History Summer Internships for College Students: A Comprehensive Guide
Internships offer college students invaluable opportunities to explore potential career paths, gain practical experience, and build essential skills. For history undergraduates, summer internships provide a unique chance to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications, preparing them for diverse careers in academia and beyond.
Why Participate in a History Internship?
History internships provide access to mentorship from historians and other professionals, exposure to workplace standards, and the chance to contribute to ongoing historical projects that matter to communities. Even internships beyond the traditional scope of history, such as those in marketing, communications, or finance, can be rewarding, allowing you to apply your research, writing, and analytical skills in broader professional contexts. Doing an internship can put you in a good position to apply to jobs or graduate school in the field.
Internships for history students offer exploration of the field, since there are so many paths in history to consider and understand. History internships offer valuable experiences, providing a real taste of what it’ll be like to work in history. You’ll connect with potential mentors, learn history trade secrets, and build relationships with coworkers with a range of expertise. It’s also a plus if it’s a paid history internship! Informative or prestigious history internship programs strengthen resumes, provide valuable avenues to letters of recommendation, and can even turn into full-time jobs. If you consider all of these perks of a history internship and add the benefit of exploring different facets of one field, then start your history internship search now!
Types of History Internships
History internships for college students can be found all over! Even companies that don’t seem to have a main focus in history are looking for bright interns to help them develop a voice. Internships in history can fall under a variety of roles, including:
Archivist: Archivists and curators oversee collections of historical pieces-be it art or other items.
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Librarian: Librarians assist with searching for information and also conduct their own research.
Paralegal: Paralegals and legal assistants assist lawyers by preparing legal documents, investigating facts in a case, and researching past cases. This role involves research and comprehensive legal knowledge.
Historian: Historians use their research, analysis, and previous knowledge to understand the past.
High School Teacher: High school teachers are responsible for educating students from ninth through twelfth grade, often in more than one subject area, such as English, mathematics, biology, and history.
Editor: Editors revise and prepare materials to be published in print and digital media. They often work at newspapers, magazine publications, book publishing houses, and media networks.
Read also: Navigating College History Class
Featured Internship Programs
Here are some examples of summer internships for history undergraduates that stand out for their academic rigor, professional depth, and opportunities to connect with leading scholars, curators, and researchers:
ABF Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
- Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid schedule)
- Stipend: $6,000 gross stipend
- Eligibility: Students enrolled in an accredited college or university and completed at least two years of undergraduate study
- Description: This eight-week program is designed for students interested in sociolegal research and pursuing graduate study in the social sciences. Fellows are paired with ABF Research Professors, contributing to ongoing projects through tasks like archival research, literature reviews, and qualitative data coding, or developing their own independent projects with mentor support.
Ladder University Internship Program
- Location: Virtual
- Cost: Varies by program
- Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and gap year students able to commit 10 to 20 hours per week for 8 to 12 weeks
- Description: This program connects undergraduates and young professionals with startups and established companies across industries like technology, healthcare, sustainability, and finance. Over eight weeks, you’ll work on real-world projects, ranging from market research and business strategy to machine learning applications, while receiving guidance from both a company supervisor and a dedicated Ladder Coach.
The Met Summer Internships
- Location: New York, NY
- Stipend: Full-time: $24 per hour plus $1,500 for housing/travel. Part-time: $24 per hour
- Eligibility: Current undergraduate sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
- Description: The Met offers 10-week summer internships for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, to gain hands-on experience in museum work. Full-time interns participate in The Museum Seminar (MuSe) series, where they learn how different departments collaborate to support one of the world’s largest museums.
Archives of American Art Internship
Read also: Overview of the IBDP History Syllabus
- Location: Archives of American Art Offices, Washington, DC or New York, NY
- Stipend: $7,000 stipend
- Eligibility: Students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs
- Description: This internship gives you the chance to explore careers in archival science, museum studies, art history, and related fields while working with professionals at the Smithsonian. Offered in spring, summer, and fall, the program provides placements in areas such as curatorial research, digital projects, development, oral history, and reference services.
