Department of Art & Culture Summer Internship (Graduate and Undergraduate) - Summer 2019
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.
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, Canadian, Costume & Textiles, East Asia, European, 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 conference, and lectures and programs for general and academic audiences.
Art & Culture Summer Internship Program
The Department of Art & Culture offers paid and unpaid opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to explore museum careers and gain professional experience and training during the summer. The Art & Culture Internship Program awards ten-week internships (full-time and part-time) 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.
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. The intern will be under the supervision of a full-time staff member. 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.
The internship placement changes annually and depends upon available projects.
Paid Summer Internship
Eligibility
The department offers paid summer internships to current senior undergraduate-level and graduate-level students. Preference will be given to applicants who are required to complete internship placement as part of their academic curriculum. Qualifications vary depending upon the project. The internships are full-time (35 hours per week) positions, each with a stipend of $4,500, for a consecutive ten-week period between June and August.
Named internships within the Art & Culture Internship Program, for SUMMER 2019 ONLY -
The Art & Culture Summer Internship supports one intern.
The Bishop White Committee Summer Internship supports one intern showing special interest in East Asian art and culture.
The Rebanks Summer Internship supports one intern showing special interest in Canadian art history and culture.
The Friends of Canadian Collection Summer Internship supports intern showing special interest in Canadian and Indigenous art and culture.
How To Apply
Applicants are required to submit their resume and include the following supplement materials –
- Personal statement: a personal statement of no more than 500 words, explaining why you are interested in the internship. 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.
- Letter of recommendations: two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from someone who knows you in an academic context, such as a professor or instructor.
Interviews are not required, but most internship supervisors ask to interview finalists by phone or video conference before making a decision. We will contact you directly about an interview if needed.
Deadline – April 22, 2019 at 11:59pm (EST). Email personal statement, transcript, and letters of recommendations to worldcultures@rom.on.ca. Your recommendation letters must be submitted by this application deadline. We will not accept any applications, application materials, or recommendations after the deadline.
Dates and Compensations
June – August, 2019
Full time: 5 days, 35 hours per week
Stipend: $4,500
The number of ten-week internships granted varies from year to year because it is subject to the number of available internship projects and resources.
Unpaid Summer Internship
Eligibility
The museum offers a very limited number of unpaid summer internships to undergraduate students. Unpaid internships are intended primarily for students who are in an early exploratory phase of their studies. These internships are more flexible and can be full-time or part-time (two to three days a week, with a minimum of twelve hours per week), for a consecutive ten-week period between June and August.
The number of unpaid internships during the summer depends upon the availability of staff resources and internship projects.
How To Apply
Applicants are required to submit their resume and include the following supplement materials –
- Personal statement: a personal statement of no more than 500 words, explaining why you are interested in the internship. 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.
- Letter of recommendations: two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from someone who knows you in an academic context, such as a professor or instructor.
Deadline – April 22, 2019 at 11:59pm (EST). Email personal statement, transcript, and letters of recommendations to worldcultures@rom.on.ca. Your recommendation letters must be submitted by this application deadline. We will not accept any applications, application materials, or recommendations after the deadline.
Dates
June – August, 2019
Flexible term: full-time or part-time
No compensation
The number of ten-week internships granted varies from year to year because it is subject to the number of available internship projects and resources.
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 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.