Ready to take your interest in museums to the next level?
Thanks to the vision and generosity of alum Dr. Carol Woody '71 and Robert Woody, interns receive $5,000 to complete ten full-time weeks of intern and research activities during the summer. Successful applicants are matched, according to their interests and previous experience, with museum partners, who will then have the opportunity to vet final candidates through interviews. This opportunity is open to all W&M undergraduates.
We are now accepting applications for Summer 2025! The deadline for submission is 11:59pm on December 1, 2024.
The Charles Center is excited to offer the following opportunities for Summer 2025!
Internship information
The Charleston Museum (Charleston, South Carolina)
Founded in 1773, The Charleston Museum, America's First Museum, has been discovering, preserving, interpreting, celebrating, and sharing ever since. Their collections, exhibitions, educational programs, and events are designed to inspire curiosity and conversation - about the South Carolina Lowcountry - and the stories that make us who we are.
Internship description
The Woody Intern at the Charleston Museum will be tasked with researching an enslaved-made wooden Fire Pump Cart (c. 1850). They will also formulate a conservation and exhibit plan for the object.
The Chrysler Museum exists to enrich and transform lives. Its mission is to bring art and people together through experiences that delight, inform, and inspire. The museum has fifty galleries, a growing collection of more than 30,000 objects, an interactive space for families, and the only glass studio of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Internship description
This internship focuses on the Chrysler Museum of Art's collection of Asian glass. The first part is to assess the current collection, focusing on what Asian glass is currently represented and researching these objects to be sure there is full and accurate information. The second part is to work with the Curator to develop a small exhibition of this collection, focusing on both history and thematic interpretation; this involves choosing objects, determining layout, writing labels, preparing a gallery leaflet, and brainstorming programming with staff.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Interest in library research
Interest in teaching and education
Interest in history/art history; specifically Asian history, ceramics/glass, and contemporary art
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, Virginia)
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates the world’s largest living history museum in Williamsburg, Virginia—the restored 18th-century capital of Britain’s largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of empire in the New World. The mission of Colonial Williamsburg is to be a center for history and citizenship, encouraging national and international audiences to learn from the past through the preservation, restoration, and presentation of 18th-century Williamsburg and the study, interpretation, and teaching of America's founding democratic principles.
The Colonial Williamsburg story of a revolutionary city tells how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled.
Internship description
Collaborating with the Curator, the intern will critically identify, document, and analyze artifacts within the archaeological collections in preparation for movement to and possible inclusion in public exhibitions at the soon to be completed Campbell Archaeology Center. Research projects could include in depth research into specific classes of material culture, specific periods of time represented within the archaeological collection (eg. 17th century), or the formulation of thematic assemblages of objects for exhibition.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Coursework in History, American Studies, Anthropology, or related fields
Interest in material culture
Learn more about the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation here.
Internship information
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
The mission of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is to foster through its living-history museums – Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown – an awareness and understanding of the early history, settlement, and development of the United States through the convergence of American Indian, European, and African cultures and the enduring legacies bequeathed to the nation.
Internship description
The JYF summer 2025 intern will work within the Learning and Community Engagement department. JYF is in the process of reviewing and revising programming to fit their new interpretive plan of "fostering cultural curiosity creates connections and builds belonging." This interpretive plan also helps the Foundation further their mission of fostering through its living-history museums – Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown – an awareness and understanding of the early history, settlement, and development of the United States through the convergence of American Indian, European, and African cultures and the enduring legacies bequeathed to the nation. The intern who works with our department will have the opportunity to learn about current trends in the public history field, work with experts, and create a project that will be put into place. During the summer, we take the opportunity to visit with other museums, have lunch and learn discussions, and assist the person in building connections and networks across the Commonwealth.
Interns will work with JYF to develop out a research project that will both engage them academically and meet the mission of the institution. In the past few years, interns have worked on research projects surrounding civic engagement, the role of monuments in memorialization and control, and the impact of different amendments to the Constitution on different sects of society.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Experience working in large and small team settings
Critical thinking and communication (verbal and written) skills
Learn more about the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation here.
Internship information
The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.)
