Below is a list of all internship opportunities at the Smithsonian. Please use the search box to search for internships by keyword or topic. Use the drop-down menu to see opportunities for individual units or museums.
Central Smithsonian Wide Internships
Katzenberger Foundation Art History Internship
2023 Timeline
Application opens: January 9
Deadline for applications: March 6
Benjamin Lawless Internship
Deadline for applications: March 24
Award notification: April 21
Conservation Internship for Broadening Access (CIBA)
2023 Timeline
Application opens: January 4
Application deadline: March 15 at 11:59PM ET
Robert P. Kogod Arts Internship
2023 Timeline
Application opens January 4
Deadline for applications March 15 at 11:59PM ET
The Shirley Ann Jackson Science Internship
2023 Timeline
Application opens January 4
Deadline for applications March 15 at 11:59PM ET
Archives of American Art
Internships at the Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art offers internships year-round to students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs who wish to learn and gain professional experience in various fields including archival science, information management, museum studies, art administration, art history, and cultural studies.
Asian Pacific American Center
Internships at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) believes that a great 21st-century museum is more than a building. We must engage communities in surprising and innovative ways, transcending boundaries and barriers. We are a migratory museum that brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences online and throughout the United States.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Advanced Program Internships with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
This summer (2023) we are offering paid internships to students or recent graduates with connections or interest in the following categories:
Women in Foodways and Plant Knowledge
U.S. Pacific Islander Expressive Culture
U.S. Latinx Expressive Culture
Internships at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Every year, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage involves over a hundred interns in our various activities. We offer internships year-round in various fields, including folklore, cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, linguistics, museum studies, arts administration, graphic and web design, videography, marketing, social media, and library science. Internships can take place remotely or in Washington, D.C.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Peter A. Krueger Internships at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
The Peter A. Krueger Summer Internship Program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to gain professional skills and learn about museum practices at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the United States that is exclusively devoted to historic and contemporary design. Interns will acquire in-depth knowledge and develop an enriched understanding of how the museum fulfills its mission to educate, inspire, and empower people through design.
Museum Conservation Institute
Together We Thrive MCI Summer 2023 Internship
The Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) is a center for specialized technical collection research and conservation care for all Smithsonian museums and collections. MCI combines knowledge of materials and the history of technology to provide technical research studies and interpretation of artistic, anthropological, biological, and historical objects. We are the only Smithsonian resource for technical studies and scientific analyses for most of the Smithsonian’s collections, offering unique analytical capabilities to Smithsonian researchers.
National Air and Space Museum
Teacher Professional Development Programs
The intern will assist with the creation of teacher resources for TII and local educators, including integrating authentic data and technology into their classrooms. The intern will help review and log applications for TII 2023 and assist with planning of the 2023 institute. The intern will assist with a plan for 2023-2024 professional development.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Robert Frederick Smith Internships
The Robert Frederick Smith Internship Program seeks to reverse the trend of underrepresentation of African Americans and other minorities in museum professions through well-paid internships at NMAAHC as well as at select cultural institutions across the country. Now accepting applications for Summer 2023 opportunities.
Social Justice Oral History Conversations Internship
Social Justice Oral History Conversations Internship
Part-Time Hybrid Internship (less than 20 hours per week)
Time period: March 20-October 2023
Stipend: $5,000
Summer 2023 Internships at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Internships at the National Museum of African American History and Culture offer undergraduate and graduate students, and recent graduates opportunities to work closely with professionals and scholars in the museum field. The museum provides a dynamic learning environment and access to supportive mentors that help interns reach their educational and professional goals. Interns can gain practical museum skills and program development experience in a variety of positions! Summer 2023 opportunities include:
National Museum of American History
Internships at the National Museum of American History
Are you interested in US history? Do you want to learn more about the inner workings of history museums--either as an introduction or a deeper dive into an aspect of the museum field? The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) offers internships to folks who are excited to engage in professional learning experiences!
