Friday, November 19, 2010

Internship - Smithsonian

Internships at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, offers a full time, ten week, archival internship opportunity for graduate students each summer. The internship stipend is $5,000. Housing, benefits and transportation are not provided.

The internship will:

Enable new professionals to understand, identify, and manage the historical records of American invention and innovation;

Expose interns to the Museum's rich historical collections in the history of technology and twentieth century material culture;

Provide hands-on experience with archival collections that document invention and innovation;

Create finding aids to collections documenting invention and innovation;

Engage interns in discussion of archival issues and practices and provide a wide range of professional experiences within the Museum.

Internships are located in the Museum's Archives Center, a manuscripts and special collections repository with more than 20,000 feet of holdings in a wide range of subject areas and a full time staff of nine. Interns must be enrolled in a graduate degree program and have completed graduate course work in archival, library, or information management, and/or graduate course work in American history, American Studies, Museum Studies, Public History, or another area that relates to the history of invention and innovation in American society. Recent graduates may also apply.

Applicants must apply through the Smithsonian online application system.

Complete applications must include the following:

* Internship Program application form
* Undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)
* Cover letter
* Essay
* Two letters of reference

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the FAQ when completing this application.

The application process for the 2010 Lemelson Center Archival Internship Program is closed. All applicant packages have been reviewed and one strong candidate was selected. Competition for the program was rigorous.

All materials must be submitted to the online application system by 14 February 2011 for consideration. Offers will be made by 4 April 2011. Internships begin on or after 6 June 2011.

For further information, consult the FAQ or contact:
Alison L. Oswald, Archivist
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution
Archives Center, Room 1100, MRC 601
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Phone (202) 633-3726
Fax (202) 786-2453
Email oswalda@si.edu