Internship Program

Internship Program

Applications are now open for Summer 2024 internships.

 

Application Deadline: Friday, March 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Duration: June-August; Start and end dates are flexible depending on the department and student schedules.

Pay: $16/hour 

Eligibility: High school, undergraduates, graduate students (individuals with college and graduate degrees are also eligible)

Two Gilder Lehrman Interns working at the Collection, examining a historical photograph while wearing white gloves

Summer 2024 Internships

The Gilder Lehrman Institute (GLI) is excited to launch the 2024 Summer Internship Program! Students from all over the country will take part in a variety of engaging internships, gaining valuable experience in museum collection management, educational programming, and nonprofit operations.

Interns will be paid $16 per hour. Start and end dates are flexible depending on the needs of the department and the intern.

All internships will require computer and internet access.

Each internship description below indicates whether the internship is designed for high school students or college students (and beyond). Each description also specifies whether the position is remote or in-person.

Note: If you are interested in applying for more than one type of internship, please complete a separate form for each internship as most internship application types include unique short-answer questions.

Affiliate School Program Intern

Department: Educational Programs 
Internship Term: June 3–August 30, 2024
Hours per Week: 15
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description
The Affiliate School Program is a network of more than 34,000 K–12 schools all over the world that receive free and exclusive resources from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In support of the Affiliate School Program, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Assist with Affiliate School data management and contribute to impact reports
  • Compile a list of school districts and networks for outreach
  • Conduct outreach to districts and networks via email
  • Assess the growth of the Affiliate School Program 

Desired Skills

  • Experience in data management and databases
  • Attention to detail
  • Proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Office
  • Familiarity with graphic design software 

Skills to be Developed

  • Data management
  • Research and reporting
  • Time management
  • Outreach and networking

Apply

Archives Intern

Department: Gilder Lehrman Collection
Internship Term: June 9–August 9, 2024
Hours per Week: 35
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Hybrid (remote and in-person) 

Internship Description
The Gilder Lehrman Collection is an archive of more than 85,000 items that cover 500 years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World to the modern era. In support of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Scan Collection materials on-site in midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn
  • Process scans of Collection materials using Adobe Photoshop
  • Attach images to catalog records in GLI’s Collection Management System (Argus), and save high-resolution copies of the scanned images on the server
  • Create and review individual records in GLI’s Collection Management System (Argus)

Desired Skills

  • Availability for in-person work on Wednesdays during the summer internship period
  • Strong written and verbal communication
  • Attention to detail

Skills to be Developed

  • Handling and scanning archival materials
  • Processing images
  • Working with a Collection Management System

Apply

Citizenship Project Intern

Department: Educational Programs
Internship Term: June 24–August 30, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: High School, Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote 

Internship Description
The Citizenship Project is GLI’s own version of the citizenship exam for use in the K–12 classroom. Students are able to assess their own civics knowledge while considering why these questions are important for an informed citizenry. In support of the Citizenship Project, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Draft student-centered questions about critical concepts tested on the citizenship exam
  • Attend virtual interviews with scholars and participate in the process by asking questions and taking notes
  • Provide initial review and correction of citations in new lesson plans
  • Assist with email inbox communication inquiries
  • Request image permissions for historical documents

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Comfort engaging with historians over Zoom
  • Working knowledge of Google Suite and Zoom
  • Basic knowledge of Chicago Manual of Style

Skills to be Developed

  • How to request permissions to use historical documents in publications and websites
  • Interview skills
  • Content knowledge on US citizenship and naturalization

Apply

Curatorial Intern

Department: Gilder Lehrman Collection
Internship Term: June 3–August 9, 2024
Hours per Week: 35
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote 

Internship Description
The Gilder Lehrman Collection is an archive of more than 85,000 items that cover 500 years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World to the modern era.

Inside the Vault is a monthly online program that highlights unique primary sources in the Gilder Lehrman Collection, from the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation to personal letters written by ordinary Americans. In each session, curators and guests investigate primary sources and discuss their background, impact, and potential use in the classroom.

In support of Inside the Vault, the Curatorial intern will perform the following:

  • Collaborate with curators and historians to create slide decks for the programs using Canva
  • Moderate Zoom chats and assist in technical troubleshooting as needed during program live sessions
  • Update the GLI website with program information and inspect existing content for broken web links
  • Update GLI’s Collection Management System (Argus) with program information
  • Gather attendance statistics and prepare program reports
  • Create professional development certificates for attendees

GLI has created a wide variety of physical traveling exhibitions that are rented or purchased by schools and libraries across the United States. These informative, colorful exhibitions cover major topics in American history, from leading figures like Alexander Hamilton to important moments like World War I. All the exhibitions feature primary source documents, many from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, that reveal the public and private words of people living at the time.

