Internships

The internship, which runs Monday–Friday over eight weeks, is made up of two parts.

Departmental Placement: Following a careful review of their experiences as well as their professional and academic ambitions, interns are placed in specific departments, where they spend four days per week. Placements vary each year; over the MSIP’s 40+-year history, nearly every museum department has hosted an intern. Through this aspect of the program, interns develop an understanding of a professional workplace, learn practical skills, and receive one-on-one mentorship.

Museum Studies Seminar: Roughly one day per week, interns participate in museum studies sessions, which include behind-the-scenes tours of the museum; presentations from professionals from across the institution; discussions of urgent issues confronting the museum field; site visits to cultural institutions in Philadelphia; and professional development workshops.

Assignments, projects, and placements depend on departmental and institutional needs and thus vary each year. The descriptions below are meant to give you a sense of the mission and core responsibilities of multiple departments in the museum; they do not represent specific opportunities for Summer 2025.

The coordinator of the Museum Studies Internship Program will outline a specific placement when contacting each finalist with an offer for acceptance into the program. Candidates will have the opportunity to ask questions before accepting or declining the position.

• Advancement: Assist in nurturing relationships with donors and prospective donors to secure support-gifts, grants, sponsorships, and gifts-in-kind. Work with one of several departmental programs including individual giving, institutional support, donor engagement, or development operations.
• Collections Information: Assist with standardizing and bolstering information in the collections database and assist with other technology-related projects.
• Conservation: Observe conservation techniques for furniture, objects, paintings, works on paper, or textiles. Depending on their specific area of interest, interns may be placed in one department or shared between two. Interns with a science background may participate in chemical analysis of materials and other laboratory tasks.
• Curatorial: Update the museum’s database and object files, conduct research, work on inventory projects, reorganize storage, and carry out administrative tasks in one of the museum’s curatorial departments
  • American Art
  • Asian Art
  • Costume & Textiles
  • European Art
  • Modern & Contemporary Art
  • Prints, Drawings, & Photographs
• Executive Office: Support the Director and Chief Executive Officer to provide oversight and leadership to ensure the fulfillment of the institution's curatorial and educational mission as well as the realization of its financial goals. The Director also works with the Board of Trustees to develop museum policies and long-range plans.
• External Affairs: Assist the Press Office to promote Museum initiatives to the press and other local media; support the department’s efforts to sustain and expand the government’s support for the museum and its various programs.
• Exhibitions: Support the development, communication, and tracking of project timelines and budgets for temporary exhibitions, traveling exhibitions, special projects, gallery rotations and reinstallations; assist in designing museum galleries so that they ideally communicate the themes of a given exhibition.
• Facilities & Operations: ​​Assist in protecting the museum’s renowned collections and providing a first-rate visitor experience by understanding the requirements of the PMA’s diverse physical facilities; anticipating and planning for future needs; and delivering comprehensive building, collections, and security initiatives.
• Finance: Support the Finance department, which is responsible for the maintenance of books, records, and financial statements.
• Growth & Brand: This division oversees multiple departments. Depending on project needs, interns may assist marketing staff to develop and maintain outlets for paid advertising and coordinate social media and digital content; or they may work with editorial staff to copyedit exhibition texts as well as newsletters, brochures, invitations, and signs.
• Human Resources: Review and update recruitment materials and assist with museum-wide initiatives in employee engagement, training, and benefits.
• Learning & Engagement: Assist the division’s multiple departments—Community Access and Engagement, Family Programs, Interpretation, Public Programs, School and Educator Engagement, and Audience Research—in their efforts to find inspiring connections between art and life, promote the study of the visual arts as a rich resource for improving education, and extend the reach of the museum’s collections to a broad, diverse audience.
• Library & Archives: Catalogue archival images, create metadata, conduct collection maintenance and development, and assist staff.
• Membership & Audience Strategy: Assist with event planning and implementation, social-media marketing, gift entry and reporting, and membership activities.
• Photography Studio: Prepare images for publications, interactives, and the website. Capture, edit, distribute, label, and archive photographs. Photograph events, behind-the-scenes installations, and publicity photo shoots.
• Publishing: Contribute to the conception, editing, design, production, and distribution of the museum’s physical and online publications.
• Registrar: Assist the registrar and other staff in tracking the location and condition of art objects in the collection. Help with object inventories, resolve loan issues, data entry for deaccessioned records, and review and update acquisition files.
• Special Events: Support the Special Events team in coordinating and carrying out museum events; help organize electronic marketing efforts for special events; format the event marketing calendar; and update promotional materials and distribution lists.
• Visitor Services: Assist in ensuring an excellent visitor experience by welcoming and orienting the public, providing wayfinding, and managing group experiences.

To be considered for the internship, submit your online application and PDFs of all required materials here by Monday, February 17, 2025. Applications must consist of the each of the elements below. Additional materials will not be considered.

Required Application Materials

Application Form
Be sure to identify four areas of interest for internship placement (see the “Description of Past Intern Placements” section above for placement descriptions).

Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
Please be sure to include relevant academic, employment, and volunteer experiences as well as computer and language skills.

Statement of interest
Please limit the essay to no more than 750 words and be sure to address the following:

Explain your interest in the museum field and what led you to apply for the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Museum Studies Internship Program

Describe how your specific interests, skill sets, and experiences might relate to the departments(s) you have selected on the application form and explain how you will contribute to the Museum Studies Internship Program cohort.

Diversity Statement
In 300 words or less, describe your commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in museums.

Unofficial Transcript(s)
A current record of your academic history should be submitted as a PDF. Graduate students should submit transcripts from each post-secondary institution they have attended.

Letter of Recommendation
Applicants must have one confidential letter of recommendation submitted by past or current professors or academic advisors or a past or current employer who is familiar with your skills and abilities. Please submit contact information (name, email, and phone number) for one individual who will provide a letter on your behalf. The letters of recommendation must be submitted via email to internships@philamuseum.org by the application deadline. The recommendation emails should clearly indicate the applicant’s name in the subject line and must come directly from the recommender’s email.