All participants who successfully complete the summer workshop are then eligible to apply for one of 8 fully supported 10-week internships. These internships take place the year after the summer workshop, and are meant for those who decide that conservation of cultural heritage is a career path they wish to pursue through application to a graduate program in conservation. You cannot participate in the Internship portion of the program without having previously completed the summer workshop.
Our program staff work closely with the candidates to determine the area of conservation they are most interested in and the type of mentoring they wish to receive. Based on this, we will reach out to museums and institutions around the country to find a suitable placement.
The grant financially supports air or ground transportation to the internship site, provides a stipend for the duration of the internship (subject to tax), and some additional funding for housing. Program staff seek out affordable housing options to recommend to interns.
The internship schedule is flexible and may take place as a full-time, 10-week internship, or it may be part-time and take place over a longer period than 10 weeks. The internships can take place in the Spring, Summer, or Fall. This is always subject to the institution being able to accommodate that request.
Previous Internships
To read in more detail about prior internship experiences, check out the Newsletter – Intern Updates tab.
2019 Internships were completed at: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., and the Textile Museum at George Washington University in Washington D.C.
2020-21 Internships were completed at: The Straus Center for Conservation & Technical Studies in Cambridge, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the George Washington University Textile Museum in Washington D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
2022 Internships were completed at: The Alaska State Museum in Juneau, the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, The Academy of Motion Picture Museum in Los Angeles, the Winterthur Museum/University of Delaware, The Brooklyn Museum in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
2023 Internships were completed at: The Freer National Museum of Asian Art in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art in PA, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Straus Center for Conservation & Technical Studies in Cambridge, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
2024 Internships were completed at: The National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington D.C., the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian(NMAI), the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), the Brooklyn Museum in New York, Museums of New Mexico in Santa Fe, UCLA Library and Archives, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
2025 Internships will be completed at: The African American Museum of History and Culture, The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
“This internship has allowed me to learn that conservation is not always about treatments and restoration of an object. The maintenance and long term care of the collection is also important. I also learned about the conservator’s role in exhibition preparation.”
Nhat Quyen Nguyen about her internship at the Textile Museum at George Washington University
“She demonstrated a quiet but steadfast interest in everything I threw her way and displayed tremendous staying power in the face of sometimes challenging physical tasks.”
Internship Supervisor Jennifer Perry, Conservator of Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum about Kei Takahashi
Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation 