Most students search for internships by looking for a museum.
Instead they should be looking for a mentor.

In the Museum Studies Program at George Washington University, I advise about 40 students every year, which includes a required internship. Students are excited to get into the field, so they want to obtain their internship as quickly as possible. However, in the process, they often overlook the most important aspect.

An internship doesn’t train you — a supervisor does. And in today’s museum workforce, those are no longer automatically the same thing. Many organizations, especially small historical societies and local museums, operate with very lean staffing and competing demands. A capable staff member may be handling exhibits, collections, programs, and fundraising at the same time. That doesn’t make them unprofessional. But it may mean they lack the time, structure, or disciplinary depth to train a graduate-level emerging professional.

You can have a legitimate museum and still receive a volunteer experience instead of a professional one. The difference is supervision.

Reframe the Goal

The internship is not just a graduation requirement. It is your first professional apprenticeship—a chance to build competencies and networks, not just accumulate hours. Focus on what you need to learn and how it supports your career goals. Think of it as work experience with training wheels. Consider how this step leads to the next one.

The Supervisor Test

Before accepting, make sure the supervisor meets at least two of these:

• Relevant experience in the specialty you want to learn. Three years is a minimum.
• Time for regular meetings and feedback. At least biweekly, weekly preferred, never monthly.
• Use of professional standards (AAM, AASLH Steps, NPS). If they never heard of any of these, walk away.
• A track record of what past interns actually produced. No previous interns? You might be your supervisor’s first experiment in supervision.

If you can’t confirm at least two, you may be filling a staffing gap rather than receiving mentorship. You’ll be left on your own and won’t receive sufficient supervision to confirm you’re developing professional skills or introducing bad ones.

Five Questions to Ask

Professionals expect these questions — ask them:

1. How often will we meet to review my work?
2. What decisions will I participate in?
3. What standards guide this work?
4. What will I produce that I can show future employers?
5. What did the last intern accomplish?

Avoid Common Mistakes

Students often apply late, accept the first offer, or choose prestige over learning. They also assume any museum job produces growth. It doesn’t. Guided work does.

Consider Non-Museum Sites

Museum associations, foundations, research firms, and exhibition design companies often provide clearer workflows and feedback than small museums. Museums hire for skills and talent, not internship titles.

How You Know It’s Working

Each month you should be able to say what professional principle you learned and what you would now do better or differently. If your answer is only “I helped,” you volunteered. If it includes judgment and decision-making, you trained.

So stop asking, “Is this a museum?”
Start asking, “Is this a professional apprenticeship?”

Have advice you’d give students about choosing internships? Or a bad internship experience that taught you what to watch for? Share it in the comments — your story may help someone avoid the same mistake.