The Penn Museum is building transformation not only through the renovation and reinstallation of 44,000 square feet of gallery space, but also through a fundamental philosophical transformation. We seek to address the lack of diversity on our staff by reducing the structural barriers to entry to museum careers in order to better represent and serve our communities.
To begin addressing inequality in the museum field, the Penn Museum is replacing unpaid internships with a fully paid internship program. Paid internships level the opportunity for all students to enhance their future career options through an internship rather than through an unrelated paid summer job. Supported by a stipend, students from diverse backgrounds can gain important knowledge and skills.
The Museum’s Summer Internship Program runs for 9 weeks, between June 1 and July 31. Students with an interest in pursuing a museum career or academic career work closely with departments across the Museum, including Conservation, Learning and Public Engagement, Development, Registrar’s Office, and Exhibitions.
Partner With Us
Help an undergraduate spend the summer learning in our Museum by underwriting an internship:
- $200,000 will endow, in perpetuity, our ability to provide a student from outside Philadelphia with a summer stipend and housing allowance.
- $100,000 will endow, in perpetuity, our ability to provide a local student with a summer stipend.
- $10,800 provides a student from outside Philadelphia with a summer stipend and housing allowance.
- $5,400 provides a local student with a summer stipend.
Donors will receive a report including highlights from our interns’ projects across the Museum.
Gifts of any size will enable the Museum to offer training in a museum world that students of any economic background will have the opportunity to access.
Thank you for considering a gift to cultivate diversity, equity, and inclusion in museums, and to help transform our Penn Museum into a museum for all.