Lemelson Center Archival Internship
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, 10 week, archival internship opportunity for one graduate student each summer. The internship stipend is $7,000. 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
National Museum of Asian Art (Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery)
Cheng-Harrell Graduate Internship
Cheng-Harrell Graduate Internship
Paid, Part-time (20 hrs/week)
Academic Year 2023-24: September 5 – December 15, 2023 (Fall semester) and January 22 – May 3, 2024 (Spring semester)
Application deadline: March 20, 2023
Summer Undergraduate Internship at the National Museum of Asian Art
Summer Undergraduate Internship at the National Museum of Asian Art
Paid, Full-time (40 hrs/week)
June 19 – August 11, 2023
Application deadline: February 22, 2023
National Museum of Natural History
Arctic Studies Center Annual Newsletter
LOCATION: Virtual
DEPARTMENT: Anthropology
Invertebrate Zoology Collections and Research Material Management
The Invertebrate Zoology Department at the National Museum of Natural History has over 50 million specimens, many of them requiring frequent curatorial updates. Interns will assist in topping off fluid-preserved specimens, replacing outdated archival jars, stabilizing large batches of new incoming material, and much more. This internship program will provide students with the opportunity to get plenty of hands-on experience with research specimens and gain insight into how research specimens are stored and cared for.
Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE)
Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE) is a 10-week summer internship program hosted at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. NHRE interns work closely with scientific mentors to complete independent research projects in Earth Science, Biology, and Anthropology.
The internship is full time, 40 hours per week.
Previous research experience is not required, and we encourage applications from minorities and members of other groups underrepresented in the sciences.
Science Writing Internship
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History seeks a science writing intern interested in gaining
experience in an active communications and public affairs office. This is an excellent opportunity to expand your
professional portfolio and learn how to present science and natural history stories to the public in relevant and
engaging ways.
Due to COVID-19, this internship may be virtual. The intern will primarily produce content on a variety of scientific
topics for the museum’s blog, Smithsonian Voices.
National Museum of the American Indian
Conservation Internship at the National Museum of the American Indian
This nine-month internship is designed for aspiring conservators and those in allied fields interested in expanding their conservation experience. Interns perform supervised condition examinations, treatment proposals and reports, photo documentation, carry out supervised treatments, and gain collections stewardship experience. An understanding of Native American cultural heritage and relevant approaches to collections stewardship, conservation, and mountmaking are developed during the nine-month tenure. The internship is a full- time position at 40 hours per week.
Internships at the National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) offers internships during the Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer terms at the museum in Washington, D.C.; at the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, MD; and at the museum (George Gustav Heye Center) in New York City. The NMAI internship program provides educational opportunities focusing on cultural transmission; professional development; meaningful departmental projects; and networking with museum professionals.
National Museum of the American Latino
Latino Museum Studies Program Undergraduate Internship
The Latino Museum Studies Program (LMSP) Undergraduate Internship is a museum career pathway program designed to increase hands-on training opportunities for Latina, Latino, and Latinx-identifying undergraduate students interested in art museum careers. The program focuses in non-curatorial museum roles including the areas of conservation, museum education, interpretation, digital culture, collections management, and exhibition design, fabrication and production.
Young Ambassadors Program
The Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a national college preparatory and leadership program for graduating high school seniors that fosters the next generation of community-conscious Latino leaders in the arts, sciences, and humanities via the Smithsonian Institution and its resources. Selected applicants will participate in a weeklong pre-professional and pre-collegiate seminar in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian focusing on Latino perspectives with peers from all over the nation.
National Portrait Gallery
Internships at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Are you seeking a creative and exciting museum internship? The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery offers formal internships to qualified applicants. A Smithsonian internship is a prearranged, structured learning experience that takes place during the fall, spring, or summer semester. The experience should be relevant both to the intern's academic and professional goals and to the professional disciplines represented at the Portrait Gallery.