Founded by art collector and philanthropist Duncan Phillips in 1921, The Phillips Collection has been collecting modern and contemporary art for one hundred years. Duncan Phillips’s former home—and additions to it—in Washington’s historic Dupont Circle neighborhood provides a unique setting for the growing collection of over 5,000 works. Following Phillips’s unconventional approach to exhibitions, The Phillips Collection galleries are frequently rearranged to facilitate new conversations between artworks and fresh experiences for visitors.
Internship description
The library and archives intern will work with the Head of Archives, Library, and Digital Resources in a variety of research capacities, to include helping curators and the general public with reference questions and gathering materials on Phillips history. They will be introduced to a wide variety of published reference books and primary source materials. Mentorship will include supervised reading on the museum’s history, opportunities to contribute to the blog and digital exhibitions, and tours of the permanent collection and exhibitions.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Background/interest in Museum Studies or Art History
Academic or practical experience/interest with processing, arrangement, description, cataloguing, and/or digitization
Preservation Virginia (Richmond, Virginia & multiple locations)
Preservation Virginia owns and operates six historic locations open to the public. It’s roughly 100 miles from Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown in Hanover County to Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach- 100 Miles of History! Along the way, visit the John Marshall House, Historic Jamestowne, Smith’s Fort and Bacon’s Castle. The multifaceted and impactful nature of their advocacy programs, six historic sites and partnerships with other organizations has allowed them to create a holistic approach to saving the places that connect us to our diverse, complex history.
Internship description
The summer 2025 project will build upon the work undertaken by our previous Woody interns to expand the research on Black history at Smith's Fort, and to assist in building a new interpretive plan to better incorporate these histories into the visitor experience at the site.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Experience or interest in archival research, oral history, American history, curatorial work, and/or museum interpretation
Interest in Black history and descendant outreach
General knowledge of Virginia history post-Civil War
Interest in promoting diverse and inclusive narratives and experiences
Built around 1820 as a private home for several of Cincinnati’s most prominent citizens, the Taft Museum of Art is now one of the finest small art museums in America and holds National Historic Landmark status for its historic house and Duncanson murals.
Here, you’ll find gems of history nestled into every nook and cranny in our period-inspired rooms—each their own canvas of creativity—that surround you in stories that have endured for generations. Our 200-year-old house holds a remarkable collection that spans the Middle Ages through the 19th century with European and American paintings, and 18th-century watches, Chinese porcelains, and French Renaissance enamels. The collection features iconic artists including Rembrandt, Goya, Gainsborough, Turner, Ingres, Whistler, and Sargent, as well as Federal-period American furniture and the most significant pre-Civil War domestic murals in the United States.
Internship description
The intern will assist the Taft Museum of Art with developing and fine-tuning its visual description/alt-text best practices as part of the museum's strategic accessibility initiative. The intern will also be able to contribute visual descriptions for digitized works of the collection that will be available on the museum's new website.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Interest in learning more about the accessibility work that is happening in the field
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is a state-supported, privately endowed educational institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, to encourage the study of the arts, and thus to enrich the lives of all.
Internship description
The internship will provide an opportunity to research and plan a special exhibition that aligns with the intern's area of study. Following the museum project management timelines and meeting with related departments, the internship will introduce curatorial, design, education, registration, collections management, conservation, and other elements to provide an understanding of the many dependencies in planning exhibition projects.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Interest in exploring various roles that work within an art museum outside of the curatorial focus
Openness to independent and team-based work
Learn more about the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts here.
Internship information
Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Richmond, Virginia)
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) connects people to America's past through the unparalleled story of Virginia. By collecting, preserving, and interpreting the Commonwealth's history, the museum links past with present and inspires future generations.
Internship description
The internship will primarily involve the intern authoring a research resource for the VMHC library, which will be hosted on our website. This will involve surveying the VMHC's library collection around an agreed upon subject area or period (e.g., labor history, Virginia visual culture, the American Revolution, etc.), viewing/interpreting relevant identified materials, and creating descriptive entries of those materials to create a research guide that will increase access to them. In addition, the intern will gain a understanding of the day-to-day operations involved in the running of a research library and familiarity with broader museum operations.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Experience in arts & humanities research
Interest in underrepresented historical topics (e.g. Civil Rights history, LGBTQ+ history, disability history)
Learn more about the Virginia Museum of History & Culture here.
