Internships
Want to take what you’ve learned in your History courses out into the “real world”? Want to gain professional experiences and skills? Want to get a glimpse of the variety of jobs that historians do?
Try an internship!
Internships are a great opportunity to gain new experiences, build your resume and your professional network, and explore how historical skills and thinking contribute to a variety of organizations and careers. Regardless of what your postgraduation plans are, internships can give you concrete examples and experiences of how your academic training has prepared you for a field or career, or (equally valuable) help you decide that a certain career is not for you.
The Baltimore-Washington area is rich with non-profits, government agencies, museums, archives, and other organizations focused on creating, preserving, or sharing history. There are also a number of organizations and companies in which historical thinking and skills come into play.
Loyola History students have had internships at various locations, including:
- Maryland Center for History and Culture
- American Historical Association
- Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
- Evergreen Museum and Library
- Loyola Notre Dame Library and Archives
...and more.
Looking for an internship? Here are some resources for finding an internship site:
- Keep an eye on the bulletin board in the department for updated opportunities
Finding an internship can take time and some internship programs have specific application deadlines, so start early!
The Center for the Humanities offers stipends for summer internships (usually not for academic credit).
Interested in completing an internship for academic credit? See the guidelines below and contact Dr. Sandler in Humanities 303, or at wsandler@loyola.edu.
Internship for Academic Credit Guidelines
1. To receive academic credit for an internship, students will register for HS 405. To register for HS 405, students must ordinarily have junior standing, and have completed at least one HS 100-level course and one HS 300-level course (or one HS 200-level course for students starting at Loyola in Fall 2022 and beyond). HS 405 must be taken simultaneously with the period of the internship and counts as an elective as part of the History major and minor.
2. HS 405 requires instructor permission, which will be given after arrangements have been made for the internship (to begin in the following semester) and after the Internship Contract has been signed by the student and the internship site supervisor. Students are advised to begin the process of arranging an internship early. Students should make the necessary arrangements before August 15th for a fall internship and by the end of the fall semester for a spring internship. Students should provide a copy of the completed contract to the department’s internship coordinator and their site supervisor and keep a copy for themselves.
3. Internships require 120 hours completed at the internship site (approximately 8-10 hours a week) and an additional 30 hours of readings, written work, and meetings with the department internship coordinator.
4. As part of their internship, students are expected to complete a piece of intellectual work that they will submit as their final project at the end of the semester. This project will reflect the specific internship site and the nature of work completed. It will therefore differ from student to student, but could include, for example, a tour script, legal brief, set of research notes, archival finding aid, portfolio of written work, etc. The exact nature of this final project will be discussed before the beginning of the semester, in consultation with the site supervisor.
5. Students will meet with the department’s internship coordinator approximately every two weeks to discuss work at the internship site, as well as written assignments and readings. If several students are completing an internship in a given semester, every effort will be made to meet together as a group. These readings and written assignments will give students the opportunity to reflect on their internship experiences and to link these experiences to potential career paths.
6. Site supervisors will be contacted by the department’s internship coordinator at the beginning of the semester, for an informal evaluation in the middle of the semester, and to complete a formal evaluation at the end of the semester.
7. Internships may be paid or unpaid.
8. Students who complete an internship are invited to share their experiences at the end-of-the-year History Department Picnic.