Students in the Museum Studies master’s degree program are required to complete an internship of 500 hours of professional-level work. The internship gives the student valuable training in the field and a chance to work closely with professional museum staff on meaningful projects in order to prepare students for careers as museum professionals. The internship should be "project-driven" and should focus on museum projects that are relevant to one or two areas of the student's interests. Internships should be mutually beneficial to both the student and the participating institution. The primary goal, however, is to offer high-quality educational and practical experience to the student.

Students should discuss possible internships with their track advisors and the Museum Studies director. Students may apply for internships at local, regional, national, or international museums. Information on internship opportunities is regularly circulated to students via the Museum Studies list serv. The internship experience is a critical component of the student’s total program and should be incorporated into the student’s definition of program concentration.

Requirements

1. Students must complete six credit hours of internship for a total of 500 working hours in an approved institution.
2. A student intern must be enrolled in MUSE 799, AMS 799, BIOL 799, GEOL 723, or HIST 799. 
3. Students may intern full time for one semester, half time for two semesters, or in some longer arrangement, in an approved institution. 
4. Internships may be paid or voluntary and usually take place during the student’s third or fourth semester in the Museum Studies program. 
5. Documentation.
   • Information Form: An internship information form must be completed and submitted to the institution where the internship will take place before internship begins.
   • Daily Log: The student must negotiate with an on-site internship supervisor the actual work activities to be performed at the internship site.  During the internship it is the student's responsibility to record working hours and activities in the daily log.
   • Journal:  The intern must keep a journal that describes the intern's museum experience. There is no predefined format for the journal. It may be kept in a notebook, in a blank book, or electronically.
   • Evaluation Forms: At the end of the internship, the student must submit an evaluation of the internship institution to the Museum Studies director. In addition, the student’s on-site supervisor will submit an evaluation of the student’s performance to the Museum Studies director. 
   • Paper: Students are required to write a paper describing and critically analyzing their internship experience. The paper will be evaluated by the student's Academic Specialty Track advisor and by the Museum Studies director.
     

 

Forms
Internship information form
Daily log
Evaluation - student use
Evaluation - museum use (hard copy)
Evaluation - museum use (electronic form)