National Zoo
Internships at the National Zoo
The National Zoo offers a variety of internship opportunities from animal care, veterinary medicine, IT, communications, animal enrichment, animal behavior, conservation, GIS One Health, nutrition, genetics, and more. We have opportunities at the Zoo in Washington, DC and our Conservation Biology Center in Front Royal, Virginia as well as Hawaii.
Office of Advancement
Office of Advancement Internship Program
The Office of Advancement is pleased to offer internship opportunities for candidates interested in fundraising and development-oriented careers. Through these internships the Office of Advancement seeks to: - Provide interns with meaningful professional learning experiences. - Ensure interns supportive opportunities for growth and inclusive access to the advancement field through mentorship.
Office of Educational Technology
Michelle Knovic Smith Education Technology Internship
Michelle Knovic Smith (1950–2021), as an educator, mentor, and leader, in her more than three decades at the Smithsonian, pioneered innovative and effective approaches to the Smithsonian's mission of the “diffusion of knowledge.” First, as Publication’s Director for the Institution’s teacher magazines, Art to Zoo and Smithsonian in Your Classroom, Michelle developed publications and distribution strategies that reached every school in the country.
Office of General Counsel
Smithsonian Office of General Counsel Internship
Legal interns in the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) work closely with attorneys whose work covers such diverse topics as tax, employment discrimination, ethics, imports/exports, federal appropriations, intellectual property, and environmental law. Interns will gain exposure to the Office's diverse law practice through litigation and transactional work, client counseling, case law research, preparing legal memoranda, reviewing agreements, surveying state law, and researching legislative history.
Office of Government Relations
A History of Women in the United States Congress
A History of Women in the United States Congress is an 8-week summer internship program hosted at the Smithsonian Office of Government Relations in Washington DC. Funded by the American Women’s History Initiative Collaboration and Community Fund, this internship is open to non-senior undergraduates, who have a strong interest in women’s history, politics and who have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Office of International Relations
Office of International Relations Internship
As the world’s largest museum, research, and education complex, delivering on the mission of the Smithsonian Institution is a truly global effort. Not only does the Smithsonian’s nearly-universal scope of study extend beyond the borders of the United States, but its community of experts, educators, and researchers comprises both U.S. and international team members working in tandem to further the Institution’s mission of the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
Office of Investments
Smithsonian Office of Investments
The 2022 Office of Investments Internship Program will be 6-weeks, full-time, and will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person based at our Washington, DC office. Due to Covid restrictions and the uncertainty of staff returning to on-site employment, the final determination of in office will be determined nearer the date; however, the Smithsonian follows the federal guidelines and may require staff and interns to show proof of vaccination.
Office of Protection Services
Internal Communications Internship for the Office of Protection Services
Background
Office of Public Affairs
Public Affairs Internship
This internship is in the Smithsonian’s central Office of Public Affairs. It provides hands-on experience in area of public relations. Regular responsibilities include conducting research, creative and strategic planning for communications plans and media relations.
Office of Safety, Health & Environmental Management, Fire Protection Division
Fire Protection Engineering Internship at the Smithsonian Institution
The primary purpose of the Fire Protection Division (FPD) internship is to provide a practical learning experience in the areas of life safety and fire protection engineering. Interested students should be enrolled in an engineering related major, from an accredited college or university, and willing to learn how to conduct facility assessments, perform design reviews, and provide construction oversight for fire protection and life safety systems.
Office of Sponsored Projects
Administrative and Financial Internships on Grants and Contract Management
Interns with the Office of Sponsored Projects are unpaid internships. Interns participate in projects that directly or indirectly help Smithsonian research, curatorial, and educational staffs prepare proposals and administer grants and contracts. Emphasis is placed on developing special short and long-term projects that will be beneficial and of mutual interest to both the office and the intern.