Winterthur is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the family of founder Henry Francis du Pont called it home.
Winterthur is also 1,000 acres of protected meadows, woodlands, ponds, and waterways. The 60-acre garden, designed by du Pont, is among America’s best, with magnificent plantings and massive displays of color throughout the year. The graduate degree programs and extensive research library make Winterthur an important center for the study of American art and culture.
Internship description
The Winterthur summer intern will conduct background research for objects and storylines to be featured in the exhibitions "Challenging Masterpieces: Artistry and Identity in American Furniture," "Continents Collide: New Directions in Collecting," and "The Winterthur Story." Opportunities for sharing original research include participation in an ongoing series of informal lunchtime talks for staff, research fellows, students, and other interested members of the Winterthur community, and creation of one or more blog posts.
Preferred skills, experiences, and interests
Experience with historical/art historical writing and research
Knowledge of 18th and 19th-century United States history
Interest in museum studies and material culture
Learn more about the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library here.
Host institutions provide interns with mentored research experiences that align with their needs and strategic objectives. Students are expected to apply and practice what they learn by contributing to the creation of an original project (e.g., exhibit, publication, or digital initiative) that reflects the latest methods, best practices, and innovative technologies in the field.
Below are the general application requirements. You can find more information in the links provided above, including expected duties and qualifications for each internship. Priority will be given to students who have not yet completed a Charles Center Summer Research Internship.
Eligibility
Applicant must be:
a student in good academic standing.
a continuing undergraduate student (i.e., not a graduating senior).
eligible to work in the United States on or before May 1 of the internship year.
available to complete ten full weeks of intern and research activities in the summer.
Requirements
Internships will have a research component with specifics to be arranged with the internship supervisor. Students receiving internship funding are required to blog about their research experience during the summer on the Charles Center Summer Research Blog.
The application for the Woody Internship in Museum Studies includes:
Woody Museum Studies Internship Application form (online)
You will be asked to enter the names of two references :
One reference must be a faculty member who has taught you in class.
A second reference may be a former supervisor, acquaintance, etc. who can speak to your ability to be successful in the internship.
Cover Letter, addressed to the Charles Center, explaining the following:
why you are interested in the museum studies internship
the skill sets, academic preparation, and special interests or experiences you possess that qualify you for the internships you selected
why you consider yourself a good fit for your chosen internships
your personal qualities that make you suitable for this opportunity
how this internship relates to your career and academic goals
what you hope to gain from this experience
Writing sample, ranging from 3 to 5 double-spaced pages (not including bibliography, footnotes, or appendix), demonstrating:
A capacity to craft a coherent and compelling argument using primary and/or secondary sources
An engagement with history, culture, museums, arts, archaeology, or similar topics
Attention to language, grammar, syntax, and overall construction
Resume
Banner (unofficial) transcript
To access your unofficialtranscript, log in to Banner atbanweb.wm.edu, navigate to the “Student” tab, select "Student Records" and then “Student Profile.” On the left-hand menu of your student profile, click “Unofficial William & Mary Academic Transcript.” Select “Undergraduate” and “Web Self-Service” on the drop-down boxes. This will take you to your unofficialtranscript; right click anywhere, select “Print,” and select the destination as “Save as PDF.”
Supplemental work (optional)
Demonstrates research ability not displayed in the writing sample
Examples include: art portfolio, digital project, museum exhibit, community project
For more information or questions about the internship program, please contact Dr. Ted Maris-Wolf at [[edmari]].
