Internship Program
The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey offers an unpaid Internship program. Internships are available to qualified undergraduate and graduate students who are required to work for credit, as well as to non-credit volunteer interns, looking to expand their portfolios. An intensive work and education experience, critical analysis and good writing skills are essential.
The museum’s programmatic objectives are flexible enough to encourage the creation of projects tailored to students’ interests and needs, while also allowing for a challenging experience and effective results that may be measured by standards of traditional scholarship. Included are opportunities to develop and engage in veteran oral history projects, state history, military history, and cultural history. Under the supervision of the curatorial staff, there is also the opportunity to engage in curriculum development projects.
The museum offers internship opportunities at Sea Girt and Lawrenceville. We regularly partner with Rider University and Monmouth University, as well as other New Jersey schools.
Below is a set list of roles that interns can be expected to fill. There is flexibility within the roles, but the areas in which museum professional staff and interns can focus are as described. Â
Roles
1. Collections Management
Under the direction of the Assistant Curator for Collections or other museum staff, interns will learn the basics of cataloguing, artifact preservation, and research. Students can expect to handle, with supervision, artifacts pertaining to the history of the New Jersey National Guard. Students will be given the opportunity to study the vast collection of the museum’s material and archival collection.Â
Suggested Majors/Concentrations: History, Library Sciences, Accounting/Business
2. Education
The museum has been a reliable partner to many educational institutions for decades. Student groups are one of the most reliably consistent audiences and will continue to be in the future. Under the direction of the curatorial staff, interns can hone their skills reaching the minds of young scholars by developing lesson plans and outreach projects, as well as presenting history. Our role is unique in that we are a military face to the public, but also serve a similar role with the active force and veterans. Students will have a chance to interact with groups of young students as well as uniformed learners by developing well planned educational plans. These can be developed for in-museum learning, outreach programs, or even online.Â
Suggested Majors/Concentrations: Education, History, Business Administration
3. Exhibition Development
Under the direction of the Director, interns can complete exhibits detailing the history of the New Jersey National Guard utilizing ours and outside resources. The museum will need updating periodically as well as rotational exhibits with deeper looks into a specific unit, person, or event. These exhibits should not just be limited to the museum system, as we can also facilitate projects within National Guard armories or other Department of Military and Veterans Affairs controlled properties. Virtual exhibits on our site are also an option. Students will get first hand experience in research, development, design, and layout of an exhibit.Â
Suggested Majors/Concentrations: Communications, Graphic Design, History, Education
4. Marketing/Outreach
The museum has good reach with the local community in person and online. This includes social media platforms like Facebook as well as our own standalone site. The public looks to us as a resource to track down information that does not seem to be available elsewhere. Additionally, events and happenings can be more effectively marketed to the public. Many visitors comment that they did not know that we even existed. Projects include developing a social media calendar of content, producing content for our site, or even making face to face contact with partner sites to increase awareness.
Suggested Majors/Concentrations: Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, Education
5. Oral Histories
Through its Center for U.S. War Veterans Oral Histories and partnership with the Library of Congress, the museum offers students the opportunity to gain an understanding of oral history collection and ultimately conduct independent veteran interviews. Under the supervision of the Assistant Curator for Oral History, the intern will assist with correspondence, research unit histories, prepare questions, support interviews, prepare transcripts, and write summaries. Interns seeking to conduct interviews should have good public speaking skills or be comfortable operating video equipment.
Suggested Majors/Concentrations: Communications, History, Film Studies
How to Apply
Individuals interested in pursuing an internship can apply using our online application.
"So glad I opted for this internship. It was nothing but fun and rewarding work."