Office of the Chief Information Officer
OCIO’s Digitization Program Office Internship Program
The Digitization Program Office (DPO) is a branch of the Smithsonian’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. DPO is tasked with increasing the quality, quantity and impact of Smithsonian digitized collections. With 155 million objects and specimens, 156 thousand cubic feet of archival materials, and 2 million library volumes (which are housed in 41 facilities, 19 museums and 9 research centers), the scale and diversity of Smithsonian collections presents a unique digitization challenge.
The Office of the Chief Information Officer Internship Program
The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) provides the Smithsonian’s central computing and telecommunications services; provides leadership in information technology throughout the Institution in support of systems planning and development, communications, and computer-related training; and provides policy and guidance to ensure the integrity and security of Institutional automated data.
Office of the Under Secretary for Education
The Claudine K. Brown Internship in Education
The Claudine K. Brown Internship in Education is funded through an endowed fund in memory of Claudine K. Brown, an educator and influential leader of the Smithsonian. Awardees of the Brown Internship are appointed based on a demonstrated interest in the field of education and museum leadership. Internships are available for college students, including under-served youth. This is a remote/virtual internship.
Smithsonian Affiliations
Leadership for Change Internship
The Smithsonian and its Smithsonian Affiliates, in collaboration with the Emerson Collective and the George Washington University, will offer the Leadership for Change Internship to rising college sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are committed to helping communities, are passionate about social justice, and are driven to accelerate positive impact in our world.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Internships at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum has two internship programs: 1.) The Advanced Level Program: a two-semester (fall/spring) museum operations program for graduate students, exceptional college seniors and individuals with a four-year college degree, with previous museum or art institution experience. All participants receive stipends.
Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
Because of Her Story Cohort Internship Program
As part of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI), the Smithsonian will host a cohort of up to 15 Because of Her Story (BOHS) undergraduate or recently graduated interns June 12--August 4, 2023. Through a variety of experiential learning opportunities, including a hands-on internship at a designated Smithsonian unit, and a curriculum of structured cohort activities, BOHS interns will develop familiarity and experience with museums and research units and American women’s history.
Smithsonian Associates
Social Media Internship at Smithsonian Associates
Interns with Smithsonian Associates are offered unique opportunities to learn about all aspects of educational programming for both adults and children, while contributing extensively to one of the world's great cultural institutions. Intern projects are designed to benefit both the Institution and complement the intern's own interests, skills, and experience.
Special Events and Adult Education Programming Internship at Smithsonian Associates
Interns with Smithsonian Associates are offered unique opportunities to learn about all aspects of educational programming for both adults and children, while contributing extensively to one of the world's great cultural institutions. Intern projects are designed to benefit both the Institution and complement the intern's own interests, skills, and experience.
Intern Duties: Promotional and programmatic support for the large scale public events, with a special focus on after-hours, Smithsonian-wide programs for young professionals.
Youth and Family Programs Summer Internship at Smithsonian Associates
Interns with Smithsonian Associates are offered unique opportunities to learn about all aspects of educational programming for both adults and children, while contributing extensively to one of the world's great cultural institutions. Intern projects are designed to benefit both the Institution and complement the intern's own interests, skills, and experience.
This internship offers the unique opportunity to immerse in all the Summer children’s’ program offered by Associates. Looking for a team of interns both on in person and virtual. Duties will vary based on location.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Climate Change Summer Internships at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland offers undergraduate and beginning graduate students a unique opportunity to gain hand-on experience in the fields of environmental research and education. The program enables students to work on specific projects while getting experience in valuable lab techniques all under the direction of the Center’s professional staff. The program is tailored to provide the maximum educational benefit to each participant.
Internship Opportunities at SERC
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland offers undergraduate and beginning graduate students a unique opportunity to gain hand-on experience in the fields of environmental research and education. The program enables students to work on specific projects while getting experience in valuable lab techniques all under the direction of the Center’s professional staff. The program is tailored to provide the maximum educational benefit to each participant.
