Smithsonian Institution Internships

The Office of International Relations (OIR) at the Smithsonian Institution (SI) serves as the central point for Institution-wide advice, insight, analysis, and coordination of all international activities of the Institution. As the central external representative of international programs for the Institution, OIR leads institutional relationships with U.S. government and international organizations, including the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, foreign embassies, and other governmental and private organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

OIR offers a fast-paced working environment staffed with a small, highly productive team of professionals with a wide variety of strengths in international program management, international business development, international visa/travel regulation expertise, and museum project management. We offer opportunities in the arts and cultural side (including cultural heritage and livelihoods) as well as in the science, research and conservation side of our international work.

The Office of International Relations has benefitted from working with interns on a variety of projects and seeks intern support on an as-needed basis throughout the year. We accept in person as well as virtual interns. If you are a graduate or undergraduate student interested in participating in an internship with the Office of International Relations, you should contact our office for any current openings.

Contact: Molly Fannon
Contact Email: global@si.edu
Deadline: Considered year-round
Term: 2 month minimum

Apply Through: SOLAA

Office of Policy and Analysis (OP&A) Internships are available to undergraduate and graduate students. An OP&A internship provides experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative policy-related studies of major Smithsonian programmatic and administrative activities. In addition, the office conducts quantitative and qualitative studies of Smithsonian visitors and program participants. Interns either work as collaborators with OP&A staff in data collection, analysis, and presentation of results or undertake independent projects. A social science related background (management, business, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, education, etc.) and some coursework in qualitative or quantitative research methods are helpful. Academic credit can be arranged. Applicants are encouraged to review several OP&A reports posted at http://www.si.edu/opanda/ for examples of the types of studies the office conducts. If you are interested in pursuing an internship with OP&A, please submit a cover letter, resume, recent course paper, two references and proposed start dates to Zahava D. Doering. Electronic submissions are appreciated.

Contact Phone: (202) 633-5588
Contact Email: doeringz@si.edu
Program Website: http://www.si.edu/OPANDA/internships
Term: 10 week minimum
Apply Through: SOLAA


General Smithsonian Internship Pool
The Smithsonian offers internship programs in a wide variety of fields encompassing business and public administration, history, art, science, culture, and education. If you are interested in applying for an internship at a specific museum or office at the Smithsonian, we encourage you to review our website for specific programs offered by our various units in your field of interest. It is necessary to apply for the specific programs separately. However, given the competitive nature of our programs, if you have a broad interest in the Smithsonian, and want to increase your chances of landing an internship, we encourage you to also apply to the General Smithsonian Internship Pool. Smithsonian units who have unfilled mentor-guided learning opportunities may recruit from applicants that select the general pool option. Applications to this program will not be considered for a specific internship program offered at a museum or unit, but may be considered for opportunities that become vacant at various units across the Institution generally. If you are selected for this internship, a Smithsonian unit will reach out to you to gauge your interest and learning objectives against the opportunity they offer. To apply, you can use the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA) available through the Office of Fellowships and Internships (OFI) webpage.

Find out more here.

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