Internship Program

As a historian-in-training, you are developing valuable skills in research, analysis, and communication. Employers want those skills! Put them to use through an internship that counts towards your degree, adds experience to your resumé, and develops your professional network. Some internships are paid, others are not, but all are invaluable — and there is a $250 award for each year’s Most Valuable Intern!
See below for internship opportunities and for instructions on how to apply for internships and internship credit. For more information, please contact Prof. Bob H. Reinhardt, Internship Coordinator, by phone (208-426-1367) or email (bobreinhardt@boisestate.edu).
Internship Opportunities
Interns from the history department have served in many different agencies and organizations in Boise, the Treasure Valley, Idaho, and beyond. Here are just a few current internship opportunities:
- Basque Museum and Cultural Center: Curatorial Intern and Education Intern
- Boise City Arts & History Department: Archives processing, collection rehousing, cataloging, research, and more!
- Boise High School: help create a new archive and/or develop museum exhibits based on the school’s history
- Canyon County Historical Society: archival accessioning and cataloging; photographing historic sites; exhibit development; event planning, and much more!
- Forest Fire Lookout Association: Research and Documentation Interns
- Idaho Architecture Project: architectural history research and analytical writing for the public
- Idaho Council on Domestic Violence: historical research on agency policies, action, and funding
- Idahistory Tours: research and preparation of tour materials; guiding tours
- Idaho State Historical Society: development internship
- Idaho State Historical Society – Archives: processing and collections care in photographic collection and government records
- Idaho State Historical Society – State Historic Preservation Office: historic preservation internship
- Idaho State Historical Society – National History Day in Idaho
- Idaho State Historical Society – Idaho State Museum: School and Educator Programs, Digital Asset Management, Records Transcription, social media development, and more!
- Idaho State Historical Society – Old Penitentiary: Digitizing historic prison newspaper; museum docent (guide)
- National Park Service: National Council for Preservation Education
- Owyhee County Historical Society: Archives processing
- The Peregrine Fund: Research Library internship — organize, catalog, and inventory extensive library collection related to birds of prey
- Preservation Idaho: Research and communication about historic preservation in Idaho
- Speaking of Idaho history blog: Research and writing assistant
- Valley Regional Transit: Research assistant
- Warhawk Air Museum: Programming and operations assistant — paid!
We have relationships with (and can help you get an internship with) many great organizations, including:
- Albertsons Library Special Collections and Archives
- Agency for New Americans
- The Community Library (Ketchum, Idaho)
- Boise Art Museum
- Dry Creek Historical Society
- Global Gardens Boise
- Idaho Black History Museum
- Idaho Commission for Libraries
- Idaho Military History Museum
- Mountain Home Air Force Base
- Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association
- Stevens Historical Research Associates
- TAG Historical Research
There are also plenty of internship opportunities outside of Idaho. Here’s a quick sample:
- Mount Vernon historic site: variety of internships and jobs
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History
- National Park Service: Heritage Documentation Programs jobs and internships
- New York Public Library Menu Project: http://menus.nypl.org/
-
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: https://www.smithsonianofi.com/internship-opportunities/
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Department of State
Also! The National Council on Public History offers a jobs website that includes paid internships: https://ncph.org/jobs/?fwp_position_type=internship-compensated
We also work with students with particular interests to develop their own internship opportunities. The internship coordinator is happy to speak with interns and potential internship partners: contact Prof. Bob H. Reinhardt by email at bobreinhardt@boisestate.edu or by phone at (208) 426-1367 .
Enrollment
The Internship Application for Academic Credit is on-line. For more information on the process and for the application form, please go to the Career Services website (the form is under “Internship Application Process”). For training on how to use the system, please contact Anne Evans at 426-4351 or anneevans@boisestate.edu. Part of the application process is an online workshop dealing with internships in general. You should complete the workshop before filling out the application form. While completing your application for academic credit you will be prompted to designate the department (history), the coordinator (Professor Bob H. Reinhardt), and information specific to the details of the internship, including the description of the work you’d be doing during the internship.
Internship credits are variable — for each credit you earn you must work at least 45 hours in the internship. Some internship tasks only take about 45 hours whereas most are ongoing and students can earn 3 or more credits per semester depending upon the hours worked and the duties performed. Internships are available for lower division credit (History 293), upper division credit (History 493), and for graduate credit (History 590). Undergraduate students may apply 12 internship credits toward the baccalaureate degree, serving as fulfillment of upper division area requirements. Graduate students may earn up to 9 credits in internships.
If you are receiving financial aid your internship application must be submitted with appropriate signatures on or before the tenth day of classes of each semester. If you are not on financial aid and your internship is for less than 3 credits you have six weeks to register from the first day of classes.
Requirements
In order to earn a passing grade for your activities you will be responsible for the following:
- Fulfill the hourly obligation with the organization for the number of credits you expect to earn, i.e. 45 hours for each credit taken.
- Maintain a journal or log in which you describe your assignments and record the number of hours worked at each. It is also a good idea to enter here the type of learning experience you gained in each task. At the end of the semester you should present the log to your supervisor(s) to make sure that your records correspond to theirs. The completed log, with supervisor’s signature, should then be turned into the department’s internship coordinator during the last week of classes.
- Also, during the final week of classes you should submit to the internship coordinator a brief essay about your experience. This should reflect the impact that the internship had on your educational development. It should be typewritten, double-spaced, one-inch margins, standard 12-point typeface, and no more than five pages long. Your name and the name of the agency where you worked should be at the top of the essay.
- Prior to the end of the semester the internship coordinator will request a written evaluation from your supervisor. You have the right to see the evaluation your supervisor submits before the coordinator turns your grade into the registrar. View a copy of the evaluation form as a Word document or PDF document.
- It is your responsibility to keep in touch with the internship coordinator about problems that may surface as you engage in your internship activities. The sooner you do this, the easier it is to make adjustments. We want to make the internship process a positive educational experience that benefits both the student and the organization.