Progressive Research Intern, Scholarly Writing

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Job no: 530189
Position Type: Hourly
Campus: UMass Boston
Department: Institute Community Inclusion
Pay Grade: No Pay Grade
Date opened: 10 Sep 2026 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: 10 Oct 2026 Eastern Daylight Time

General

Summary:

The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and partners at the Disability Policy Consortium are looking for members of the disability community to work in a paid research internship as part of a research team studying employment for people with disabilities. The goal of the project is to study the Progressive Employment model, an emerging evidence-based practice that helps job seekers with disabilities to obtain competitive integrated employment.

The ICI has a five-year research grant to explore the impact of the Progressive Employment model.

Progressive Employment (PE) is a dual-customer service delivery model that uses work-based learning strategies (activities in real workplaces) to introduce job seekers to businesses to meet their collective needs. Progressive Employment rapidly engages job seekers in work settings to aid informed choice as they develop their career goals. The underlying premise is that “everyone is ready for something.” This model, developed in 2009 by the Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, offers businesses a variety of options for meeting, interacting with, and trying out a new pool of potential job applicants.

The Research Internship is designed to provide hands‑on experience in qualitative research and scholarly dissemination. The primary goal of the internship is to enhance interns’ skills in qualitative research methods and processes while supporting the development and submission of a manuscript to a peer‑reviewed journal. Interns will work closely with research staff and contribute to various stages of the research process, depending on project needs, internship timing, and the availability of research activities.

Examples of Duties:

• Working on federally‑funded research grants
• Qualitative research methods and analysis.
• Developing skills in literature review, data synthesis, and academic writing.
• Increasing understanding of the research publication process.
• Contributed to the preparation and submission of a manuscript for publication in a peer‑reviewed journal.

Interns will:

• Assist with outreach and communication efforts to research participants.
• Support the planning and implementation of qualitative research activities.
• Conduct qualitative data collection activities, such as interviews or focus groups, community conversations as appropriate.
• Participate in qualitative data coding, analysis, and interpretation.
• Conduct literature reviews and desk reviews to inform research objectives and manuscript development.
• Summarize and synthesize research findings from academic and gray literature sources.
• Contribute to the drafting, editing, and revision of sections of research manuscripts, reports, and related dissemination products.
• Collaborate with research team members and attend project meetings as appropriate.
• Maintain human subjects certification (CITI) and follow ethical principles in conducting interviews, focus groups and observations.

Note: Specific responsibilities may vary based on the timing of the internship, project phase, and the availability of research activities.

Qualifications:

• Identify as a person with lived experience of any type of disability
• Strong knowledge of and experience in using a computer. Including using: email, online calendars, the Zoom video conference platform, search engines to gather…