The History Internship (HIST 1900) provides a select number of history majors with the opportunity to enroll for university credits in history by combining academic training and practical work experience in museums and institutions outside the university. Working for a minimum of 10 hours per week, students will be required to arrange, with the help of the history department advisor, to have a history faculty sponsor and external onsite supervisor. It is a S/N course, and assessment will be based on both academic and professional criteria.
By exposure to and work in museums, archives, or historical sites, students get the chance to develop the professional skills of a historian and explore careers. Internships allow history majors to work in areas of archival management, helping to organize, process, and describe historical artifacts and documents. Also, students can serve as researchers, helping to authenticate materials or creating programmatic research such as brochures and museum exhibits. Previously, interns have worked in a variety of areas, including conducting oral history interviews of Italian American immigrants of Pittsburgh, designing exhibits of material culture of the 1950s, developing children's educational programs, and publishing articles in professional history journals.
Students must have a minimum of 36 credits and a QPA of 3.0 to be considered for a history internship. The first step is to see the undergraduate advisor in the History Department to discuss their possibilities. Interested students must plan ahead as internships are competitive and the process must begin at least a month ahead of registration for the following term. Internships are available for fall and spring terms only.
Requirements
- Internship contract (available from advisor)
- A commitment of a minimum of 10 hours per week at the site of work
- Regular meetings with your supervisor in the Department of History
- A professional journal documenting your academic and professional experience submitted by the student upon completion (see Guidelines here)