REU Summer Internships at SERC
We are excited to invite applications from undergraduate students to participate in a National Science Foundation supported summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program focused on global change ecology. These internships are available as remote or in-person opportunities at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center located in Edgewater, MD (10 miles south of Annapolis).
Smithsonian Gardens
Internship with Smithsonian Gardens
Smithsonian Gardens (SG) provides an array of learning experiences through its internship program thanks to the wide diversity of services and programs it offers at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. Interns will learn skills in a broad range of horticultural endeavors from professional staff that can provide a strong practical background to emerging professionals wanting to enter the public gardening world.
The following intern programs are operating onsite, and hybrid format that are accepting applications for Summer 2023:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
Education Internship
For Summer 2023, the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Education department is seeking an intern to help relaunch and expand our resource-lending kit, Traveling Trunks. These tactile multimedia kits are packed full of resources from across the Smithsonian Institution and deliver immersive educational experiences for a middle school audience. Through touch, tech, sight, and sound, Traveling Trunks creates a screen-free sensory rich environment.
Internships at Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives welcomes current or recent undergraduate and graduate students who wish to gain experience in archives, museum libraries, or related fields. Internships are typically eight weeks in length, often hosted during the summer. Part-time options, practicums and for-credit internships may be available. Opportunities vary and are based on available programs and projects.
Professional Development Internship
This long-standing internship program offers a unique opportunity for aspiring librarians and archivists to work alongside Smithsonian Libraries and Archives staff. Interns in this program acquire crucial skills, knowledge, and experience to prepare them for their future careers. This program is geared towards graduate students in a Master of Information Science program or similar.
Summer Scholars Internship
The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives provides students in library, archival, information science, and related disciplines a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with expert libraries and Archives staff to acquire the latest skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience needed for today’s information and cultural heritage workplace. Through this program, we aim to help diversify the library, archive, and museum fields by providing guided learning opportunities to students and other qualified candidates from varied economic, cultural, social, and educational backgrounds.
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Communications & Marketing Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Project Description: Intern will work with Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Communications & Marketing Team to assist in the development of SSEC communications and marketing materials and assist in communications dissemination, strategy, and asset management. Interns will learn the inner workings of a daily communications team and how to apply developed marketing materials to enhance the SSEC brand. Learning objectives include:
Global Goals Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division, Smithsonian Science Education Center
lobal Goals Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division
Research Assistant Intern - Professional Services Division, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Project Description: Intern will work with the Professional Services team of the Smithsonian Science Education Center to support the evaluation of two DEAI projects: STEM Diversity and Zero Barriers in STEM Education. Learning objectives include:
Smithsonian Science for the Classroom Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Project Description: Intern will work with Smithsonian Science Education Center curriculum developers to assist in the revision of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom modules. Interns will learn how to apply knowledge of science content, research, and pedagogy to assist in developing high-quality resources for teaching and learning. Learning objectives include:
• Assisting in the revision of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom modules. This task may include writing, editing, and proofreading as part of a team of writers, editors, education specialists, and scientists.
STEM4SD Intern - Professional Services Division, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Project Description: Intern will work with educators, researchers, staff, SSEC partners, and experts in the field of STEM Education for Sustainable Development (STEM4SD) to support the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project and the Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST). Learning objectives include:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
STRI Internship Program
Competitive program funded by the Smithsonian and generous donors open to all nationalities.
The purpose of the STRI General Internship Program is to provide a place for internship applicants who are generally interested in STRI’s science to pursue a research experience with one of our scientific mentors based on their interests. Interns are selected based on merit and potential for achievement.
STRI-SENACYT Internship Program
Panama’s science and technology secretariat (SENACYT) provides internships to Panamanian students at local universities (undergraduates, recent graduates, and Master's students) so they can work alongside STRI scientists.
This program is designed to enhance intellectual development and give students real world experience working alongside professionals here at STRI.