Internship Opportunities

Students gain invaluable professional skills and gain exposure to different career paths by completing a semester-long or summer internship. The Office of Personal and Career Development offers general information and individual consultation regarding how to locate and apply for internship opportunities. 

Students interested in applying for major national internships in fields related to public history, archive and library management, or museum curation are encouraged to complete local internships in these areas. Winston-Salem and the surrounding area offer a number of opportunities for internships in public history, many of which can be completed during the regular academic year.

The Department of History offers credit for approved internships as History 395, Internship in History. If students are interested in an internship, identify suitable agencies or organizations whose internship work is historical in nature. A list of local and national opportunities is listed below. Students should talk with their history advisor about a faculty director for the internship. Once students have secured a director with whom they have discussed a suitable project, follow the History 395 guidelines:

Guidelines for HST 395

• HST 395 can be taken either for a grade or pass/fail, at the discretion of the individual instructor, although students should be aware that classes taken pass/fail do not count towards the major or minor.
• Students can choose to take the course for one, two, or three credit hours.
• Three Credits:  135 hours/semester internship experience, 800-1000 pages of reading, and a suggested minimum of 10 pages of writing.
• Two Credits: 90 hours/ semester internship experience, 600-800 pages of reading.
• One Credit: 45 hours/semester internship experience, 400-600 pages of reading.
• All paperwork must be submitted by the following deadlines:
  • Summer and Fall Semesters, April 20
  • Spring Semester, November 25

Local Internship Opportunities 

• Greensboro Historical Museum. Internships are available fall, spring and summer semesters.  For more information, contact Betty K. Phipps, Curator of Education, at (336) 333-6831 or betty.phipps@greensboro-nc.gov.

• International Civil Rights Center and Museum, Greensboro. Unique internship and docent opportunities are available. To learn more, contact Volunteer Coordinator Nakia Hoskins at nhoskins@sitinmovement.org or 336.274.9199 x 204.

• Historic Bethabara Park, Winston-Salem, is the 1753 site of the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina. The park has special interests in Moravian history, archaeology, a 1753 wilderness preserve, colonial agriculture and community relations, including special event productions, marketing and grantsmanship. The internship runs concurrent to the academic year to coincide with the length of the semester and is designed to offer experience in historic research, interpretation, preservation and site administration. Contact Rod Meyer, Director, (336) 924-8191, for an interview to discuss a topic of mutual interest.

• The Moravian Archives and Moravian Music Foundation, Winston-Salem.

• Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Internships available in fall and spring semesters.  For more information, contact the museum at (336) 721-7360.

• Old Salem, Inc., is a public history site that celebrates the history of the town of Salem from its beginnings as a Moravian community in 1766 through the 19th century. Old Salem includes more than one hundred restored buildings, some with faithfully restored interiors where costumed interpreters demonstrate late eighteenth and early nineteenth century life. Old Salem also has a modern museum complex with changing exhibitions as well as the impressive Museum of Southern Decorative Arts. For internships, contact Taylor Cox attcox@oldsalem.org.
• Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Internships available in fall and spring semesters, and summer. For more information contact Julia Hood, Coordinator of Education athoodje@reynoldahouse.org or 336.758.5599.

National Internship Opportunities

• Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA.
• Center for the Study of Conflict, Baltimore, MD. 
• Chicago Historical Society Correct, Chicago, IL. 
• Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. 
• Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship Program, Deerfield, MA.
• Institute for Humane Studies, Washington, DC.
• John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, MA.
• Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 
• Mystic Seaport Museum Studies, Mystic, CT.
• National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.
• National Park Service, throughout the U.S.
• NASA History Office, Washington, DC
• National Museum of American History, Washington, DC
• Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.
• Presidential Libraries, throughout the U.S.
• Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, Duke University, Durham, NC.
• Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT.
• Smithsonian Institute Archives, Washington, DC.
• Smithsonian Museum Internships and Minority Internship Programs, Washington, DC.
• Student Conservation Association, throughout the U.S. 
• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. 
• U.S. Capitol Historical Society, Washington, DC.
• Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. 
• Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC.
• City Internships.  These programs are open to students from any year and with any major, and they may choose a placement in one of 9 career fields: Banking & Financial services; Consulting & Professional services; Law & Politics; Technology & Engineering; Marketing, Advertising & PR; Media, Entertainment & Journalism; Art, Fashion & Design; Start-ups & Entrepreneurship; Charities, NFPs & NGOs.Programs are available in 9 locations: London, Paris, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco
• The Institute for Southern Studies and Facing South.   The Institute internship is ideal for writers, journalists and researchers with a passion for advancing issues of democracy and social justice in the South.  You can find more information about the internship program here. Those with questions can contact intern coordinator Rebekah Barber atrebekah@southernstudies.org.