Internships
Each year the Spencer Museum provides KU graduate students from a variety of backgrounds with competitive, professional internships in areas including Asian art, European and American art, global and Indigenous art, works on paper, academic programs, education, collections, communications, and law.
Intern quote
“As an aspiring curator, my internship at the Spencer Museum has been invaluable because it has provided me with opportunities to assist with exhibition planning, public programming, and acquiring artwork for the collection.”
Dominique Stringer, Public Practice Intern and Museum Studies graduate student
Graduate Internship Program
Our graduate internship program offers invaluable hands-on experience and professional training for a variety of careers in the arts and cultural fields. Alumni of the program have gone on to work at major institutions, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Field Museum, Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC-Greensboro, the Federal Reserve, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Graduate internship program
Eligibility and benefits
Internships are open to KU students pursuing a master’s or PhD degree who are enrolled in 6 credit hours of graduate coursework or at least 1 hour of thesis/dissertation (approval from graduate program required).
Positions are 20 hours/week for an 11-month appointment with competitive pay. Benefits include:
- Qualification for in-state tuition and fee rate
- A tuition waiver for 9 credit hours each semester
- A $500 travel stipend contingent upon available funding
Eligibility to participate in the University’s health insurance program
Available positions
Current internship opportunities can be found on our Employment page. Open positions are typically posted in early January for the following academic year.
Funding
Funding for graduate internships comes from the Mellon Foundation, the Loo Family Foundation, Connie Perkins, Lavon Brosseau, the Berkley Family Fund, Donald Sloan, and the Mary Ruth Petefish Charitable Lead Trust.
Contact
If you have any questions about the graduate internship program please reach out.