Internships

The Zimmerli Art Museum offers internships for academic credit to Rutgers undergraduate students. Under the supervision of museum staff, interns engage in experiential learning to acquire hands-on, practical experience by assisting with day-to-day departmental activities, research-based assignments, and other special projects that support the operations of the museum. Academic-year internships are typically 8 to 10 hours per week and are structured to bestow a deeper understanding of the university art museum as a crucial hub for interdisciplinary research, collection management, learning, and community engagement.  

Interns will also have opportunities to build community with their cohort and museum professionals at the Zimmerli through brown-bag talks, designed for professional development. 

Interns are selected based on their academic training, experience, and interests, as well as departmental availability. Interns may apply to work in the following departments: curatorial, registration, education, development, marketing and communications, and the business office.  

Current opportunities will be listed below for upcoming semesters for enrolled Rutgers students pursuing any course of study. 

The Zimmerli Art Museum's Curatorial Department plans, implements and oversees the rotation and execution of temporary and permanent art exhibitions at the museum.

• The Zimmerli Art Museum seeks a Curatorial Intern to assist with all aspects of planning and implementing two collection exhibitions scheduled for Fall 2025. Working directly with the Curator for Prints, Drawings, and European Art, the intern will help draft the exhibition checklists and gallery texts, research objects, update collection information, and assist with exhibition administration. The intern will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of work in a curatorial department during the Spring of 2025.

The Zimmerli Art Museum’s Education Department works with visitors of all ages to support learning in the museum and foster creativity through a variety of programs and resources

The Zimmerli Art Museum's Marketing, Communications and Publications Department oversees all promotional matters along with the development of exhibition publications and audio-visual needs for live events held in the building.

The Zimmerli Art Museum’s Registration Department is responsible for the maintenance and physical care of art and intellectual property. This includes work on exhibitions, loan planning and logistics, conservation, rights and reproductions, object and gallery photography, maintenance of the collections database (TMS), preparation of works on paper with matting and framing, and establishing collections procedures aligned with the professional standards set by AAM (American Alliance of Museums.) This work supports a museum-wide effort to make the collection accessible for all. The Registration Department works closely with the Curatorial and Operations Departments.  

This internship affords a unique opportunity to engage directly with the Zimmerli's art collection, gaining insight and experience in art handling and registration work, while under the supervision of the assistant registrar. The intern can expect to work on a highly detailed inventory project, recording, cataloguing, measuring, and tracking artwork. There may also be opportunities to assist with database projects, digitization efforts, and to observe and assist in the rotation of art exhibitions, as well as other tasks and projects as needed.

• Dodge Collection Archives and Library Intern 

The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union at Zimmerli Art Museum is the largest collection of its kind in the world. It includes over 20,000 works by more than 1,000 artists, a research library, and an archive. The Dodge Collection Archives and Library Intern will participate in the ongoing work of processing the archival and library collections, including sorting and filing archival materials (documents, photographs, ephemera, audio and video recordings), making inventories of archival materials, cataloguing archival materials and books, preparing finding aids for archival collections, and digitization of archival materials. This internship will be an exciting opportunity to learn new or practice and hone existing skills for those majoring or interested in any of the following: Russian language, history, art history, museum studies, digital humanities, archival management, and library science. Previous experience, professional and/or Russian language skills, are a plus, but are not required.

The Zimmerli Art Museum seeks an outgoing, creative, and enthusiastic Special Events Intern to support its efforts in event planning and development. The intern selected for this position will assist the Manager of Event Services with a wide range of projects related to day-to-day event operations, planning, and basic administrative tasks. They will work closely with the Manager of Event Services with the coordination of event booking materials, such as contract administration, estimates, and various event administrative procedural documents (i.e., parking requests, certification approvals, and custodian service requests). The ideal candidate should be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. This internship is available to any Rutgers junior or senior student with a strong interest in event planning and hospitality.