Professional Development: the VRAF Internship Award

Similar to (but different from) the VRAF Professional Development Grant is the VRAF Internship Award, which is a fantastic way to fund or supplement an un- or underpaid internship in arts and visual resources work.

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Internship Award provides financial support for graduate students preparing for a career in visual resources and image management. The award grants $4,000 to support a period of internship in archives, libraries, museums, visual resources collections in academic institutions, or other appropriate contexts.The recipient will receive a stipend of $3,000 for 200 hours completed at the host site. A professional development component of $1,000 supports conference attendance or attendance at the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management. The recipient will receive a one year complimentary student membership in the Visual Resources Association.

Who May Apply

Students currently enrolled in, or having completed within the last 12 months, a graduate program in library or information science, art history, architectural history, architecture, visual or studio art, museum studies, or another applicable field of study may apply for this award. Applicants must have completed at least 10 credits of their graduate coursework before the application deadline, or demonstrate an equivalent combination of coursework and relevant experience.

I would strongly consider applying even if your (planned or proposed) internship is only tangentially related to visual resources or arts librarianship: metadata, digitization, conservation, rights management, administration, or plain old cataloguing.

Only one VRAF Internship is awarded per year.  Once an award recipient has been selected, he or she will select an institution to act as host for the internship.  This Institution must be approved by the VRAF Internship Award Committee.  VRAF and VRA are not responsible for matching candidates with a host institution, but will gladly assist with the process.

This Internship Award will be granted during the 2014 to 2015 academic year.  The intern is required to work on site at their chosen host institution for a minimum of 200 hours.  The intern will choose to initiate their internship in the fall of 2014 or the winter or spring of 2015.  The internship must begin within 30 days of the official beginning of the selected academic session of the participant’s home institution and be completed within one academic semester or two academic quarters.  Exceptions are allowed by agreement between the selected intern and the VRAF Internship Awards Committee. In all cases, the internship must be completed within twelve months of the recipient being notified of the award.

This language can be complicated: if you’re a recent graduate, why would you need to start the internship within the beginning of a semester? (What’s your “home institution” in that case?) Especially if the award isn’t necessarily going towards internships for graduate credit? Unfortunately, I hold no answers for you; you’ll have to work towards “agreement” with the awards committee.

To apply for the award, please submit the following:

1. A current resume.
2. A current transcript [this does not need to be issued directly from the institution].
3. An essay of up to 300 words addressing the applicant’s professional goals, expectations of the internship experience, and any skills or background that might benefit visual resources. A brief description of the proposed project is desirable.
4. The names of two professional or scholastic references with address, telephone numbers, and email addresses.
5. Recommended, but not required: Host institution and contact information of internship supervisor.

Application materials in electronic form are preferred and should be submitted as a single PDF file to:
Margaret Webster
Visual Resources Consulted
Phone: 607-257-3365
Email: mnw3@cornell.edu

• 7/31/2014; Deadline for submission of applications to the VRAF Internship Award Committee.
• 9/12/2014; VRAF Internship Award Committee announces the award recipient for 2014 to 2015.

 

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