The internship provides Art History graduate students with supervised practical experience in local art museums and galleries arranged on an individual basis. During this internship, the student is immersed in various aspects of museum work, including registration, curatorial research, and installation.
ARTHIST 891 is intended for graduate students in the Art History program. There may be opportunities for advanced undergraduates in Art History and related departments. If you would like to be notified of these opportunities, please contact the Internship Coordinator (schaefes@uwm.edu).
All MA students must take a minimum of three credits in ARTHIST 891. No more than three credits of ARTHIST 891 may be taken in a single semester.
Interns are typically placed in one of the following institutions:
- Emile H. Mathis Art Gallery and UWM Art Collection
- Interns in the Mathis Gallery get hands-on experience in many of the day-to-day operations of a university art gallery and collection. The types of internships vary; details are circulated to enrolled graduate students each semester.
- Partner Institutions, both on- and off-campus
- These are places with which we have established relationships and have offered opportunities that are only available to UWM Art History graduate students. Opportunities vary by semester, but have included Milwaukee Art Museum, the Haggerty Museum of Art (Marquette University), and UWM Special Collections.
- Other External Institutions
- Students who apply for and are offered internships through another institution may earn internship credit. The details must be approved by the Internship Coordinator before the first day of the semester of in which the internship will take place (no exceptions).
Process
Each semester, the Internship Coordinator circulates details on the Mathis and Partner internships that will be available the following semester. These are only circulated to current Art History graduate students. Applicants will submit a cover letter and resume for each internship for which they would like to be considered.
For Spring internships, the application process takes place during the preceding Spring:
| Internship opportunities announced | Mid-March |
| Application deadline | Mid-April |
| Deadline to finalize internship details | Early May |
For Spring internships, the application process takes place during the preceding Fall:
| Internship opportunities announced | Mid-October |
| Application deadline | Mid-November |
| Deadline to finalize internship details | Early December |
*Internships are not offered through the department over the summer*
If you are offered an internship with a Partner and External institution, your supervisor must confirm the following with the Internship Coordinator:
- that the supervisor agrees to take you on as an intern
- what your duties will entail at the institution
- that the supervisor agrees to send a written assessment of your work to the Internship Coordinator no later than the last day of Final Exams, as officially scheduled by UWM: https://uwm.edu/secu/resources/calendars-schedules/
Once the Internship Coordinator receives your supervisor’s email you will be given permission to sign up for ARTHIST 891.
Requirements
Once you sign up for 891, you agree to fulfill the following requirements:
- Your internship must occupy 150 hours over the course of the semester, which usually works out to about 10 hours per week.
- You will submit a Reflection Paper detailing your experience/activities at the institution (be specific, include relevant names and duties undertaken, and any publications or texts). The paper should be of 1000-1250 words (4-5 double-spaced pages). The paper must be submitted on Canvas no later than the last day of Final Exams, as officially scheduled by UWM: https://uwm.edu/secu/resources/calendars-schedules/
- Your supervisor must send a formal evaluation of your performance to the Internship Coordinator (schaefes@uwm.edu) by the last day of Final Exams.