Undergraduate Internships and Fellowships

Internships offer History students the opportunity to acquire practical experience in history-related fields and learn about the kinds of careers for which a major in History offers excellent preparation.

Internships for Academic Credit

The History Department offers two types of internships for credit: HIST464 Internship in History and the MSST464 Museum Studies Internship. Both allow students to earn academic credit for internship placements at a wide range of cultural organizations, including museums, historical societies, historic sites, government agencies, and other venues that serve as bridges between the past and the present.

In recent years students have completed internships at UD's Biden School of Public Policy & Administration's Center for Historic Architecture and Design, W. L. Gore and Associates Corporate Archives, the Hagley Museum and Library, Delaware Historical Society, the Lewes Historical Society, and the African American Museum of Philadelphia. Internships need not be a financial hurdle or burden.

The Department's internships allow for a range of experiences.

HIST 464 Internship in History

For the Internship in History (HIST464), the student works with a faculty mentor. In conjunction with that mentor, the student identifies potential sites and defines the project that will emerge out of their experience in the field—including projects such as a site-based public history, experiential reflections, or a research paper. Students may seek assistance from the department’s internship coordinator in approaching appropriate sites and identifying potential faculty sponsors. Students interested in completing a HIST 464 internship, should contact Dr. Flaherty, the History Department's Undergraduate Studies chair.

MSST 464 Museum Studies Internship

The Museums Studies internship (MSST464) develops essential skills for professionals in cultural organizations, ranging from research and public interpretation, programming, or exhibition development (both in-person and digital) to community outreach, administration, fundraising, finance, and marketing. Students devise their internship in communication with the CAS internship voordinator​ and their host institution in advance, and then independently complete a project for their host institution that develops and demonstrates the skills they have targeted. Students interested in completing a MSST464 internship must secure pre-approval of their placement from Lois Stoehr, CAS internship coordinator.​

The E. Lyman Stewart Summer ​Internships

These are competitively awarded paid internships given to rising ​sophomore, junior, or senior History majors who are placed at local historical societies, museums, libraries, archives, or historic sites. You do not have to be seeking a career in museums or public history to apply for these internships. In recent years, students have completed Stewart Internships at such locations as the Delaware Historical Society, the Hagley Museum and Library, the New Castle Historical Society and the Laurel Historical Society.

In summer 2022, several paid internships for undergraduate majors in the Department of History were offered at Delaware institutions. The stipend amounts for each of these internships ranged from $3,500-$4,000 for 225 hours of work.

Application deadline for 2023 Stewart Internships: Spring 2023 - date to be determined​

The Raymond Callahan Experiential Learning Fund

In honor of retired UD History Professor Raymond Callahan, a fund has been established for the purpose of experiential learning related to the study of history. Through a competitive application process, the Department calls for applications for summer activities that will connect with the study of history (content, theory, practice) with experiences outside of the university classroom that will create opportunities for the student to:

• Engage in historical inquiry outside of the classroom (in an archive, at a historic site, in a non-profit, at a workplace)
• Develop collaborative and interpersonal skills
• Create something meaningful and worthy of sharing with others (project, paper, series of social media posts, etc.)
• Draw on knowledge or skill developed in the history classroom

All History and History Education majors are eligible to apply. Recipients will receive up to $3,000 to support projects that engage in historical inquiry outside of the classroom and will be required to submit a short report upon completion of the project explaining how the project fostered the use of historical inquiry outside of the classroom, collaboration, creation of a meaningful project, and connection to work in the classroom.

Application Requirements:

• Cover letter explaining proposed activities, experiential component, and proposed final product and identify a mentor and external site
• CV/Resume
• Letter of recommendation from a UD history faculty mentor. Letters should be emailed to Amy Dolbow
  
• Letter of support from experiential learning site or description of experiential component and target archive