The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) offers a variety of career paths, providing opportunities to work closely with professionals and scholars in the museum field. These opportunities are available to undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates, and those looking to change careers.
Internship Opportunities
Internships at NMAAHC offer a dynamic learning environment and access to supportive mentors, helping interns achieve their educational and professional goals. These internships are available as full-time (30-40 hours per week) or part-time (20 hours or less) positions, lasting from 10 to 13 weeks throughout the year, with the possibility of an extension.
Applicants must submit a complete application through the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA). Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Curatorial Affairs
The Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA) facilitates the intellectual work of the Museum by:
- Collecting artifacts
- Ensuring collection preservation and stewardship
- Conducting research and scholarship
- Sharing the rich history and culture of African Americans and all people of African descent with a diverse public in accessible, multifaceted ways, including exhibition, digitization, and publication.
A Changing America Curatorial Interns
A Changing America Curatorial Interns will assist the lead curator and other members of the A Changing America (ACA) team with preliminary research about post-civil rights social justice movements, strategies and leadership. The interns will provide research assistance and examples that will help the exhibition expand its representation of contemporary social justice movements. Working with and under the supervision of the ACA exhibition team, they will select 2-3 movements and outline the historical context and organizing strategies, identify important locations, legislation, dates, leadership, and impacts.
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The exhibition, A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond, explores contemporary black life through stories about the social, economic, political, and cultural experiences of African Americans. From the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the second election of Barack Obama, the coverage is broad. Large-scale graphics and original artifacts lead visitors from the Black Arts Movement to Hip Hop, the Black Panthers to “Yes We Can," and Black is Beautiful to #BlackLivesMatter.
Center for the Study of African American Religious Life (CSAARL)
During the initial phase of CSAARL, the Museum launched a first-of-its-kind Center dedicated to the preservation and exploration of African American religious and spiritual life. Through innovative scholarship, public programs, and collecting religious artifacts, the Center for the Study of African American Religious Life (CSAARL) expands the ways religions are acknowledged and explored by our nation’s research and cultural institutions and the general public. The Center is guided by its commitment to exploring technology’s influence on religious life. Multiple religious traditions and expressions are central to our interpretative work.
CSAARL exceeded the goals for Phase 1 funding by, among other accomplishments:
- Establishing a presence in the fields of religious studies, theology, and museum studies
- Fostering community partnerships with national and local religious organizations
- Expanding the Museum’s collections
- Creating digital-first projects
- Presenting compelling exhibitions and public programs, including the lauded Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture exhibition
- Creating and producing gOD-Talk, an award-winning digital series and featured film
- Releasing a major publication, Movements, Motions, Moments: Photographs of Religion and Spirituality from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
- Recruiting stellar staff and post-doctoral fellows, which allowed the Center to increase the volume and intensity of its work and propel the careers of a new generation of religious and spiritual leaders.
Exploring African Religion And Spiritual
Center for the Study of African American Religious Life Publications Intern
The Center for the Study of African American Religious Life Publications Intern will assist in the initial process of the designing, publishing, and producing of a magazine and/or journal for the Center for African American Religious Life (CSAARL) and the gODTalk film series. The goal is to ensure the intern gains a well-rounded experience that includes designing, producing, publishing, and distributing a magazine and/or journal. The intern will take part in weekly and monthly meetings connected to these tasks and the CSAARL broader work across the Museum.
Culture Division
The Culture division of OCA documents, collects, and preserves information and materials related to the cultural heritage of African Americans and other select groups, whose actions have influenced and/or contributed to the African American experience, including those associated with the African Diaspora.
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Sports and Race Initiative (SRI)
The Sports and Race Initiative (SRI) was created because the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) recognizes that sports provide a unique entry point into the African American experience. Given the centrality of sports to American life, the influence of athletes, and the ability of sports to bring together cross sections of individuals, regardless of race, gender, and socio-cultural backgrounds, sports bridge barriers that are frequently difficult to navigate.
Sports and Race Initiative Curatorial Intern
The Sports and Race Initiative Curatorial Intern for the Sports and Race Initiative will assist the Supervisory Curator of Sports and other members of the Sports and Race Initiative team with exhibition-related tasks including object acquisition, and program-related activities. They will conduct research and work on a variety of projects involving the permanent collection, and sports-related programming. This internship is principally designed to help interns engage one of the most important aspects of curatorial work: collecting objects. Some projects will overlap with other departments, enabling interns to gain broad exposure to other areas of museum operations.
Visual Art Curatorial Research Intern
The Visual Art Curatorial Research Intern will support two crucial functions of the Visual Arts department: research and collecting. They will become familiar with online and library research resources available to SI staff, conduct research on visual art objects in the collection, learn how to gather internal object reviews of incoming acquisitions, and visit the NMAAHC storage facility to observe and conduct a curatorial review of incoming acquisitions under the supervision of curatorial staff. The intern will hone their art historical research skills while becoming familiar with the Museum’s collection of artworks. This will involve both object-based and thematic research. They will also gain an understanding of the Museum’s visual art acquisition process, from contact with donors, galleries, and artists to approval by the Collections Committee. The intern will also interact with colleagues from various departments of the Museum gaining exposure to other career fields.
Testimonials
Here's what some former interns have to say about their experience at NMAAHC:
“It is an experience I would have again many more times. It was rich, I learned a lot, and it was fun. It helped me exploit my skills and learn so many more that I can now apply in my professional life."
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“I would describe my internship at NMAAHC as life-changing. I would rate the internship program a 9/10." - Robert F.
