Robert Frederick Smith Internship and Fellowship Program
This program seeks to build a professional pipeline for historically underrepresented individuals to grow successful careers in the cultural sector.
Applications for fall internships are due by 11:59 p.m. July 15, 2018.
The Robert Frederick Smith Fund for the Digitization and Curation of African American History was established to advance the digital curation, community outreach, and internship initiatives at the Museum. As part of the Smith Fund Internship and Fellowship Program, the Museum will select and provide funding for interns who will be located onsite with the Museum and offsite at select African American museums, art galleries and museums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), cultural institutions and historic sites, or other related institutions dedicated to the study and preservation of African American history and culture. All internship opportunities with this program will focus on work related to digital imaging, media preservation, digital preservation of personal and community objects, digital content management, collections information management, recording and preserving oral histories, or digital filmmaking.
Internships will provide guided learning experiences consisting of hands-on training, mentoring, attendance at educational events, and cultivation of contacts for the next generation of researchers, scholars, curators, and other museum, library, preservation, and heritage professionals – individuals who will assume the mantle of identifying, documenting, curating, and digitizing treasured artifacts that reflect African American history and culture.
Intern Benefits
- Meaningful stipend to defray living expenses during the tenure of the appointment
- Need-based housing and transportation stipends available for summer internships. Students qualify by selecting their need to pay rent during their term on the application.
- Flexible start and end dates
- Structured mentorship opportunities both within the Museum and with outside professionals
- A calendar of professional development seminars catered to the needs of historically underrepresented individuals in the cultural sector
- Paid registration and travel to attend the Association of African American Museums annual conference in August 2018
- Paid professional memberships
- Academic credit (not required)
Intern Eligibility
- Undergraduate students (must have completed at least one year of study)
- Graduate students
- Career-changers in the cultural field less than 2 years
Length
- Internships are 12 weeks
- Fall and spring internships are 20-24 hours per week
- Summer internships are 35-40 hours per week
