Department of Art & Culture Internship Program (Graduate and Undergraduate) 2020-21

Posted: January 10, 2020 - 14:26 , by Diana Lu
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Art & Culture Internship Program

The Department of Art & Culture offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to explore museum careers and gain professional experience and training. The Art & Culture Internship Program awards internships to students interested in a career in the arts and fields related to the ROM’s Art & Culture collections. The museum’s many departments offer a wide range of learning opportunities for interns. The internship is designed to provide practical working experience, to complement academic credit, and to inspire students to become the next generation of museum professionals.

Internships are usually full-time (35 hours per week) during the summer (June-August) or part-time during the academic year.  Final schedule is determined by the intern and their ROM supervisor. The intern will be under the supervision of a full-time staff member. Each intern is placed in one of the collection areas in the Department of Art & Culture that is relevant to his/her interests and career goals. Potential projects the intern can work on include but are not limited to—research using artifacts or collection records, library research, database work, assisting on an exhibition project, assisting in cataloging historic or new acquisitions, developing content for museum educational initiatives, engaging with visiting artists or the public, and writing for the general public. The intern will submit a written final report summarizing their activities at the end of the internship. The report will be evaluated by the supervisor and can be used as confirmation of completion of internship for the student’s academic institution, if required.

Internship opportunities vary from year to year because it is subject to the available projects and funding. See below for a list of opportunities during 2020-21.

 

Internship Opportunities

2020 Summer (June-August, full-time, 35 hours per week) or 2020-21 Academic Year (part-time)

250-300 hours total

$4500 stipend per internship

Art & Culture Internship supports one full-time position during summer 2020 to work in a ROM art and culture collection under the supervision of curator and collection technician. The area of focus is open to any collection within the Department of Art & Culture. Please specify areas of interest, if any, in your letter of interest.

Bishop White Committee Internship supports one full-time position during summer 2020 or part-time position during 2020-21, to work on East Asian art and culture, under the supervision of a ROM East Asia curator. This position will assist curators of Chinese art and culture in developing a forthcoming major exhibition.

Dan Mishra South Asia Internship supports one full-time position during summer 2020 to work on the photographic collections in the ROM’s South Asia collection, under the supervision of Dr. Deepali Dewan, Dan Mishra Curator of South Asian art & culture. This position will assist with a special collections-based project through inventorying, digitizing, and researching.  

Dr. Michael L. Yuen Internship supports one full-time position during summer 2020 or part-time position during 2020-21, to work on East Asian art and culture, under the supervision of a ROM East Asia curator. This position will assist curators and technicians of East Asian art and culture in collection research and management.

Of Africa Internship supports one part-time position during 2020-21 academic year to work in the ROM’s collection of African art & culture, under the supervision of Dr. Silvia Forni, ROM Senior Curator of African Art & Culture. This position will specifically work with the collection and database, and assist in a range of curatorial and collection management projects.

U of T Art History Undergraduate Internship supports one part-time position during 2020-21 academic year for an upper-level undergraduate student from the University of Toronto’s Department of Art History to work with ROM collections, under the supervision of a ROM curator. The subject area is open and will be determined by the successful applicant’s interests and available ROM projects. Please specify areas of interest in your application. 

 

Eligibility

  • Unless otherwise specified in the position description, undergraduate or graduate student in good standing at a secondary education institution, or a recent graduate (within two years).
  • Unless otherwise specified in the position description, internships are open to applicants from around the world.
  • Some background in the internship subject area.

International Applicants

Undergraduate and graduate internships are open to international applicants. Interns are responsible for ensuring that they have valid legal status under applicable Canadian visa regulations while participating in the program. The museum will act as host institution but does not sponsor visas for interns. We recommend that you consult with the Canadian embassy in your home country to determine which visa will allow you to participate in this internship. Please be aware that obtaining a visa is usually a lengthy process which must be completed in advance of the internship start date. If you are offered an internship but do not have your visa before the start date of the program, your placement will be cancelled.

 

How To Apply

Applicants are required to submit their resume and include the following supplemental materials –

  • Personal statement: a personal statement of no more than 500 words, explaining why you are interested in the internship and your qualifications. Please include aspects of your past academic and/or job experience that you feel are most relevant to this application, as well as any specific career or educational avenues you are interested in exploring.
  • Transcript: an up-to-date copy of your transcript which must record at least one semester or one quarter of university/college by the time of the application. Please be aware that you may be requested to submit an official transcript later in the evaluation process.
  • Contacts (address, email, phone number) for three (3) references, one of which must be from someone who knows you in an academic context, such as a professor or instructor. References will be contacted only for short-listed applicants.

Interviews are not required, but some internship supervisors may ask to interview finalists by phone or video conference before making a decision. We will contact you directly about an interview if needed.

Please email your application materials to worldcultures@rom.on.ca.

We will not accept any applications after the deadline.

Posted: January 10, 2020

Application Deadline: March 1, 2020 at 11:59pm (EST).

Notification: by April 1, 2020

 

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About the Department of Art & Culture

The Department of Art & Culture is one of two curatorial departments under the Collections and Research Division. It includes collection areas such as Africa, Archaeology of the Americas, Ancient Egypt & Sudan, Ancient Greek & Roman, Canada, Costume & Textiles, East Asia, Europe, Indigenous Americas, Indigenous Asia and Oceania, Islam, Middle East, and South Asia. Curatorial staff are responsible for collecting, cataloguing, and housing objects of art and culture from around the world. With the ROM’s expansive collections, curatorial staff produce original exhibitions and publications, research papers for international conferences, and lectures and programs for general and academic audiences.

About the ROM

Founded in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum showcases art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million artworks, cultural objects and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new discoveries, the ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy.