What are the responsibilities and job description for the 2025 MoMA Summer Internship - Collection Management and Exhibition Registration position at MoMA?
About the Summer Internship Program
The Summer Internship Program provides undergraduate and graduate students and beginning professionals with practical experience in a specific area of museum work at The Museum of Modern Art. Interns participate in weekly professional development activities designed to increase understanding of the Museum’s various collections, exhibitions, and departments. The Museum hosts approximately 25 interns in various departments across our institution. Participants may arrange for academic credit through their school, but it is not a requirement.
MoMA Summer 2025 internships require a commitment of four days per week. The schedule is Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. One must have a minimum of two years of college completed (or equivalent) by June 2025 in order to apply.
All summer intern applications are due by Friday, March 7th by 11:59 PM EST.
Duration:
June 9—August 12; Ten Weeks
Application Deadline:
March 7, 2025
Decision Notification:
April 21, 2025
Stipend:
$6,160
Department Projects & Tasks
With over 60 galleries dedicated to the collection and a 74% increase in the number of works on view, a shift in focus to displaying MoMA’s collection (which began with our 2019 expansion) has exponentially increased the reliance on files held by the office of the registrar. To fulfill our goals of ensuring the presence, reliability, and accessibility of condition reports and installation instructions across multiple formats, the tasks of the intern will include:
- Organizing archival materials and classifying them appropriately for easy access
- Researching, scanning, and linking to TMS any paper condition reports or installation instructions for works on upcoming display including floor rotations for upcoming summer exhibitions.
- Working in BOX app: Creating Box folders for all works rotating on view. Migrating folders when works are de-installed according to our protocols
- Refiling diagrammatic condition reports in file room
- Preparing years of acquisition meeting files for archives
Additionally, the position will support the exhibitions and outgoing loan programs by archiving paper exhibition and outgoing loan files to be sent to off site storage; submitting digital records for permanent storage as outlined in the Museum Exhibitions retention schedule to MoMA’s Electronic Records Archive (MERA); annotating MoMA exhibition catalogs; consulting records in the registrar file room and creating scans for internal and external research requests; and preparing object cards to be sent to an external company for digitization.
The intern will gain practical experience working with a variety of filing systems, including paper and digital files, an electronic archive system, and apps in use by MoMA and elsewhere as part of the shift to digital condition reporting. They will additionally gain a basic understanding of the standard administrative processes of a large registration office and facility with TMS, while observing installation and deinstallation activity in the galleries.
Department Skillset Requirements
Candidates with interest or experience in organizing and classifying archival materials, in both paper and digital form, will be considered. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail is required. Interest in the museum's collection, exhibition, and loan programs is a preferred.
How to Apply
The following items are required as part of your online application through MoMA's UKG Recruiting Portal:
1. Essay
One essay submitted in PDF format. Essay should be no longer than 650 words and answer the prompt below as follows:
Why are you interested in participating in an internship at The Museum of Modern Art? In response, be sure to address both:
a) The role of museums and how you envision their potential for evolution
b) Individual or an experience that has influenced your perception of the arts
2. Résumé
Your résumé/curriculum vitae, in PDF format, directly uploaded to your application.
3. Letter of Recommendation
At least one letter of recommendation, in PDF format, directly uploaded to your application.
4. Transcript
Transcript(s) of undergraduate and/or graduate records, in PDF format, directly uploaded to your application.
Unofficial transcripts are accepted. If you do not have access to an unofficial transcript, allow sufficient time to order a transcript from your college or university to attach as a PDF by the deadline.
Please note: we will not review applications received after the deadline, and we will only review complete applications.
Select applicants will be contacted to arrange interviews in late March. If we request an interview with you, we will contact you to arrange a convenient date and time for you.
For a complete list of available internships at MoMA, please go to www.moma.org/about/careers/internships
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement: Equal Employment Opportunity has been, and will continue to be, a fundamental principle at the Museum, where employment is based upon personal capabilities and qualifications without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, marital and civil partnership/union status, alienage or citizenship status, creed, genetic predisposition or carrier status, unemployment status, familial status, domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking victim status, caregiver status, arrest or conviction record to the extent required by applicable law, credit history, or any other protected category as established by applicable law, including the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”).
