Archives and Public History Digital

About Internships

As part of the required Internship Seminar, every student in the program completes 120 hours of unpaid work at an archives or public history organization in the New York area, ordinarily for 8 hours per week for the duration of 15 weeks during the spring semester.

If your organization has an internship opportunity, please fill out this form: your internship will appear right away on this page in the spreadsheet below. You may also e-mail the Director, Dr. Peter Wosh, with a brief description of the internship project.

If you are a graduate student looking for a summer internship or an internship outside New York, look through the Society of American Archivists’ list of Archival Internships and the National Council on Public History’s list of Public History Internships. You might also try for an internship at the National Archives and Records Administration or at the Smithsonian Institution, both in Washington, DC.

The list of previous and upcoming internships for our students in Archives and Public History can be seen here:

 

Internship Guidelines

The student / intern will . . .

1. Work 8 hours per week at the internship site for the duration of 15 weeks for a total of 120 hours;
2. Maintain a descriptive log throughout the course of the internship, turning it in at designated times throughout the semester to the course instructor;
3. Incorporate issues arising from their internship work into class discussions throughout the semester; and
4. Evaluate the internship site/supervisor/project at the conclusion of the experience.

In addition, the intern is expected to arrive on time or notify the supervisor when s/he cannot be on time, to complete assigned work to the best of her/his ability, and otherwise to conduct her/himself in a professional manner.

The internship site supervisor will . . .

1. Provide both the course instructor and the intern with a basic written description of what the intern’s work will entail before the project begins;
2. Instruct the intern in relevant professional techniques whenever necessary;
3. Oversee the intern’s actual work; and
4. Write both a brief mid-term evaluation and a final evaluation of the student.

The internship site supervisor is also expected to make sure the intern has a respectful and professional environment in which to work.

The course instructor will . . .

1. Choose and approve internship sites;
2. Place interns with internship sites, making every effort to match students with sites that fit their specific areas of interest;
3. Visit each internship site during the course of the semester to discuss progress; and
4. Evaluate the actual project prepared by the student during the internship.

The course instructor will help make sure as far as possible that both the internship supervisor and the intern are satisfied with the internship experience.