Archival Internships

DC Metro Area Internship Opportunities

Each voluntary internship is unique and offers a variety of duties and requires different skills. Locations will also vary. Please browse our available opportunities and apply to the one(s) that best suits your interests.

Research Services (RD) – Physical site is College Park, MD

Internship Description

The unpaid internship program aims to provide students with a well-rounded archival experience and offers them an opportunity to learn more about the archival profession. Selected interns will work one on one with an archivist or as part of a small team on a particular project. Specific projects will be determined at the time of acceptance into the program.

Divisions where interns may be placed include: Textual Processing, Reference, Accessioning, Still Pictures, Motion Pictures, Cartographic, or Electronic Records.

Intern projects will vary each semester. The following are brief descriptions of some of the duties an intern can expect to undertake.

Processing Interns

• Processing interns will assist with the holdings maintenance of textual, photographic, cartographic, film, or electronic records.
  • Rehouse records into new boxes and/or folders.
  • Assist with the arrangement and description of a series or a collection of records.
  • Create box and/or folder lists for access by researchers and staff.

Reference Interns

• Reference interns will develop finding aids for a series or a collection of records for either a civilian agency or military subject area.
  • Create box and/or folder lists for access by researchers.
  • Respond to researcher inquiries, by doing a cursory search within a set of certain records.
  • Spend some time in the consultation room working with researchers.

Digitization Interns

• Digitization interns will scan original records, which includes textual records, photographs, maps, or oversized drawings.
  • Create associated metadata for upload into NARA's online catalog.
  • Prepare records for digitization through holdings maintenance actions such as sleeving torn documents, removing staples, and rearranging records.
  • Complete audits of scanned images.

Requirements

Interested candidates must be enrolled in a degree granting program at the time of their internship and selected interns will need to provide a letter from their school verifying enrollment.

• U.S. citizenship is required and selected interns must submit to a full background check.
• Internships are unpaid positions with the minimum requirement of 15 hours per week or a maximum of 40 hours per week for 8 to 10 weeks. However, not being able to work within these parameters will not exclude a potential applicant from being considered.

We welcome interns with disabilities. Please see our accessibility page for more information. If you are in need of a reasonable accommodation for the application process, please contact Tina L. Ligon at tina.ligon@nara.gov. 

The Application Process

Please submit the following to Tina L. Ligon at tina.ligon@nara.gov:

1. Letter of Interest
2. Current Resume
3. Recent School Transcript with full legal name on it (unofficial transcripts will be accepted)
4. Letter of Recommendation from a faculty member or employer

Application materials are due by the following dates:

• Summer Term: March 5th
• Fall Term: July 5th
• Spring Term: November 15th

For additional information or questions, please contact:

Tina L. Ligon
tina.ligon@nara.gov
(301) 837-0620