In support of the Collection’s exhibitions program, the Curatorial Intern will perform the following duties:

  • Assist with research and writing of exhibition content
  • Locate images to use in exhibitions
  • Create records in GLI’s Collection Management System (Argus) for current and prior exhibitions

Desired Skills:

  • Required: Availability on June 6, July 11, and August 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET for the live Inside the Vault program
  • Strong written and verbal communication
  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to work on multiple projects

Skills to be Developed 

  • Exhibition creation
  • How to run virtual programs, including preparation, marketing, troubleshooting, follow-up, and maintenance of program pages
  • Drupal, Zoom webinar, Salesforce, and Argus

Apply

David McCullough Essay Prizes Intern

Department: Educational Programs
Internship Term: July 8–September 13, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description 
The David McCullough Essay Prize program invites high school students to submit essays in American history, with winners receiving between $1,000 and $10,000.

In support of the contest, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Assist with writing copy for press releases and social media posts                                                                                          
  • Track prize entries
  • Assess essays for academic integrity using plagiarism software
  • Take minutes during review sessions with the historians jurying the contest
  • Create certificates and email to participants

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail 
  • Comfort engaging with social studies teachers and historians over Zoom
  • Basic knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style, APA style, and MLA format
  • Excel and Google Sheets       

Skills to be Developed

  • How to assess academic writing, both research and interpretative analysis
  • Organizational and project management

Apply

Graphic Design Intern

Department: Marketing
Internship Term: June 9–August 23, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description
The Marketing Department ensures that teachers, students, and the general public learn about the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s wide variety of programs and events. In support of the Marketing Department, the Graphic Design Intern will perform the following duties:

  • Create original, compelling, creative, and eye-catching designs for social media, email campaign templates, and products for the Gilder Lehrman History Shop
  • Bring a fresh look to the Institute’s branding and an understanding of how to use design to make an organization’s resources and programs stand out in a crowded and competitive marketplace (in this case, the K–12 education sphere)

Desired Skills

  • Graphic design experience
  • Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud

Skills to be Developed

  • The use of creative graphic design and messaging to build market share and brand awareness

Apply

Hamilton Education Program Intern

Department: Educational Programs 
Internship Term: June 3–August 30, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: High School, Undergraduate, or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description
The Hamilton Education Program guides Title I high school students as they create original performance projects using primary source documents inspired by the musical Hamilton. Selected students attend a matinee performance and take part in a Q&A with members of the Hamilton cast.

In support of the Hamilton Education Program, the Hamilton Education Program Intern will perform the following:

  • Assist with digital and in-person programming
  • Process data for the online version of the Hamilton Education Program
  • Test web pages and perform data cleanup on the Hamilton Education Program website
  • Other administrative tasks as needed

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
  • Drupal preferred but not required

Skills to be Developed

  • Excel, Word, Google Suite, Drupal, Salesforce

Apply

History School Intern

Department: Educational Programs 
Internship Term: June 3–August 23, 2024
Hours per Week: 15
Student Type: High School, Undergraduate, or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description

History School features online courses led by master teachers who present lessons anchored in primary sources, many from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, an archive of over 85,000 American history documents. Courses are targeted to high school students and are presented live on Zoom.

In support of the History School program, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Moderate Zoom chats and assist in technical troubleshooting as needed during History School live sessions (dates and times TBD); Interns will co-moderate with a staff member for the first 5–10 minutes of each session and then be the sole moderator for the remainder of each session.
  • Pull attendance records and update information in the Institute’s learning management system
  • Assist with History School email management
  • Provide initial review and correction of citations on slides before handing off to History School lead and editorial team
  • Download and archive Zoom session recordings to add to video server, Dropbox, and Vimeo

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
  • Working knowledge of Google Suite and Zoom
  • Basic knowledge of Chicago Manual of Style

Skills to be Developed

  • Student programming and distance learning 
  • Presentation, editing, and research skills
  • Zoom, TalentLMS (learning management system), Excel, Google Suite, PowerPoint, and Salesforce (contact management system)

Apply

MA Program and Self-Paced Course Intern

Department: MA Program
Internship Term: June 3–August 30, 2024
Hours per Week: 20
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote 

Internship Description

The Gilder Lehrman Institute partners with Gettysburg College to offer a master’s degree in American history. It is an online, fully accredited, 30-credit degree program.

In support of the master’s degree program, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Facilitate Q&A sessions with MA students
  • Format syllabi, slides, and other materials for use in MA courses
  • Answer inquiries from current and prospective students
  • Research teacher pay scales by state and district for different groups of educators
  • Assist with administrative tasks

The Self-Paced Course program takes the lectures from new MA program courses and adapts them for self-paced professional development that teachers can sign up for on the GLI website. In support of the Self-Paced Course program, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Respond to emails requesting information about self-paced courses or certificates
  • Create courses in the online learning management system (TalentLMS)
  • Help incorporate feedback from users to improve courses
  • Research how GLI can become a registered professional development provider in each state

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Strong interpersonal skill
  • Familiarity with learning management systems (ex., Moodle, Open LMS, TalentLMS) a plus
  • Excel, Google Suite
  • Familiarity with Chicago Manual of Style

Skills to be Developed

  • Facilitating Q&A sessions
  • Moodle, Open LMS, TalentLMS Google Suite, Salesforce, and Excel

Apply

Nonprofit Accounting and Human Resources Intern

Department: Finance and Human Resources
Internship Term: June 3–August 30, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: Undergraduate or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote
 

Internship Description: 

