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.

Application deadline: February 24, 2024

Cheng-Harrell Graduate Internship
Paid, Part-time (20 hrs/week)
Academic Year 2024-25: September 9 – December 20, 2024 (Fall semester) and January 20 – May 2, 2025 (Spring semester)

Application deadline: February 16, 2024

Summer Undergraduate Internship at the National Museum of Asian Art
Paid, Full-time (40 hrs/week)
June 17 – August 9, 2024

The Leadership for Change internship recruits young people who are motivated to support their communities and advance social justice. The eight-week, paid program provides interns with meaningful and enriching experiences and programming to strengthen their understanding of and commitment to social justice and leadership, in addition to hands-on learning experiences in their local communities. Interns will become museum advocates and explore new ways to bring museum content, resources, and expertise to communities near and far.  

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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 American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences online and throughout the United States.

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.