Museum Open

College & Graduate Internships

College and graduate internships are available for the fall and spring semesters (part time) and the summer (full time). From modeling creative exhibition layouts to researching with our curators to working with our youngest visitors, all college and graduate interns experience unparalleled career development and develop fruitful professional relationships. All internships are paid, or for academic credit.

The deadline to apply is Friday, March 15, 2013.

Summer Internship Job Descriptions

Product Design Internship (Museum Store)
The Merchandise Development Graphic Design Intern (Product Design) assists staff with the creation of product design for upcoming exhibitions. The intern will assist in producing a wide range of products inspired by the Museum's collections, including scarves, neck ties, boxed note cards, mouse pads, magnets, posters, postcards, journals, calendars, mugs, home decor, and packaging. Additionally, intern will assist staff with store signage and web graphics. Preferably, applicants for this internship should be in at least their 3rd year of a Graphic Design program and should be have previous experience with merchandise development. Applicants must have a moderate level of experience with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) and Microsoft Word on a Mac or PC, excellent typography and computer skills, and a good eye for design and color. Applicants who are selected for interviews must be prepared to show a design portfolio of 5-6 pages or a website link.

Group Tours Internship
The New-York Historical Society is seeking an intern for the summer to assist in the development of our group tours program. Intern will learn about group tours development, marketing and outreach, and participate in meetings with visitor services staff. He/she will conduct outreach to group tour leaders, market research, event planning, publications and web development, and database management. Candidates should have an interest in a museum career as well as proficiency in google applications and excel. Experience with museums, marketing, and event planning is preferred.

Operations Internship
Assist, Operations, Maintenance, Security and Engineering staff with the many aspects of the day-to-day operation of the building, as well as with support for our ongoing capital project. Interns in this department should have excellent writing and organization skills. Ability to climb stairs and move through out the building with vendors and contractors. It is preferable that applicants have knowledge of software such as AutoCAD, Word, Excel, digital photography and basic computer skills.

Library Conservation Internship
An Internship in the Library Conservation Department at The New-York Historical Society is designed to provide an opportunity for practical hands-on training in book and paper conservation at an intermediate level. This internship is for individuals who have at least a bachelor’s degree and who have 1-2 years of practical experience working in book and paper conservation, or for students currently enrolled in or graduates of a formal conservation education program. Activities include conducting condition surveys, completing condition reports, monitoring environmental conditions, constructing protective enclosures, stabilizing and mending flat paper and bound structures, examining new acquisitions, and preparing and installing exhibitions.

Library Digital Program Internship
The New-York Historical Society’s library is seeking an intern to assist in a multi-year project to digitize collections of manuscripts and photographic materials. Intern will learn about the various aspects of the library’s Digital Program and participate in meetings with supervisor and project staff to further the goals of the Digital Program. He/she will learn to scan fragile documents, assign file names according to the library’s file naming conventions, and work with Photoshop, CONTENTdm, and other tools to manage files and images. Candidates must have an interest in a career in library and information science, coursework in the humanities, experience in libraries and handling fragile materials, and proficiency with Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Excel. Candidates must demonstrate attention to detail and excellent oral and written communication skills.

DiMenna Children's History Museum internship
Weekday and some weekend hours
This intern will support a variety of work related to family programs. Their responsibilities will include:

• Marketing family programs to local schools and PTAs
• Maintaining family programs information on DCHM web site
• Contributing to our kids' history blog
• Logistics for family programs, including set up memos, master calendar bookings
• Assisting in family programs, weekdays and weekends

Intern should have a love of history and children's education; enjoy working with the public; and be extremely detail oriented.

Exhibition Design
The Exhibition Design intern will assist exhibit designers with upcoming exhibitions and other small design projects. Primary duties will include organizing data, sketching, technical drawings, and making scale models for upcoming temporary exhibitions. The intern should be well versed in Vectorworks (or CAD equivalent) as well as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator on a Mac. Applicants who are selected for interviews must be prepared to show a design portfolio.

Graphic Design Internship
The intern in the graphic design office assists staff with the creation of visual materials for exhibitions, brochures, and signage. Interns are responsible for laying out text labels, scanning images, photo correcting and sizing using Photoshop, layouts in InDesign or Illustrator with text and images, and production support on large projects. Preferably, applicants for this internship should be in at least their 3rd year of a Graphic Design program and should be comfortable using a Mac. Applicants should have a moderate level of experience with Adobe CS5 (especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) and Microsoft Word. Applicants who are selected for interviews must be prepared to show a design portfolio.

