Internship Program for Students in History

By Jennifer McPherson 
University of New Mexico Project Coordinator
History Department, University of New Mexico

Using This Program Guide

This internship program guide and the attached application packet are designed for history graduate directors and university student career officers who are interested in developing an internship program for PhD history students. While initially designed for PhD students, the guidelines can be modified for undergraduate or masters level students.

Purpose of the Internship Program

This internship program offers graduate students an opportunity to design their own internship experience in consultation with a faculty adviser and an outside supervisor or organization. The internship itself offers graduate students the chance to apply historical ideas, knowledge, and skills in public, private, and non-profit organizations. Combining practical experience with historical training helps doctoral students to become better faculty members, promotes individual success beyond the academy, and extends the influence of historical scholarship in the world. History PhDs who conduct internships bring critical thinking, writing, researching, and the language skills they developed during their academic training to new endeavors. The internship program also promotes the five skills identified by the American Historical Association as crucial to professional success: collaboration, communication, intellectual self-confidence, quantitative, literacy, and digital literacy.

Skills It Addresses

Collaboration, Communication, Intellectual Self-Confidence, Digital and/or Quantitative Literacy