Emily Alberti - Colonial Williamsburg Foudation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | History
Camille Batts - Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Jamestown, Virginia Sophomore | Sociology, History
Zoe Davis - Taft Museum of Art in CIncinatti, Ohio Junior | Art History
Josiah Desarro-Raynal - Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia Junior | History
J.P. Heil - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware Junior | History
Natalie Lopez - Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, Virginia Junior | History
Sierra Manja - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Sophomore | History, Art History
Faith Page - Preservation VA in Richmond, Virginia Sophomore | History
Rachel Swain - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | History
Katherine Walter - Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Virgina Junior | Global Studies, Government
2023
Sterling Hodge - Preservation Virginia in Richmond, Virginia Junior | History, GSWS
Emma Jackson - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | Anthropology, Art History
Kathryn Keiserman - Jamestown Rediscovery and Historic Jamestown in Jamestown, Virginia Junior | Anthropology, Classical Studies
Sophia Kim - Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia Junior | Art History
Hannah Kuhns - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia Junior | Art History
Annabelle Midden - Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Virginia Junior | History, Religious Studies
Isabel Periera-Lopez - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware Junior | History
Pelumi Sholagbade - Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia Junior | English
Natalie Simpson - Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Jamestown, Virginia Junior | American Studies, Hispanic Studies
Cecilia Weaver - Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Virginia Junior | History, Government
Anna Wershbale - Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnatti, Ohio Junior | Art History
2022
Noah Broude - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware Junior | History and Linguistics
Caroline Donovan - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | Anthropology
2021
Emma Eubank - Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio Junior | Anthropology and Medieval & Renaissance Studies Morgan Sanders - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | History and Geology Hannah Sanner - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware Senior | Chinese Language & Culture
2020
Jamie Carkenord - The Phillips Collection in Washington DC Sophomore| American Studies
Julia Gibson- J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California Sophomore | History
Grant Wong- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | History
2019
Clara Poteet - J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California Junior| Art History Katie Gibson - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Sophomore| History Grace Ford-Dirks- Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware Sophomore| History Hannah Lowe - Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio Sophomore| History
2018
Charles Parsons - The Phillips Collection in Washington DC Sophomore| Art & Art History major, Art History concentration
Hannah London - J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California Sophomore| Undeclared
Caitlin Wagner - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Junior | Anthropology major, Art History minor
Lydia Heaton- Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library Junior | History major, French & Francophone Studies minor
2017
Helen Cameron - J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California Junior | Art History & Classical Studies major, University of St. Andrews Joint Degree Program
Sarah Farver - The Phillips Collection in Washington DC Junior | History major, Art History minor
Emily Knoche - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Sophomore | Global Studies major, French & Francophone Studies minor
Anna South - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library Sophomore | English major, University of St. Andrews Joint Degree Program
2016
Kelsey Frenkiel - The Phillips Collection in Washington DC Senior | Anthropology major, History minor
Emma Merrill - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Sophomore | History major, Public Policy minor
Isabel Stevens - J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California
Junior | History and Classics major
2015
Carter Lyon - The Phillips Collection in Washington DC Junior | History major, University of St. Andrews Joint Degree Program
Rachel Rosenfeld - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia Sophomore | History and Film and Media Studies majors
Claire Tinsley - J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California
The Charleston Museum (Charleston, South Carolina)
Chrysler Museum of Art (Norfolk, Virginia)
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.)
Preservation Virginia (Richmond, Virginia & multiple locations)
Preservation Virginia owns and operates six historic locations open to the public. It’s roughly 100 miles from Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown in Hanover County to Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach- 100 Miles of History! Along the way, visit the John Marshall House, Historic Jamestowne, Smith’s Fort and Bacon’s Castle. The multifaceted and impactful nature of their advocacy programs, six historic sites and partnerships with other organizations has allowed them to create a holistic approach to saving the places that connect us to our diverse, complex history. 
Taft Museum of Art (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Built around 1820 as a private home for several of Cincinnati’s most prominent citizens, the Taft Museum of Art is now one of the finest small art museums in America and holds National Historic Landmark status for its historic house and Duncanson murals.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, Virginia)
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is a state-supported, privately endowed educational institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, to encourage the study of the arts, and thus to enrich the lives of all.
Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Richmond, Virginia)
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) connects people to America's past through the unparalleled story of Virginia. By collecting, preserving, and interpreting the Commonwealth's history, the museum links past with present and inspires future generations.
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (Winterthur, Delaware)
Winterthur is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the family of founder Henry Francis du Pont called it home.