The Finance Department manages the accounting and human resources of a dynamic nonprofit organization. In support of the Finance Department, the intern will perform the following duties:

  • Assist with accounts payable and receivable, investment reporting, and file maintenance
  • Assist with human resources administration and reporting
  • Take part in special projects as needed

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
  • Microsoft Excel, Google Suite
  • QuickBooks is a plus but not required

Skills to be Developed

  • Nonprofit financial and human resources management
  • Project collaboration and professional-level communication
  • QuickBooks, Excel, Google Suite, Salesforce database, and ClickTime

Apply

Teacher Seminars Intern

Department: Educational Programs 
Internship Term: June 3–August 8, 2024
Hours per Week: 15
Student Type: High School, Undergraduate, or Graduate Student
Work Location: Remote

Internship Description 
The Gilder Lehrman Institute manages remote weeklong Teacher Seminars Online for high school teachers throughout the summer along with standalone remote Special Topics in History sessions and a small slate of Teacher Seminars In Person with a live-streamed lecture component.

In support of the Institute’s Teacher Seminars program, the Teacher Seminars Intern will perform the following duties:

  • Moderate Zoom chat and assist in technical troubleshooting as needed during seminar live sessions (taking place 11 a.m.–1 p.m., 1 p.m.–3 p.m., 3 p.m.–5 p.m, and 6 p.m.–8 p.m. Eastern Time—each intern will have their own designated time block); interns will co-moderate with a seminar production lead on the GLI staff for the first 15–20 minutes of each session and then be the sole moderator for the remainder of the session.
  • As needed, moderate Zoom chat and assist in technical troubleshooting during lectures live-streamed from in-person seminars (as above, co-moderating with a program manager on the GLI staff for the first 15–20 minutes and then serving as the sole moderator from that point on)
  • Pull attendance records and update in TalentLMS or Salesforce Campaigns (as applicable)
  • Create certificates as needed for Special Topics in History sessions and in-person seminar livestreams as assigned
  • Provide initial review and correction of citations on scholar and master teacher slides before handing off to seminar production lead and editorial team

Desired Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to communicate well with others
  • Comfort with speaking to a group in a virtual setting
  • Good time management
  • Previous use of Zoom, Google Slides/Microsoft PowerPoint, and Google Sheets/Microsoft Excel preferred

Skills to be Developed

  • Produce live programming on Zoom and effectively moderate Zoom chats and the deployment of polls
  • Learn more about a variety of topics in American history from scholars and master teachers in the field
  • Zoom, TalentLMS (learning management system), Salesforce campaigns (contact management system), Google Slides, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, and Excel

Apply

Teacher Symposium Intern

Department: Educational Programs 
Internship Term: May 15–July 19, 2024
Hours per Week: 10
Student Type: Undergraduate, or Graduate Student
Work Location: Hybrid (in-person and remote)

Internship Description:
The Gilder Lehrman Institute hosts an in-person Teacher Symposium, July 6–July 10, 2024 at Gettysburg College for high school teachers. The event includes lectures, book talks, field trips, and classroom resources.

In support of the Institute’s Teacher Symposium, the Teacher Symposium Intern will perform the following duties:

  • Assemble registration materials for Symposium participants including lesson plans, schedules, on-site instructions, and name tags
  • Assist with gathering, packing, and shipping materials to Gettysburg College
  • Assist with website updates that include important course and campus information
  • Provide general support in preparation for the Teacher Symposium

Desired Skills

  • Preference will be given to a Gettysburg College student who is available to attend the Symposium at Gettysburg College, July 6–10, 2024.
  • Attention to detail
  • Experience with mail merge
  • Basic data entry and tracking
  • Google Suite and Excel; Canva experience a plus

Skills to be Developed

  • Experience planning large-scale conferences, including the organization and preparation of registration materials
  • Online management systems including TalentLMS (learning management system), Asana (project management system), and Salesforce (contact management system)

Apply

The application deadline is Friday, March 29, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

For questions regarding the 2024 Summer Internship Program, please email internships@gilderlehrman.org

 

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. Frequently cited statistics show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.

Testimonials from Previous Interns

“This has been a great experience and it’s given me a lot more confidence that I can pursue a career in history outside of a strictly academic setting.”

“I felt that this internship provided an extremely inclusive environment. Even with the remote internship, I got to work with a wide variety of people who made me a part of the team and who were willing to answer any questions that I had or provide any other help that I required.”

“I felt welcomed and appreciated by my advisor! I loved that, despite my lack of experience, my opinions were asked and considered throughout GLI projects.”

“It is not just the interest in history that makes the internship so enjoyable, it is also the friendly people who make GLI amazing.”

“I believe that I learned extremely valuable professional skills from this internship. My position allowed me to experience a bit of everything—market research, database management, Salesforce, Drupal, etc. I reference this a lot with other potential employers and they are always impressed. The internship helped me learn what it is like to try to balance both work and school and how to communicate professionally.”

“This is my first internship, but of all my past extracurricular experiences, I have felt most respected at GLI. I appreciated that staff welcomed my suggestions rather than simply expecting me to follow instructions. I also liked the weekly check-in meetings as they helped keep me on track.”