Art History

Updated 1/23/2024 by S. Smutny

Historic Deerfield

Now Accepting Applications for 2024 Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program in Early American History and Material Culture

DEADLINE: February 5, 2024

Tuition-free program gives college students the opportunity to explore history and material culture studies, conduct original research, and experience working at a museum.

Historic Deerfield, Inc., invites applications from college juniors and seniors to take part in an intensive, nine-week Summer Fellowship Program in History and Material Culture. College juniors (graduating in 2025), and seniors who expect to graduate in 2024 are eligible for 7 openings in the program, which is designed for undergraduate students in African American Studies, American Studies, Architecture, Archaeology, Art and Art History, Design, Historic Preservation, History, Material Culture, Native American Studies, and Museum Studies. The program is immersive and academically rigorous (fellows will be engaged most nights and weekends), fun (fellows get to know cohort members from around the country and travel to regional museums and historic sites), and skill-building (fellows gain practical experience with guiding, interpretation of material culture, research, writing, and the formal presentation of research findings).

This unique residential living-and-learning opportunity takes place at Historic Deerfield, in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Each participant receives a full fellowship that covers all expenses associated with the program, including tuition, room and board, and field trips. A limited number of stipends are awarded to students with demonstrated need to help cover lost summer income. Financial aid awards are need blind and application for assistance has no impact on the program application.

The 2024 program begins June 3 and ends August 5. Applications are now being accepted online at historic-deerfield.org/sfp. The application deadline is February 5, 2024. Notification of acceptances will be announced in March.

For More Information

Contact: Dr. Erika Gasser, Director of Academic Programs
Phone: (413) 775-7207
Email: egasser@historic-deerfield.org
Website: historic-deerfield.org/sfp

Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA

Contact: Erika Piola at epiola@librarycompany.org

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024.

Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Graphic Arts Department Summer Internship

The Library Company of Philadelphia seeks undergraduate or graduate student candidates to assist in the processing of the William T. McAllister Collection of Graphic Materials. The Library Company is an independent research library concentrating on American society and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Free and open to the public, the Library Company houses an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art. Our mission is to foster scholarship in and increase public understanding of American history before 1900 by preserving and interpreting the valuable materials in our care.

The Graphic Arts Department intern will work with the William T. McAllister Collection of Graphic Materials, a family archive containing over 200 items dated between the 1850s and early 1900s collected by a Philadelphia family that was at the center of early photography through their nationally known business as manufacturers and retailers of optical equipment, mathematical instruments, and commercial photographs. The collection of scrapbooks, albums, loose ephemera, photographs, and glass negatives includes McAllister family photographs, views of Philadelphia and Philadelphia suburbs, and family collectibles such as a sketchbook, St. Andrew’s Society certificate (society believed to be the oldest charitable membership organization in continuous existence in North America), and albums with cartes de visite depicting "celebrities" and popular art reproductions. The intern will further inventory, describe, arrange, accession, and house the collection, including the careful handling of glass negatives.

Other curatorial projects, time permitting, will include the inventory of a scrapbook that contains hundreds of later 19th-century Philadelphia-related trade cards and complementary commercial ephemera. The intern will also describe their work and progress through blog posts and other social media platforms used by the Library Company. The intern will be provided with an excellent introduction to curatorial work at a special collections institution with a long and continual history of collecting, preserving, and providing access to rare materials. Desired skills include attention to detail, conscientious handling of fragile materials, and responsiveness to feedback. The intern will be supervised by Curator of Graphic Arts and Director of the Visual Culture Program Erika Piola.

A stipend of $5000 is available for an 8-10 week period, 4-5 days per week on-site, between May and August 2024.

Please email your letter of interest with availability and resume to Erika Piola at epiola@librarycompany.org.

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024.

This internship has been made possible through the support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

For all Smithsonian Internship Opportunities Create an account at solaa.si.edu and apply online

Katzenberger Foundation Art History Internship
2024 Timeline

Application opens: January 4, 2024
Deadline for applications: March 15 at 11:59PM (ET)
Award notification: April 15
Number of Weeks: 10 weeks
Start Date: June 10, 2024
End Date: August 15, 2024

This is a cohort internship so all interns should be able to start and end on these dates and be actively engaged in the internship at least 36 hours/week

Stipend: $5,000 ($500/week)

Background & Purpose

The Katzenberger Foundation Art History Internship Program is a need-based program supporting internships for undergraduates in research and collections projects at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The program is generously funded by the Katzenberger Foundation and administered by the Office Academic Appointments and Internships. 6 internships are offered each summer and are all located in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian’s art museums and archives.

Eligibility

• U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status.
• Must be formally enrolled in an undergraduate program of study with academic standing as a junior or senior, or have completed their degree within the past six months.
• Must be declared as an art history major, concentration, or related discipline.
• Students are generally expected to have an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 or its equivalent.
• Qualify for financial need. The aim of this program is to provide an opportunity for high achieving students with financial challenges to participate in a significant internship experience. Applicants must be eligible to receive federal student aid (i.e. Pell Grant, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, etc.).

How to Apply

Use the SOLAA System to Apply Online: https://solaa.si.edu (link is external)

• Register for SOLAA
• Select “Internship”
• Select “Office of Academic Appointments and Internships”
• Select “Smithsonian Katzenberger Art History Internship Program”
• Apply for the year you want to intern

Files you will need to upload

Essay

Please address the following:

1. Your past and present academic history and other experiences which you feel have prepared you for an internship
2. What you hope to learn  through an internship, and how it would relate to your academic and career goals
3. What about the Smithsonian in particular interests you and leads you to apply for an internship – particularly the project you have chosen

Transcripts

(or other materials when transcripts are not issued) from all appropriate institutions are required. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. If transcripts or other materials are not in English the applicant should provide translations.

Resume

References

• Names and email addresses of two academic references
• All reference letters are considered confidential unless confidentiality has been waived by the reference
• Through SOLAA you will send an email to these referees so they can provide references through the web
• Have the reference submit in sufficient time to meet the application deadline

Selection Criteria

• Substantial course work in Art History or related museum disciplines.
• Demonstrated interest or experiences in museums, galleries, libraries, or archives.
• Demonstrated research and writing skills, attention to detail, and knowledge of computer programs.
• The relevance of an internship at the Smithsonian to the student’s academic and career goals will be an important part of the evaluation of an applicant.
• Applicants should note that it is not possible for the Office of Fellowships and Internships to arrange an internship project or award a stipend to all qualified candidates.
• The Smithsonian does not discriminate on grounds of race, creed, sex, age, marital status, condition of handicap, or national origin of any applicant.

The Smithsonian is committed to ensuring that all employees and affiliated persons (including interns) are treated equitably in an environment that is free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, gender stereotyping, pregnancy, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, parental status or marital status. All personnel practices, including the selection of interns, must comply with this policy.

Contact Information

Please send questions about this program Smithsonian Office of Academic Appointments and Internships: InternshipsSI@si.edu