Internships

Local Museum Internships

The location of the University between Washington and Baltimore gives students the opportunity to use some of the finest museums and archival collections in the world for their coursework, independent research and internships. Students are encouraged to supplement their art historical and archaeological studies by applying to internships at local museums and galleries. Downloadable PDF (Local Museum Internship Info)

* Museum internships usually require two or three letters of recommendation from your professors and supervisors. If you are requesting letters of recommendations, it is proper protocol to give recommenders at least 2 weeks notice (preferably 1 month) before the deadline. For more information on requesting letters of recommendation, go to http://arthistory.umd.edu/letters-recommendation

ARTH 386: Experiential Learning

Update (January 2018): The Department is currently revising its guidelines to ARTH 386.  In future semesters, this course will follow the structure of ARHU 386.  Please note, in the meantime, the following modifications that are already in effect.  

1. ARTH 386 will be offered in Summer 2018 and open to all students (not only to majors).  Students interested in enrolling in the Summer section are asked to reach out to Professor Abigail McEwen (mcewen@umd.edu).  Summer internships will be managed through ELMS and may take place in students’ home towns (they are not restricted to the Washington/Baltimore corridor).

2. As with ARHU 386, students may take paid internships for academic credit.  Note that there are small stipends available from the College for students who take unpaid internships in both the regular and summer terms.

3. The Department is pleased to support internships in diverse areas of art historical and museological work, including but limited to curating, conservation, appraisal, education, communications, and development.  All students who obtain an approved internship in the field will be able to enroll in ARTH 386 if desired (no students will be turned away); an appropriate faculty advisor will be selected in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Below are requirements in effect up until January 2018: Please note that you may choose this format for your internship

Art History majors who are thinking about applying for a fall or spring museum internship or have been awarded a fall or spring internship may receive academic credit via ARTH 386: Experiential Learning (n.b. Paid internships may not earn academic credit through ARTH386). ARTH 386 may count as one of the seven 300/400-level ARTH course required for completion of the ARTH major. Summer internships cannot be used towards ARTH 386, as faculty members are not able to sponsor students during the summer.

Prerequisites: permission of department and 60 semester hours completed (Junior standing or higher).

In order to receive course credit via ARTH386, your museum internship must roughly coincide with the fall or spring semester. Before you can officially register for ARTH 386 you must:

 1.  Have an ARTH faculty who will be your academic advisor. Even if you have not yet been accepted for the internship, you are advised to seek a faculty advisor in advance.  Your faculty advisor’s areas of specialization should coincide with the work you would likely be doing during the internship. Ideally, these should be faculty members with whom you have studied before. The faculty supervisor must be a regular member of the ARTH department faculty. Adjunct faculty members do not supervise internships.

 2.  Upon receiving and accepting your museum internship offer: Work out with your on-site internship supervisor exactly what you will be doing during your internship.

 3.  Work out with your faculty supervisor exactly what you will be expected to do for course credit, in addition to the requirements of the internship itself. Bear in mind that an internship normally carries 3 credits, and so should involve the amount of work you would normally do for any 3-credit course. Since internships are tailored to each individual’s academic needs and interests, requirements will vary; but the following should be expected:

     a.  You will normally meet with your faculty supervisor approximately every two weeks.
     b.  You are required to submit to your faculty supervisor copies of any written work produced in the course of the internship.  If you intern in a gallery, for example, you must submit any exhibition labels that you write (the versions before editing, if any, by your site supervisor).
     c.  A written research project (10 pages or more) is normally required and submitted to your faculty advisor at the end of the semester. This may be an extensioof research done for your site supervisor. It should be written in normal art historical/archaeological form, with full documentation (notes and bibliography).
     d.  A written summary of work completed during the internship is normally required.
 

4.  Enter, sign and submit the ARTH 386 Internship Contract Form to your faculty advisor (downloadable ARTH 386 Contract). Make sure you read the contract carefully, as it outlines your obligations. The contract and other relevant information must be entered and signed by your museum coordinator/advisor, your faculty advisor, and yourself.

 5.  Once the contract is signed and submitted to your faculty advisor, have your faculty advisor contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the undergraduate advisor, notifying that the contract has been signed and that you are ready to register for ARTH 386. The UG advisor will then remove the block, allowing you to register for ARTH 386 through Testudo. Registration for ARTH 386 must be completed during the regular registration period.

 6.  After completion of the internship, your site supervisor should submit a brief report to your faculty supervisor. The faculty supervisor will submit a grade for  you, based on that report and on the work outlined in your contract agreement.

REMINDER: If you are thinking about applying your museum internship towards ARTH386, talk to your professor as soon as possible to see whether s/he will agree to be your faculty advisor if you receive the internship. Do not wait until the beginning of the semester to ask your professor. Supervising internships take time and effort out of the schedules of faculty members and you will have difficulties securing an advisor if you wait until the last minute.