History Exhibits Intern
The History Exhibits intern will assist the History Exhibits Department with research and information management for the major Fall 2014 exhibition on the Chinese American experience. The intern will be part of the exhibition planning team and collaborate closely with team members under the supervision of the V.P. for History Exhibits. This is an opportunity to learn about many of the steps involved in organizing and curating a history exhibit. The intern’s work will include but is not limited to: library and online content research and the preparation of background research reports; repository and online research for objects and images to be used in prospective exhibit displays; and data entry in the project database of exhibition items (using Omeka database software and Google spreadsheets). Preference will be given to candidates who are history majors, particularly with knowledge of the topics related to the exhibition.

Community Relations Internship
The Communications Department is looking for an intern to attend community meetings and work on design of programs/events focused on a variety of communities, work on reboot of our "Friends of the New-York Historical Society" program, help to write monthly newsletter, help to coordinate special events. The intern will promote the new “Friends of the New-York Historical Society” program by visiting local businesses and attending special events. presenting our new "friends" program. Applicants must demonstrate good presentation skills, ability to work with Word and Excel, good telephone skills, excellent writing skills, and good organizational skills. Intern must be someone smart and personable.

Museum Evaluation Internship
The museum evaluation intern will assist the Director of Museum Administration in developing and coordinating visitor evaluations and surveys. The work will include both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of current exhibitions but also formative evaluations for future exhibitions. During the internship the intern will:

• Help develop, coordinate, implement and analyze visitor studies
• Research best practices in the area of visitor evaluation
• Prepare reports of the data that is collected

Skills needed: outgoing personality/interest in working with the public, strong computer skills; interest/background working with evaluation/visitor studies/statistical analysis a plus.

Collections Intern
Intern must be enrolled in an Art History, History, Museum Studies, and/or Studio Program with an interest in museum collections management and registration. Intern will perform weekly preventative care in the Luce Center storage areas and learn about archival materials, art handling and proper methods. Assisting with maintenance of The Museum System (TMS), the intern will upload new images, assist in standardizing entries, and catalog recent acquisitions. Intern will learn how to properly house, record, catalogue, organize, and inventory permanent collection items, and be part of the daily operations of the museum collections department.

Print Room Intern
The Department of Prints, Drawings, and Architectural Collections is seeking an intern to inventory the seventeenth- through nineteenth-century prints in our holdings. Intern will learn about print media, print iconography, artists, and how to identify and classify works on paper. Some of the research will necessitate consulting catalogues raisonné in other institutions. Qualifications include basic knowledge of art history and works on paper. This internship will offer an opportunity to learn about printmaking over the span of several centuries.

Education Marketing Intern
To work with the Manager of School and Outreach marketing in compiling database of current school principals, parent coordinators and other school administrative personnel. Intern will also assist in making contact with school administrative personnel about the various menu of school programs options for the fall term. The candidate will learn how to market school programs to schools and how to fit in museum programs to schools curriculum. Candidates must demonstrate attention to detail and excellent oral, written and computer skills.

Archival Internships (2)
The New-York Historical Society's library is seeking two archival interns for the Manuscripts Department and the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architecture. The internship is available for students working toward a degree in Library Science and/or Archives. Interns will arrange and describe archival collections, re-house materials into acid-free folders and boxes, create finding aids for collections in the Archivists' Toolkit, and contribute to the N-YHS library blog. Previous experience in a library or archives preferred. Maturity, reliability, and attention to detail are essential.

Image Copyright Intern
The New-York Historical Society is seeking an intern to assist the Rights Clearance Coordinator on clearing copyright for items in upcoming shows: the centennial of the Armory Show and AIDS in New York. Intern will learn about the various aspects of rights clearance for mostly non-collection items for both display and publication, as well as for the press and education. Attaching relevant metadata to images is an important part of the work. S/he will also be helping to sort out a small backlog of exhibit files so that they can be accurately archived. Candidates should be very knowledgeable about art history, and demonstrate attention to detail and excellent oral and written communication skills to approach rights-holders. Must be very familiar with Google Docs, and with Photoshop and Photoshop Bridge as well.

