Internships

The New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM) was founded in 1903 as the regional historical society, has a diverse collection of over one million items, 18 galleries spanning 35,000 square feet, and about 100,000 visitors per year. NBWM annually organizes a dynamic and rigorous eight-week summer internship program, open to currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students (and those who have just graduated), to work with the curatorial, collections, and museum learning team at the museum.

The program is structured to support a cohort of 4-6 students, who receive overall training in best practices and orientation to museum operations through meetings with key stakeholders and staff, weekly department meetings, team field trips, and summer activities at the museum. Interns are assigned a project based on their previous experience, interests, and museum needs. A museum mentor supervises the project and offers guidance and support on professional development.

The 2026 summer internship program will run from June 24-August 14. Interns must commit to a regular weekly in-person schedule: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 9:30-4:30pm. We seek to place students who either have institutional support and/or are local and seeking an internship for college credit or a certificate.

Interested students should email curatorial@whalingmuseum.org, with a resume and brief paragraph about their reasons for wanting to intern at the Museum. They must also confirm availability for the full internship term.

Application deadline: January 15, 2026