Purpose: The paper shows an example of an internship-classroom model that increases student motivation and self-efficacy across cultural frameworks by providing opportunities for application projects. Design/methodology/approach: The author uses qualitative data collected through teacher research and focuses on the rhetorical context to show how disciplinary writing courses can be redesigned by incorporating theoretical frameworks from business management and psychology. Findings: Client projects used in disciplinary writing courses, in conjunction with national narratives on higher education as a gateway to higher pay and better skills, improve student self-efficacy if faculty redefine their roles as mediators, and if students are treated as interns and knowledge workers. Practical implications: The integration of non-academic approaches from business management with academic expectations of research, revision, and rehearsal for a specific client shows how purposeful client-based projects can influence student motivation, self-efficacy, and sense of self-worth that are crucial for diverse student populations. Expanding the theoretical frameworks for successful teaching is an effective model for increasing students' competence as disciplinary writers. Originality/value: An interdisciplinary approach that draws from academic fields as well as from the business world provides new ways of working successfully with students and preparing them for writing inside and outside the classroom. Incorporating an internship approach into a classroom setting encourages teachers to reimagine student, client, and faculty roles.