Research, Collections & Exhibits Curatorial Internship
Interested in a career in museums, education, or business? Be a part of New England’s largest outdoor history museum! Old Sturbridge Village has a long tradition of offering hands-on learning experiences through its summer internship program, designed to provide college students and recent graduates with practical knowledge and job experience throughout many departments of Old Sturbridge Village.
All interns will participate in introductory training, be assigned a supervisor/mentor specific to their area of focus, participate in weekly professional development seminars and occasional field studies (structured field trips) with other interns, and complete a project they will present to their peers and Village staff at the end of the summer.
Old Sturbridge Village is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. We are passionate about developing and maintaining an inclusive, equitable and accessible working and learning environments for all visitors, staff and OSV community members. We believe every member of our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to different ways of understanding and engaging the world around us.
Old Sturbridge is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of Old Sturbridge Village to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or membership in the uniformed services.
Research, Collections & Exhibits Curatorial Internship
Old Sturbridge Village seeks a college student or recent graduate interested in gaining direct hands-on experience in the care and management of historic collections, manuscripts, and archives. The intern will work closely with the curatorial and library staff on a variety of projects which may include inventory and cataloging, preventive care of objects, exhibit installation, pest management, digitization, archival processing, public programming, writing and publishing opportunities, rehousing of archival materials, developing finding aids for manuscript and research assistance.
Orientation to the museum and specific training to complete the tasks will be provided.
Please check with your school to see if you’re eligible for academic credit. Summer interns receive a stipend. Interested applicants must submit a written application and are interviewed by phone or video conference.
Requirements:
Preference will be given to students or recent graduates with previous experience in museum studies coursework and/or working with historic objects and/or exhibits.
Hours:
The internship is available during the 10-week summer session. The workday is from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Generally, Research, Collections & Exhibits Curatorial interns work Monday-Friday; interns may be asked to work on weekends or evenings when the Village hosts special programs or events. Schedules will be established with the intern’s supervisor.
General Information
- Applicants must have completed at least one year of college before the start of the internship.
- Stipends of $2,000 are available for up to 20 summer interns.
- Internships are available during a 10-week summer session. All internships will begin on Monday, June 2, 2025. Historical Interpretation internships end Sunday, August 10, 2025; all other internships end Friday, August 8, 2025. Interns work approximately 40 hours per week; see the Hours section in each internship description for more information on typical work schedules.
- Interns will participate in weekly professional development seminars and several field seminars (structured field trips) to other area museums over the summer.
- Transportation to and from Old Sturbridge Village is not provided. Limited on-site housing is available. Please indicate in the application form whether you will need housing to participate in the internship program.
Application Process
Questions: Email interns@osv.org
Application materials:
- Each applicant must submit an online application form which can be located on the Old Sturbridge Village website (College Internships – Old Sturbridge Village)
- Respond to a few free-response questions.
- Each applicant must upload a current resume.
- Letters of recommendation are not required as part of the application. Finalists for internship positions will be asked to provide contact information for two references (professor/teacher or work supervisor).
Timeline:
- Review of applications will begin on Monday, March 17, 2025. Preference will be given to applications received by this date.
- Internship program staff will review all applications. Leading candidates will be invited to participate in a phone or video conference interview in late March.
- Finalists for internship positions will be asked to provide contact information for two references (professor/teacher or work supervisor).
- Internship descriptions will be updated as positions are filled.