A student works in collection storage during her internship.
The Museum Studies program internships are a cornerstone of our curriculum. Internships will complement your coursework by providing you with personalized, mentored, professional museum experience in a focused area of museum practice, like interpretive planning, audience evaluation, collections management, or exhibit design. Many of our graduate internships are paid opportunities in Indianapolis’ leading museums. From collections care at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum to education programs at Newfields, fundraising for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum to audience research at the Indianapolis Zoo, you will build skills and knowledge by working on current projects with a designated museum mentor, who is often an alumnus of the program.
A student conducts visitor surveys during her internship.
Interns work a minimum of 50 hours for each credit hour earned (paid internships may require more hours). Students in the Master’s Degree program may participate in a department-run internship application matching process, or you may seek out additional opportunities. Internships may be done anywhere in the world with approval of a faculty advisor. All students enrolled in museum internships meet periodically in a hybrid class to share their experiences, build professional skills, discuss issues that arise, and complete reflective assignments.
A graduate student presents her internship applied research project.
As a graduate intern, you will have the opportunity to explore firsthand how museum studies theory and practice connect. You will develop and implement an applied research project about an aspect of museum professional practice. At the end of the internship, you will produce a substantive report and present your research to the MTSD and Indianapolis museum community in our semi-annual “Research Lightning Round” event. Through this project, you will deepen your applied research skills and contribute to scholarship in the field.
