.
PIs should meet with students at least twice monthly to ensure students are clear about expectations and understand how their work contributes to the research project’s aims.
Projects should be scaled for Rice students to devote 7-8 hours per week to the project beginning the week of August 24, 2026, through December 4 (for one-semester projects) or April 23, 2024 (for year-long projects), excluding Rice holidays (fall, winter, spring breaks, etc.). Students may complete some or most of this work independently.
PIs are asked to provide the Rice student and course instructor with an overview of expected research activities and target deadlines at the beginning of each semester, and to complete brief student evaluations during the academic year. PIs should contact the course instructor at any time should any concern arise regarding students’ work quality or progress.
Although this is a research practicum course, not an internship, all positions should abide by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act for unpaid internships.
PIs or their designated administrative support staff should facilitate the completion by Rice students of all badging, security clearances, and IRB-related training by August 17, 2026. This allows students to begin working with their PIs and contributing to their projects at the beginning of the Rice academic year.

Requirements of Rice practicum students:

Students must devote 7-8 hours per week to the project and complete related coursework assigned by Rice faculty (for a total workload consistent with a 3-credit course).
Students must complete onboarding requirements of host institution by August 17, 2026.
Students will meet at least twice monthly with their PIs to discuss their work.
Students should work on practicum projects during all instruction weeks of the semester, except during Rice University breaks.
Students meet with the Rice faculty teaching the practicum course and other practicum students regularly throughout the academic year. The Rice instructor assigns grades, incorporating feedback from the PIs.
Students will be expected to produce a public facing project based on their experience and research findings that focuses on the broader humanities-aligned themes of the project (e.g. equities/ disparities in healthcare access, end of life care, cross cultural interpretations of pain, etc). For example, students working on a research project on knowledge production about endometriosis, might center their public facing project around the question: Why do we disbelieve women's pain? Students' projects can take the form of a personal essay, a podcast, a graphic novel, a series of poems, or an academic essay or conference poster, that may integrate data, etc., but does not rely on it exclusively.

Please direct questions to:
Melissa Bailar (Executive Director of the Medical Humanities Research Institute): melba@rice.edu

Project Sponsor(s):*

Project Title:*

Institution and Location*

Project Description (approximately 150 words) that addresses the larger research project as well as any portion on which the student(s) would focus. Please indicate how the student’s work would engage with the humanities or interpretive social sciences. If this engagement is not evident, the project may not be eligible for this program*

0/200

A list of possible types of tasks the student(s) would be expected to perform. Please indicate whether students will be able to work directly with patients or caregivers, and any requirements for meeting on-site.*

A list of specific skills or training the student(s) should have before beginning the project.*

A short statement of what mentorship the student will receive, including frequency of meetings with PIs and other team members. Please indicate the individual(s) who will provide direct mentorship.*

8. Project timeframe (1 or 2 semesters – please note we have many more students able to enroll in a one-semester practicum):*

One semesterOne yearBoth

Knowledge and skills the student(s) can expect to gain, including any opportunities for presentations, publication, networking, etc.:*

A list of steps the selected student(s) will need to complete to begin work (i.e. badging, HIPAA training, background check, etc.):*

11. Any additional information:

The following information (items 12-15) is for administrative purposes and will not be shared with students when they apply:

Project sponsor email:*

example@example.com

Who will be directly supervising the Rice student/s?*

How many students are you willing to accept?*

Are international students eligible?*

Administrative contact for badging or other processes (if relevant):*