Interns will bring to their roles the array of skills developed during their PhD training, including research and writing and area-based expertise. Internships run for approximately 10 weeks. Interns will serve in their roles for 20 hours per week and receive a $6,500 stipend. All internships will take place on site (COVID permitting), and we expect that the graduate students holding these internships will not hold any additional BU-supported summer teaching, internships, or fellowships in the relevant summer.
Click here to watch reflections by former interns.
Site Descriptions
Boston Athenæum
The Boston Athenæum seeks a graduate intern to help prepare the Athenæum to host a professional development workshop for secondary school teachers on teaching with primary sources. Immigration will be the topic of the 2023 workshop, which will be held in August. Working with the Athenaeum’s collection, the intern will identify a selection of sources – text-based and visual – for use in the in-service and write a reference guide to the sources for teacher use.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for research use historical records in a variety of formats that document the history of the BSO, the Boston Pops, Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, and the Tanglewood Music Center. The intern will digitize oral history interviews originally recorded on tape cassette by former BSO cellist Robert Ripley in the 1990s. Robert Ripley was a member of the BSO’s cello section from 1955 to 1995. Upon his retirement he conducted interviews with BSO retirees or surviving family members. There are more than 80 interviews in the collection. The intern will learn how to convert analog tape cassettes to .WAV files and will also be responsible for creating an index to the contents of each taped interview. As time permits, the intern may also help answer routine reference requests and conduct research for fall exhibits.
Institute of Contemporary Art
An internship in the Curatorial Department at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston will expose the intern to many facets of curatorial work and the fast-paced world of contemporary art. This person will support curators in research for exhibition projects, publications, and potential acquisitions and have an opportunity to see projects of various scales and at different stages of development.
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society, founded in 1791, collects and communicates materials and resources from America’s past to promote understanding of the history of Massachusetts and the nation. The intern will work closely with the Education team to gather sources and create resources that are based on MHS collections for use by K-12 educators as part of our resource portal, the History Source.
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The intern will work with PhD-trained genealogists to support a long-term research project locating 17th-18th century repositories of historical records, by region. This work will be done under the auspices of the Vice President for Research and Library Services.
Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) was established in 1799 and is one of the nation’s fastest-growing art museums, with a $700+M endowment, a collection of 840,000+ objects and 22 historic buildings, and a library of 400,000+ books, documents, and manuscripts. Based on their personal interests, the intern will work collaboratively and independently on a project that significantly contributes to a public exhibition or program initiatives. The intern will have opportunities to expand their research, writing, communication, and project management skills and will be integrated into the institution’s staff for maximum experience and exposure to day-to-day activities.
