Internships Available Year-Round

The New Jersey Historical Society is a statewide, private nonprofit historical museum and library dedicated to preserving and interpreting the intricate political, social, cultural, and economic history of New Jersey. Through the history of New Jersey, a quintessentially American place, The New Jersey Historical Society promotes exploration of our cultures, past and present. As we challenge and inspire people to grow as learners and thinkers, we strive to make a difference in their lives. The Historical Society implements this vision through its exhibitions, program, publications, and collections.

Internships at the Historical Society are diverse. Placements are made based on the interest and skills of the applicant and the availability of supervision and projects. Applicants should send a cover letter with reasons why s/he would like to be placed in a specific position and a resume to the Director for Programs and Collections. After the initial discussion, the applicant will meet with an appropriate supervisor to determine schedules and projects. Hours and schedules are flexible. Many students have participated in internships to earn high school, college, and graduate course credits. Check with your school for more information.

Manuscripts curatorship
This internship provides students with the opportunity to learn the theory and practice of arranging and describing manuscript collections. Collections to be processed include the papers of political figures, merchants, and inventors that date from the 18th through 21st centuries. Types of material to be worked with include letters, maps, account books, photographs, and diaries. In addition to the principles of arrangement and description, students will learn basic conservation procedures and how researchers use primary source materials. Students will be responsible for producing a guide to the collections they process.

New Jersey historical research
This internship in the library provides students the opportunity to work with a variety of collections including published books, pamphlets and broadsides, maps, microfilm and fiche collections, and especially our rich manuscript collections of photographs, diaries, religious records, business ledgers, and many other primary source materials. Interns learn standard sources in American, especially New Jersey history, library organization (particularly with special collections) and research strategy and methods. Depending on the intern’s interest, the internship goes into many areas such as public access resources, Internet research and library collection development. Interns should have experience with scholarly research and have good communication skills.

Communications
This internship will introduce students to the various communications needs of a non-profit organization. In addition to writing and disseminating news releases to the media and key constituents, the intern will also work with the department in the areas of marketing, special events planning, and community outreach.

Development
This placement gives the intern an understanding of the workings of a non-profit organization’s development office. The intern will assist with the various activities required to secure funding especially as we launch a new major gifts fundraising campaign. The intern will participate in database management, research using the web and other resources, membership expansion activities, writing funding requests, and organizing fund-raising events.

Exhibitions and Research
Nationally recognized for its innovative, engaging, interactive exhibitions, the Historical Society is a great place to be in on the various stages of creating a history museum show. The focus of this internship is on exhibition research, one of the most important ingredients of a successful show. However, depending on our point in the exhibition cycle, interns will gain an understanding of one or more of the various stages in exhibition development, including conceptual development, audience research, design, and implementation. Since the intern will be conducting original research for an actual exhibition to be drawn from the roster of upcoming shows high-quality research skills are necessary.

Museum Collections
Interns in the Museum Collections department will have the opportunity to work with objects from the Historical Society’s extensive material culture and fine and decorative arts collections. An intern may select to perform in-depth research on a specific collection of artifacts to increase the available information for future researchers. The internship will also include working directly with the Collections Manager on collections management issues that may include such projects as: improving the collections database, inventorying and cataloguing collections, processing recent donations, and assisting in exhibition installation.

Education and the Public
The intern works with Education Department staff teaching hands-on education programs in the Historical Society’s galleries for groups of all ages and abilities, from pre-K to adults. Interns also work on program development and publicity, research in the Historical Society’s collections for appropriate material for education programs and publications, and create fliers and brochures advertising education programs. Interested candidates should have an understanding of child development and experience with and an interest in working with the public. Self-motivation, an outgoing personality, ability to work as a team member and flexibility are all assets for this position.