Internships
Internships provide valuable opportunities for students to gain first-hand knowledge and build their professional skill set. They also offer important opportunities for students to build their resumes, network with professionals in the various fields of Public History, and find exciting positions in Public History institutions after finishing their graduate degree.
The History Department now offers four paid internships along with one $1,200 internship scholarship. All students who register for a spring internship automatically qualify for the Department's one competitive scholarship (which is based on GPA, instructor references and extracurricular activities). For more information on the paid internships with Dollar Bank, the Newman Institute, and St. Isidore's College Archive, please see the list of available internships.
How do you do it?
All Public History graduate students must complete two internships (six hours of credit) during their course of study. Each internship requires 125 hours of work under the guidance of professionals in various Public History fields. They are available every semester (including summer) and require at least six weeks of work.
Prior to starting their internships, students will complete an Internship Contract, which outlines the project or area of work to be covered by the internship. They are also required to submit a formal internship report after finishing their work.
Please contact the History Department's Internship Coordinator Dr. Andrew Simpson for additional information on applying.
Where to intern?
As a major metropolitan area, the Pittsburgh region offers Duquesne students a wide variety of notable institutions for internships. Duquesne students have interned at:
- Dollar Bank Archives - PAID
- National Institute for Newman Studies Archives - PAID
- St. Isidore's College Archives, Rome - TRAVEL & HOUSING PAID FOR BY DUQUESNE
- Allegheny Land Trust
- Andy Warhol Museum
- Archives & Records Center of the Diocese of Pittsburgh
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main Branch
- Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History
- Center Avenue United Methodist Church (Pitcairn, PA)
- Duquesne University Archives & Special Collections
- Fort Necessity National Battlefield
- Fort Pitt Bock House & Museum
- Frick Art & Historical Center
- Heinz History Center
- Historical Society of Mount Lebanon
- Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
- Kerr Memorial Museum
- Ligonier Valley Historical Society
- Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village
- Mifflin Township Historical Society
- Old Economy Village
- Phipps Conservatory
- Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation
- Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area
- Theatre Historical Society of America
- Upper St. Clair Historical Society
- Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Duquesne Public History students also have interned at national institutions far from Pittsburgh, including the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the San Diego Historical Society and Historic Columbia in South Carolina among others.