National Air and Space Museum Internship
- Location: Washington, DC or Chantilly, VA
- Stipend: Paid, $7,500 stipend
- Eligibility: High school graduates currently enrolled in or recently graduated from an accredited undergraduate or graduate program. International students may apply
- Description: This internship offers a 10-week summer experience in Washington, DC, where students work alongside scholars, professionals, and historic artifacts. You can pursue roles in aviation or space history, exhibit and graphic design, education, or digital experience, gaining exposure to different aspects of museum work.
CITYarts Internship
- Location: New York, NY
- Cost/Stipend: Not specified
- Eligibility: Not specified
- Description: You’ll design and produce print and digital materials, manage social media platforms, and assist with creating videos that highlight CITYarts’ mission. Working under the Project Coordinator, you’ll also take part in outreach campaigns and research potential partnerships to expand the organization’s community impact.
Columbia Business School (CBS) Summer Research Internship
- Location: New York, NY
- Cost/Stipend: Not specified
- Eligibility: Enrolled undergraduates in good academic standing at a four-year university or college.
- Description: Depending on the project, your work may include literature reviews, data collection and cleaning, web scraping, or statistical analysis, with some projects requiring skills in advanced analytics, machine learning, or natural language processing.
American Express Undergraduate Internship
- Location: New York, NY
- Cost/Stipend: Paid
- Eligibility: Undergraduate juniors in their fall semester
- Description: This is a 10-week program designed to give you real-world experience at a Fortune 100 company. Open to students entering their final year of college, the program places you on high-impact projects across areas like Marketing, Technology, and Finance, where your contributions make a tangible difference.
World Bank - Treasury Summer Internship for College Students
- Location: World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
- Cost/Stipend: Paid on a short-term temporary contract
- Eligibility: Undergraduates in the penultimate year of a four-year degree program
- Description: This is a highly selective 10-week program designed exclusively for college students with a strong interest in finance. Each summer, around 16 interns rotate across three Treasury teams, gaining exposure to areas such as sovereign debt management, sustainable finance, reserves management, and risk analytics.
Federal Reserve Board - Summer Internship Program
- Location: Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C.
- Stipend: Stipend varies based on credit hours completed
- Eligibility: Undergraduate and graduate students at accredited universities.
- Description: This is a highly competitive opportunity for undergraduates and graduates interested in economics, finance, policy, and related fields. Each year, about 100 interns work alongside PhD economists and policy experts on projects that inform monetary policy, financial stability, banking supervision, and economic research.
Event & Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC) College Internships
- Location: Varies each year
- Cost/Stipend: Registration and accommodation fees covered. Travel stipends for non-residents
- Eligibility: Current college students or recent graduates aged 21 or older
- Description: This internship gives you hands-on experience in live entertainment marketing while working behind the scenes at a major industry event. You’ll assist with conference setup, registration, and social media campaigns, gaining insight into how professionals engage audiences and build brands.
City of Madison - AASPIRE Internship Program
- Location: City of Madison, Madison, WI
- Cost/Stipend: Paid
- Eligibility: Current undergraduates from accredited universities, two-year colleges, or community partner training programs. Recent graduates within two years also eligible
- Description: This is an 8-10 week paid summer program that places students in departments such as Planning, Finance, Housing, and Community & Economic Development. You will work on management-level projects involving policy evaluation, urban planning, and economic development while gaining experience in research and data analysis.
HSBC Internship and Work Placement Programmes
- Location: Various locations globally
- Cost/Stipend: No cost to participate. Stipend provided depending on the role
- Eligibility: Students in their penultimate year of study or recent graduates
- Description: This program gives you a chance to explore career paths at one of the world’s leading international banks. These placements combine induction training, technical skills development, and project work to help you grow professionally.
Other Internship Opportunities
- Department of State's Pathways Internship Program: This program includes both the Internship Temporary Program (ITEP) and the Internship Experience Program (IEP). These internships are available to U.S. citizens enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions from high school to graduate school and professional academic levels. Opportunities are available at U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the world, as well as in various bureaus located in Washington, D.C. and at Department offices around the United States.
