New Bedford Whaling Museum
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

Internships at the New Bedford Whaling Museum are offered under the auspices of the Kendall Institute, the Museum’s research, library, archival, and publications division. Internships are designed to provide theoretical, methodological, and practical training in the issues and problems of museum management, and hands-on, professional work experience, especially as it pertains to art and history collections in maritime museums. Internships are open to graduate students and upper-level undergraduates in any appropriate discipline, and to university graduates planning or contemplating museum careers. The faculty consists of the administrative, curatorial, library, and education staff of the Museum; the scope of instruction is comprehensive and broad, with opportunities for specialization in any of several fields, to be selected on the basis of the Intern’s interests, abilities, and prior experience.

Internships are individually arranged for periods of from three months to one year (full-time or part-time), and are designed to be mutually beneficial work-and-learning experiences whereby the Intern participates in the full spectrum of curatorial and interpretive activities of the museum, rotating through several departments, and typically developing a particular concentration within the scope of museum collections, activities, and programs. The dual objectives of the internship are to instill a broad conversance with the issues and methods of collections management, library and archival management, documentation, research, acquisitions, collections planning, preservation, conservation, and interpretation, in the context of a flourishing collection of international significance; and to achieve a level of specialization and expertise harmonious with the Intern’s individual interests and career objectives. A career interest in museums is not required.

The minimum time requirement is three months (±12 weeks) full-time, or the equivalent in part-time hours. Internships are offered for one semester or two; or during the summer; or, by special arrangement, during or any other period. No tuition fee is charged. Internships carry all the rights and privileges of official staff rank. Full-time Interns are eligible for comfortable housing in the Scholars’ Residence in the Kendall Institute, and are eligible to receive a modest living stipend. Prior to enrollment, Interns must provide certification of health insurance benefits, which the Museum is unable to provide. By prior arrangement with the Intern’s home university or college, an internship may be custom-tailored to accommodate the awarding of academic credit or to qualify as an in-service component of a larger museum-studies (or other) curriculum. Internships are offered in several categories: