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Internships and Professional Opportunities

Internships are an excellent way to gain firsthand experience in the field of art history. A variety of internship possibilities are available at museums and galleries, historic houses, and other cultural and arts organizations. Students who have been awarded such an internship and are interested in earning History of Art credit for it through HART 3880 (Internship Training) and 3883 (Internship Research) should follow the procedure as described below. HART 3880/3883 are considered "department internship" credit hours. Please note that internship credits can count toward the total hours required for graduation from Vanderbilt; however, HART 3880 and 3883 will not count toward the total hours required for the History of Art major or minor, and they do not count toward AXLE. Students will need to secure a HART faculty advisor for these internships, and all necessary paperwork must be processed through and approved by Dean Jonathan Waters' office.  More information about this procedure can be found below. **Note that usual tuition charges apply for the internship credit hour(s) earned.

Please note : We do not grant HART credit for non-academic internships pursued at auction houses (i.e., Christie’s and Sotheby’s), at popular and fashion magazines, with fashion designers, and the like. Students interested in requesting Vanderbilt credit for internships at organizations such as these will need to do so through registration in INDS 3880 (fall, spring), and INDS 3884 (summer). Students will need to secure a faculty advisor for these internships, and all necessary paperwork must be processed through and approved by Dean Waters' office.  More information about this procedure can be found below.

Any undergraduate student interested in earning either HART 3880/3883 academic credit or credit through INDS 3880 or 3884 should read this document prepared by the Arts and Science Dean's Office. In addition, all applications for internship credit are now routed through the same online portal. The necessary forms for earning academic credit for an internship are now available online at this REDcap link. This link provides both the online application form that must be completed, along with additional forms that must be downloaded, completed, and uploaded back to this site. Internship applications are due by the end of the first week of classes of the semester during which the internship will be undertaken. Upon approval, the student’s registration for HART 3880/3883 or INDS 3880/3884 will be completed by the A&S Dean’s office in association with the Registrar; students cannot register for these credit hours themselves through YES.

 

Specific guidelines and requirements for earning History of Art credit (HART 3880 and 3883) for an internship: Students are required to have a minimum 3.0 cumulative Vanderbilt GPA and six prior credit hours of History of Art coursework at the time of application. Students will then need to secure a History of Art faculty advisor for their internship. The faculty advisor will work with the student to develop a list of readings and a research agenda for the internship, in preparation for the development of a research paper that will constitute the academic, graded component of the internship, for which students will enroll under the course number HART 3883. A student may register for 1-3 hours in HART 3883, and the number of hours directly affects the expectations and scope of the research paper the student will write to earn this credit. The topic of the paper and the requirements for it are determined in consultation with the HART faculty advisor who has agreed to supervise the student, and who will submit the letter grade for the work at the end of the term. Per A&S guidelines, the recommended length of readings for the Research and Readings component in departmental internships is 250 pages per graded credit hour, which may include readings and research assigned to the student by supervisors at the worksite. The project must result in a written project that is at least 5 pages in length per graded credit hour. 

Students must also register concurrently in one credit hour of HART 3880 for every five hours of actual work at the internship location per week. For example, if a student works ten hours per week at the internship office, then the student will enroll for two hours of HART 3880. These are the actual internship work hours, which will be graded on a P/F basis at the end of the semester. Successful completion of the internship work hours will be certified by the designated supervisor at the internship office who has agreed to submit the paperwork required at the time the internship concludes.

 

Specific guidelines and requirements for earning Interdisciplinary Internship credit through INDS 3880 (fall, spring), and 3884 (summer), 1 credit hour (repeatable):  Students may earn academic credit for the work of internships in the College of Arts and Science on a Pass/Fail basis through interdisciplinary internships. Credit hours earned will not count toward major or minor requirements or toward AXLE, but will count as part of the total credit hours required for graduation. Students obtain their own placement and faculty adviser who works with them to develop a list of readings or research agenda for the internship, which must be approved by the director of internships in the College of Arts and Science, Dean Jonathan Waters. 

Any student who is at least a sophomore and in good academic standing may earn one credit hour per semester or summer for an internship under this designation. This course may be repeated twice for a maximum of 3 credit hours exclusively on a Pass/Fail basis. Note that usual tuition charges apply for the internship credit hour(s) earned.

The recommended length of readings for INDS 3880/3884 is 250 pages, which may include readings and research assigned to the student by supervisors at the worksite. Students must write a paper that is at least 5 pages in length. The paper is usually a summary of readings, a small research paper, or a reflection piece on the internship experience itself.

 

Updated 6/1/2023