- Virtual Internship Program: This program connects U.S. citizen college students with the needs of federal agencies. The time commitment is about 10 hours per week during the school year. There are opportunities for all, from data visualization to political analysis. Internships are paid but may be eligible for course credit.
- The Colin Powell Leadership Program: This program recruits highly motivated individuals from a variety of backgrounds who aspire to and possess the potential to become future civil service leaders in the Department.
- MBA Special Advisor Fellowship: This fellowship seeks to strengthen the Department's strategic management and operations capabilities through leading-edge solutions and academia.
- Xavier University's Department of History and the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) Collaboration: Student interns work under the supervision of the Director of Processing in the arranging, preservation and description of archival records, papers and collections.
- Amistad Research Center Internship Program: Xavier history majors have completed internships at Amistad and have found their internship to be among their most rewarding experiences as a Xavier student.
- The National WWII Museum’s Internship or Work-Study Program: Museum internships are awarded to college juniors and seniors and students entered in graduate programs. Interns will work on departmental projects (curatorial, administrative, research or educational).
Tips for Landing a History Internship
Getting an internship in history is very exciting considering the sheer amount of opportunities in different histories.
Resume and Profile Tips
Before you get started on sending out applications, make sure that you have your resume up to date and have fully filled out all your Handshake profile details. With a complete profile, an impressive history internship is more attainable than ever. Recruiters are much more likely to message a student with a complete profile that says you want to work in history than an unfinished one.
When putting together your resume, make sure to have all your skills, courses, and accomplishments laid out for employers to view. Also having your preferred job role and location on your Handshake profile is a great way to signal your interest to potential recruiters.
For history interns, some great skills to list would be specific research skills, time management, ability to follow through and execute, and ability to contribute and collaborate in a team setting.
Interview Tips
When you do land your first interview, be it a virtual interview or in person, make sure to come prepared and dressed to impress. Review your resume and cover letter to make sure you have specific examples of your experience to share, from clubs or coursework. You can even schedule a mock interview with your university’s career center or, if you’re tight on time, ask a trusted friend to grill you on some common interview questions.
Networking Tips
Once you’ve landed an internship in history and settled into the flow of day-to-day life at the office, start chatting with your coworkers. Whether they’re industry professionals or fellow interns, it’s important to treat them with equal respect. You never know what insights they could lend, or who could be a valuable connection down the line, five or ten years from now. Don’t be afraid to ask your new colleagues out for quick coffee chats, or request 15-minute informational interviews about their career trajectory.
Additional Resources
A good way to delve even deeper into your career path growth is to attend a virtual event or two. Not only will you be learning more about your own career, but there will also be chances to network with employers, industry specialists, and other students sharing different perspectives.
Finding History Internships
When searching for history internships, it’s key to use the location filters provided on Handshake. You’ll be able to pinpoint history internships exactly where you want to intern just by selecting the city you want in the search bar. Easy history internships in your preferred city are just a search away.
You can even research possible job roles that you might want to explore during your history internship. Handshake also makes it easy to learn about roles in history simply by using the job role search bar.
And if you want to take your research one step further, you can even research top employers in the history field on Handshake. Just by using the Handshake employer search feature you can discover companies that are hiring in your specific field by filtering by “Industry.”
Companies to Consider
Some companies that would be great for history majors looking for internships: Teach for America, College Possible, or Zayo.
Benefits of a History Internship
During your history internship, you’ll learn some great generic skills like time management, accountability, organization, and teamwork. Additionally, you’ll be immersed in the world of history which will help you develop your knowledge of research methods, how to manage projects effectively, and a deep understanding of your area of study.
Along with networking and gaining mentorship, history interns will spend time working on skills great for later in their career journeys. history interns will learn how to plan and execute concrete goals, communicate their visions effectively, project manage and collaborate with a team on a shared goal.
Compensation for History Interns
Yes, you can find paid history internships on Handshake by using the search filters!
The average annual pay for full time history jobs range from $33,280 to $63,680.
The average annual pay for full time jobs in history range from $33,280 to $63,680.
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