We know that having a museum internship prior to entering the job market is essential for success and museum hiring committees are looking for candidates who have the right combination of experience and applied skills—characteristics that can only be acquired “on the job.”
Completing an internship may require students to sacrifice hours at their off-campus jobs. Moreover, smaller non-profit museums often lack the resources to hire interns. As a result, working students are unable to pursue the valuable professional experience internships provide.
This problem disproportionately impacts students from marginalized communities, including first generation college students, students from communities excluded because of racist policies and systems, and low-income college students. This presents a significant barrier to developing a professional museum community that is more inclusive and diverse—that better reflects the communities that museums serve.
Your support will provide a pool of resources for working students who wish to pursue an internship at a museum. To qualify, students must 1) show financial need and 2) have a professionally mentored, unpaid internship at a museum, lined up for the following quarter.
Make your gift today to offset costs for these students so they can focus on their internship experience, gain and apply skills and develop their professional networks!