Nadelman, Audubon, and Drawings Internship
The intern must be enrolled in an Art History, History, or Museum Studies program, preferably at the graduate level with one year completed. The internship will focus most intensely on the research and preparation for the exhibition and its catalogue Making It Modern: The Folk Art Collection of Elie Nadelman. This experience will expose the intern to all aspects of working in a museum from acquisitions and cataloguing to working with objects and researching all aspects of decorative and fine arts objects. It will also entail initial work on another exhibition dealing with the watercolors of John James Audubon (Audubon's Aviary: Part II of The Complete Flock) and various other ad hoc research topics. Computer as well as research skills are required. During this period, the intern would be working closely with a curator and a research associate, an excellent educational experience providing invaluable, first-hand exposure to a professional museum setting and projects. Candidates in graduate school in the field of art history with an interest in history preferable.

Decorative Arts Curatorial Intern
The New-York Historical Society is seeking an intern to work alongside the decorative arts curator on several exhibition projects, including a major reinstallation of the Tiffany lamp collection in the Luce Center, the traveling exhibition and catalogue Making It Modern: The Folk Art Collection of Elie Nadelman, and the upcoming exhibitionHomefront and Battlefield: Quilts and Context in the Civil War. The intern will work closely with the curator and gain valuable experience working with collection objects, doing primary research, and learning about the process of exhibition development. The intern will be part of the daily operations of the museum department, and may participate in other curatorial activities such as research and cataloguing of new acquisitions. The intern must be enrolled in or a recent graduate of a Decorative Arts or Art History program, preferably at the graduate level.

High School Programs Internship
Intern must be enrolled in an Art History, History, Museum Studies, Education, and/or American Studies program with an interest in museum education, particularly working with High School students in out-of-school time programming. Previous experience working with High School students preferred. Intern will work directly with the Coordinator of Secondary and Post-Secondary Programs to help develop and facilitate the Summer 2013 Student Historian HS Internship Program at N-YHS. 25-30 High School students (grades 10-12) from the tri-state area are accepted into the Student Historian program which runs for 6 weeks (meeting 3 full days a week.) The program seeks to provide students vocational and academic training, public speaking and leadership skills, and an increased understanding of American art and history. The Education: High School Programs Intern will help plan and prepare for each day of the internship program, and also work directly with the group of interns supporting their personal and professional development. The Education Intern will gain valuable experience learning how to develop, oversee, and assess a youth development program in a museum environment, and also have the opportunity to work with an exceptional group of High School students throughout the program. Please note: This internship has a unique schedule. Intern must be available from June 24th - August 16th, 2013, as well as for the N-YHS College Intern orientation on June 10th, 2013.

American Musicals Project Internship
The Director of Education seeks an intern to assist with teacher professional development workshops, historical research, and administrative support. The intern will work extensively on planning and preparation for a week-long course for teachers on The American Musicals Project, a curriculum program that uses clips from musicals with primary sources from the Historical Society's collections to enliven the teaching and learning of American history, including revising lesson plans, researching the history of the musicals and the historical eras/events they depict, preparing and compiling materials, and assisting in the day-to-day of the actual course. Additionally, the intern will provide admin support on an as-needed basis. Background in US history required, additional background in education a plus. Museum education experience a plus. Candidate must have excellent research, communication, and organizational skills.

Education Intern: Special Project for AIDS in New York: the First Five Years
Intern should be enrolled in an Art History, History, Museum Studies, Education, Film, and/or American Studies program with an interest in museum education, particularly working with High School students and/or using film as an educational tool. Intern will work as part of a team for a special project related to the upcoming AIDS exhibition, alongside the Museum Educator and high school intern. The project will involve developing a comprehensive gallery tour for the exhibition specifically for teens, reaching out to community organizations to bring youth groups (for free) to the exhibition, and creating multi-media tools that will support the delivery of core learning goals to teens and young adult audiences (including a printed teen guide for the exhibition and a short video resource that will serve as a companion to the guide.). This Education Intern will have a role in all elements of this special project, with a specific focus on the video resource.

Development Internship
The Development department of the New-York Historical Society seeks a part-time intern for general development assistance during the Summer 2013 season. This hands-on position in a small, fast-paced development office requires an organized, upbeat, and motivated intern with an interest in gaining experience in a variety of roles, including membership, individual, and institutional giving. This internship is perfect for someone seeking an introduction to all aspects of a busy cultural development office operating within a vibrant museum, and can also qualify for school credit.

Click here for application guidelines!