OPPORTUNITIES

Focused on students from communities currently underrepresented in the museum conservation field, the Conservation Internship for Broadening Access (CIBA) offers opportunities for current or recent undergraduates to learn about museum conservation. During a 10-week summer program, CIBA interns are placed with mentors in a variety of conservation labs throughout the Smithsonian. The program supports interns by offering a stipend and paid housing during the internship. A relocation travel allowance may also be included as part of the internship award.

These 8-week paid summer internships provide opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research, to explore career possibilities in archives and special collections, and to learn about advanced training in Native American and Indigenous Studies and related fields. This opportunity is closed for 2024, but will reopen annually.

Three Indigenous Science Internships are offered to currently enrolled or recently graduated (within 2 years) undergraduate OR graduate students. The internship will provide participants with the opportunity to assist Museum staff in the deinstallation of the North American Indian Cultures Hall (NAICH). This will include auditing case contents, completing deinstallation pre-assessments, safely moving objects, working with tribal representatives and community partners, assisting conservation staff in developing condition evaluations and documentation, creating custom storage mounts, and rehousing collection items in permanent storage. The applicant must demonstrate an interest in engaging with Indigenous communities. We are looking for students or recent graduates with an interest in cultural heritage conservation, anthropology, archaeology, art, museums, or museum collections. Start Date: May 2025

For internships that are six months or longer, funds will be available toward travel to one conference, and conditionally available for research and professional development.
The Avenir Conservation Center (ACC) is pleased to announce an internship in cultural heritage conservation for a third or fourth-year graduate student enrolled in a master’s degree program in conservation.
The Conservation Center is responsible for the preservation and care of the collections with a primary focus on Anthropology collections. ACC is also carrying out long-term, in-depth conservation-curatorial projects that often include collaboration with Indigenous community members for the shared stewardship of their culture heritage.

A pre-program internship in the field of textile conservation will be available at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich from 1 September 2025 (duration: 12 months, 40 hours per week). The internship involves the conservation and restoration of works of art, their examination, the creation of restoration concepts and their practical implementation, and the documentation of these measures. Further topics include the exhibition and loan of exhibits. The internship serves as preparation for the entrance examination for the degree programmes in the field of conservation.

The internship in the field of archaeological conservation serves as preparation for the course of studies in object restoration and lasts 13 months. During this time, all relevant material groups that come to light during archaeological excavations are treated by conservators under professional supervision.
The basic requirements for the course of studies and for the pre-study internship associated with it are regulated in the study regulations of the respective universities.

The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) offers paid postgraduate internships and curriculum internships that provide learning opportunities for the conservation community in Canada and abroad.

The Museum offers internship opportunities for college and graduate students interested in careers in art museums, as well as New York City–area high school students.

The Getty Post-Baccalaureate Conservation Internships aim to diversify the conservation field by increasing the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds enrolled in graduate degree programs related to museum conservation.

Getty Graduate Internships are offered in the four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust—the Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Research Institute, and the Getty Foundation—and in Getty Publications and Getty Digital, to graduate students who intend to pursue careers in the visual arts.

Created and led by the National Gallery of Canada, in collaboration with the Art Conservation program at Queen’s University and the Canadian Conservation Institute, the NGC Conservation Internship Program for Diversity aims to increase the representation of professionals from diverse communities. Dedicated to Indigenous and Black students, and students from other cultural communities from across Canada, the program is designed to provide the best possible start for students pursuing a career in conservation. This initiative allows four students to benefit from the program before they go on to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, to formally study art conservation as part of the Master’s program.