2025 AIMS Black and Indigenous Maritime Studies Internship

Applications due February 21, 2025.

Mystic Seaport Museum seeks applicants for the 2025 AIMS Black and Indigenous Maritime Studies Internship. This interdisciplinary internship engages with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) maritime histories and contemporary communities through academic exploration and hands-on practice in public engagement, curation, and community conversations. The program benefits undergraduate students with an interest in the public humanities, particularly public history, education, curation, or public engagement. This is a paid internship with opportunities for onsite housing. 

2025 Theme: Museums and the Semiquincentennial

“This moment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to renew public engagement with history. It is a chance for Americans to learn about and reflect upon the full sweep of our nation’s past, celebrating examples of liberty, courage, and sacrifice while reckoning with moments of injustice, racism, and violence. The occasion calls on us to use knowledge of our country’s past—beginning millennia before 1776 and continuing to the present— to build a stronger future.” Making History at 250: The Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial, American Association for State + Local History 

This summer, we’ll explore the role of museums in commemorating the nation’s Semiquincentennial in 2026. We’ll explore – and critically examine - the themes set forward by the American Association for State + Local History: Unfinished Revolutions; Power of Place; We the People; the American Experiment; and Making History. In collaboration with the Museum’s America 250 Committee, interns will develop projects, programming, and research that expand and challenge existing narratives of commemoration, and center more inclusive, community-grounded storytelling.

Museum Interpretation

Twice a week, interns will serve as interpreters and guides as part of the Museum’s Interpretation team. Interns will work in the Museum’s new exhibit, Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty, and the Sea. Entwined features a narrative of Indigenous and African-descended maritime cultures whose histories are forever interwoven in the stories of freedom, sovereignty, and the sea. Interns will also shadow trained staff in additional exhibits to gain a broader experience of forward-facing museum work. In this role, interns will facilitate visitor conversations and educational experiences, as well as gain experience in public engagement and historical interpretation. 

Independent Projects
For 1.5 days per week, interns will also tackle independent projects with host departments across the Museum in preparation for the nation’s Semiquincentennial in 2026. Depending on project work, interns will develop skills in areas such as curatorial and archival research, interpretive and educational content development, public program development, or others.

Professional Development

For 1.5 days per week, interns will learn alongside the graduate-level Fellows of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History, traveling with the Institute on weekly field seminars to regional museums, archives, and cultural institutions across Southern New England. Interns will also participate in a weekly museum studies course, exploring museum theory, procedures, and ethics, as well as critical perspectives and best practices around the 250th.

There are 4 internships available for Summer 2025. The summer internship period will run for 10 weeks from June 2 – August 8. Interns should expect to work onsite at Mystic Seaport Museum for 35 hours/week and should expect to work at least one weekend day. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• This internship is open to upper-level undergraduates in good standing in any academic field. 
• A career interest in museum work is not a criterion for admission, but applicants must demonstrate experience with - or interest in - interacting with members of the public in formal and informal settings 
• Demonstrated interest in researching, interpreting, or working with historic and contemporary BIPOC communities, stories, and Belongings
• Academic or professional experience in the humanities, social sciences, or education fields
• Strong interpersonal skills 

Please include in your application:

• Resume
• Application Essay (Max 700 words): Why do you want to participate in this internship? What makes you a strong candidate for this internship? How does this internship relate to your personal, academic, or professional goals? Please upload this essay under 'Upload Additional Files' in the application portal. 
• 1 Letter of Recommendation from faculty or relevant supervisors. Please instruct recommenders to send letters to internships@mysticseaport.org
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Stipend: $6,300