Student Internships
Rory Olsen
Intern, Cache County Recorder's Office
Landon Wilkey
Intern, Hill Aerospace Museum
It's up to students to make the initial contact with a potential employer, work out a viable work-for-credit program, and complete the contract form. Only after the Department of History has formally approved the student request form will they be signed into an internship course.
While many students take internships in the greater Salt Lake City Area, we encourage students to take every opportunity available and use the summer semester as an opportunity to seek more competitive and out-of-state internships.
Please remember that competitive internships will have applications that will be due some 6 months in advance. Below you’ll find a number of resources to help assist in your search for an internship.
Before Your Search
Set up a meeting with the internship coordinator to discuss your interest in completing an internship.
History Internship Coordinator
Lecturer, Internship Coordinator History
Rebecca Andersen
Before Your Internship
Once you've found an internship, applied, and your application has been accepted, you'll need to meet with your site mentor to make an official one-page proposal that outlines your duties. This proposal should include the name and contact information of the site mentor, a detailed description of the student's tasks and responsibilities, and the expectations of the site mentor. Your site mentor must mail or email this to your internship coordinator. You will also need to turn in a copy of this one-page proposal, along with your internship contract. Once the internship coordinator has your contract, proposal and the letter from your site mentor, you can register for internship credits.
Databases
Local and national databases can be a great place to begin your search. We've collected some of our favorites below.
AGGIE Handshake is the USU Career Services online portal where students can view and apply for jobs and internships based on individual interests.
Ancestry has nationwide internships and paid positions in multiple departments in locations around the country.
National Council on Public History (NCPH) has a searchable database for paid internships, as well as part-time and temporary jobs. You can search by field, type of position, and location.
National Park Service (NPS) offers both summer and year-round internships in a variety of areas, including historic preservation, cultural resource management, education, and public programs.
Local Museums and Historical Sites
Students might also choose to focus their search on the many museums and historical societies in the Cache Valley area.
American West Heritage Center is seeking students interested in the historical period of 1820 to 1920. Students may be working outside and interacting with the public, and they must be open to working on Baby Animal Days, the busiest time of the year for AWHC. The internship is unpaid but may lead to paid employment.
There are many opportunities for a student to pursue their interest related to the BRHA, including research on historic building, local businesses, arts and crafts, agriculture, and the natural environment. Students have the opportunity to learn and conduct oral histories. To inquire about internships please email Lisa Duskin-Goede at lisad@brag.utah.gov.
Internships at BRLC are custom built to fit the needs of each student intern. Site supervisors will shape the internship experience to match student interest and career goals.
Internships are available for current undergraduate or graduate students, as well as recent graduates. Although internships are unpaid, intern hours and schedules are flexible to meet the needs of students and academic credit requirements. Interns are expected to work at least 4 hours per week for a minimum of ten weeks. Interns will have the opportunity to learn about a variety of museum duties and may have the opportunity to focus on a project of particular interest. For application details, please contact Kaia Landon at kaia@boxeldermuseum.org.
The museum offers both a fellowship for graduate students and an internship for undergraduates. Graduate student fellows commit to 600 hours of work over a calendar year, and the undergraduate internship is a 200 hour commitment and includes a $1,500 scholarship. There are three major programs in which students can intern: curation (collections management, moving artifacts, exhibit development, digitization), education (delivering content to school groups, developing curriculum), and restoration. Interested students should contact Justin Hall at justin.hall.37@us.af.mil.
The museum is seeking a highly motivated undergraduate and graduate student in History or Religious Studies. Applicant must be willing to work at the museum and during its open hours. Students can choose from a variety of projects, including creating school tours, contributing to exhibits by conducting oral histories, and processing archival collections. Students with interest in any aspects of Museum Studies are encouraged to apply. This internship is unpaid but graduate students are qualified to apply for a Public History Fellowship. For application details, please contact Jami Van Huss at museum@hyrumcity.com.
The internship seeks to provide opportunities to students interested in documentary editing or Mormon history. Interns will work closely with historians and editors on editing tasks such as document transcription, transcript verification, historical research for document annotation, back matter preparation, and source checking, among others.
Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collections
Special Collections has two undergraduate internships and one graduate fellowship. To be eligible for this internship, students must first take an archives course, and they will then be able to help process a collection by organizing incoming materials, creating an inventory, and posting the inventory online. The graduate fellow spends a year with the library and then gives a presentation.
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Interns are essential to NEHMA’s mission to collect, preserve and exhibit modern and contemporary visual art with an emphasis on artists from the Western United States. Opportunities involve research and hands-on internships in the areas of exhibition design, educational programming, marketing and curriculum connections. To inquire about existing internship opportunities, please send your CV and letter of interest to NEHMA@usu.edu.
Students might also want to reach out directly to inquire about internships opportunities at the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum, National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho, the Utah Humanities Council, and Utah Public Radio.
Other Internships for Graduate Students
The Department of History offers a variety of internships for graduate students. For help in setting up any of the following internships, conact your internship coordinator.
- Graduate Archiving Internship: History 6500 is available for 2-4 credits and it involves interning at a working archive, such as the Merrill Cazier Library Special Collections or at the Church History library.
- Graduate Editing Internship: History 6520 provides an opportunity to work with journals edited in the department, including Mediterranean Studies and Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies. The experience gives the student a unique perception of how the scholarly world operates.
- Graduate Museum Internship: Students may also take advantage of History 6540. It may be taken for 2-4 credits. Typically students have worked at local or regional museums such as American West Heritage Center in Cache Valley, HIll Air Force Base Museum, Golden Spike National Historic Monument in Utah, Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, and the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University.
- Graduate Professional Internship: History 6560 may be for 2-4 credits.
- Graduate Teaching Internship: Through History 6580 a graduate student works with an instructor in an advanced-level undergraduate course for 2 hours of internship credit. He or she may, for instance, develop a course unit and present and evaluate it. The graduate intern must attend the course and may be expected to help on a daily basis, but should be involved in the evaluation of only a limited amount of the student assignments. The intern will not bear the brunt of the grading.
- Special Collections Fellowship: Graduate students may compete for a year-long fellowship in USU's Special Collections. This award carries a stipend and tuition award.
During Your Internship
You'll need to create an account through Aggie Pulse in order to log your internship hours and submit your weekly notes. These notes are mandatory and must describe in detail what you accomplish at your internship each week. They will also become a crucial resource in the next step of the internship experience.
After Your Internship
Once you've completed your internship, you will submit a 3-5 page reflection of the internship experience, relying on the weekly notes you kept in Aggie Pulse. Your site mentor must also complete a final evaluation of your work and send it to your internship coordinator. You will then receive credit for your internship.
Internship Forms
USU History Internship Roles and Responsibilities
Undergraduate Internship Contract
Graduate Internship Contract
Final Student Evaluation
Final Supervisor Evaluation
Directed Readings Credit Form