Internships

The Museum Studies program offers both summer and fall/winter professional internships. While not all internships are paid (that depends on the partner institution), some funding is available to assist students who take on unpaid internships.

You can find out more about upcoming fall ’20/winter ’21 internships here. We are still in the process preparing a similar FAQs for summer ’21 internships, but many of the answers in the fall/winter FAQs are relevant.

Our students have completed internships around the world from Greece to Scotland to New York, to right here at home in Toronto. Read the story of alumna Louise Skidmore, who tells how she continues use the contacts she made during a summer internship in New York.

Skidmore works for the Imperial War Museums in London. Her work has taken her to Afghanistan (above) to collect artifacts and stories from the height of wartime.

Master of Museum Studies (MMSt) Internship

A 12-week placement in a recognized museum, gallery or related institution.

An avenue for you to develop competence in the practice of museum studies
An opportunity to apply theory to practice, by engaging in hands-on work with industry professionals
An opportunity to gain invaluable practical experience
A program designed to meet your individual career goals and interests
MMSt students take the internship program in the summer between their 1st and 2nd year of enrolment.

To provide greater flexibility to partners and students alike in light of the pandemic, we have made some changes to the Summer 2020 and Fall 2020/Winter 2021 MMSt Internship offering. Please follow this link for more details on COVID-19 Information for Students.

Please also also visit our MMSt Fall/Winter Internship FAQ page for more detailed information.

Sample Experiences

MMSt students complete 12 week internships in a wide range of institutions in Canada and abroad.

Sample Organizations
Art Gallery of Ontario
Peel Art Gallery, Museum & Archives
Baycrest Health Sciences Heritage Museum
Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
Royal Ontario Museum
Canadian War Museum
Textile Museum of Canada
North by Northeast Music Festival
Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum
Theatre Museum Canada
…and many more!

Sample Roles
Interpretive Planning Intern
Exhibit & Archives Coordinator
Heritage in Healthcare Intern
Collections Assistant
Archaeological Collections Intern
Curatorial Intern
Assistant Curator of Heritage Projects
Learning Specialist Intern
Programming & Social Media Assistant
Education Intern
…and many more!

In the past 10 years, MMSt students have interned at world-renowned, established, and up-and-coming institutions and organizations around the globe, including:

Agora Excavation Project
Alberta Art Gallery
American Museum of Natural History
American School of Archaeology
Architecture & Design Museum
Art Gallery of Ontario
Asian Civilisations Museum
British Museum
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian National Archives
Cincinnati History Museum
Denver Art Museum
Design Exchange
Detroit Art Institute
Dundas Museum & Archives
Evergreen Brickworks
Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
Heritage Toronto
Inuit Art Collection, TD Bank Group
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal
Museum of Anthropology, UBC
National Gallery of Scotland
National Museum of Ireland
Natural History Museum
Nelson Mandela Foundation Centre of Memory
Ontario Science Centre
Oregon Jewish History Museum
Portrait Gallery of Canada
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Stratford Festival Archives
TELUS Spark Science Centre
Toronto International Film Festival
University of London Museums
University of Toronto Art Centre
Vancouver Museum
…and dozens of others!

Inforum Internships

These internships offered by the Inforum, the library at the Faculty of Information, provide an opportunity for students entering the last year of their Master’s program to experience the operations of a fast-paced, innovative, and resource-rich information centre, first-hand.

Through full-time engagement with the Faculty’s information professional staff on a variety of interesting and progressive projects, interns gain experience and insight into the numerous career avenues available to those with a Master’s degree from the Faculty of Information.
Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) Internship

In cooperation with the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) the Faculty of Information offers one student per year the opportunity to complete a placement in South Africa at the NMF Centre of Memory. The intern will participate in the design and development of physical and virtual Mandela archives.

Want to make a difference? Have you ever wanted to be close to a historical icon? Have the best summer of your life?

The Faculty of Information provides a stipend to cover the cost of travel and living expenses for three months. The NMF covers accommodation during the internship.
TALInt: Toronto Academic Libraries Internship
While many part time positions in libraries enhance students’ educational and professional development, often they do not provide structured learning about libraries beyond the role. To enhance student learning, the Faculty of Information has partnered with University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) to oversee TALInt: the Toronto Academic Libraries Internship.

“UTL and the TALint program will provide interns the opportunity to not only enhance the quality of their learning, but also strengthen the profession by creating future leaders who will meet the complexities inherent in the libraries, archives, and records management fields,” says Professor Wendy Duff.

TALInt students work in a variety of UTL departments, such as the University Archives, Media Commons, Engineering Library, Outreach and Student Engagement, OISE, and more. Students are paid to work for 15 hours per week and can hold the position for up to 24 months.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to TALInt must be incoming full-time MI students starting in September following the application period.

Minimum A- grade average in the undergraduate program of study (overall GPA or final year GPA; this is 5 FCE senior level courses)

Must have submitted all supporting documents via the Online Graduate Admissions Application by January 31.

TALInt postings occur in February of each year.

All eligible candidates will be notified by email in February.

Master of Museum Studies (MMSt) Internship

Sample Experiences

Inforum Internships

Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) Internship

TALInt: Toronto Academic Libraries Internship