Opportunities

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Internships

Internships enable History of Art students to explore potential careers and gain valuable skills and hands-on experience in a variety of fields. Whether at an auction house, an architecture firm, or a living history museum, our students learn to collaborate and contribute in a real-world environment. Experiential learning allows you to put Wheaton’s interdisciplinary curriculum into practice. Once back on campus, the experiences you gain enhance your classroom learning.

You may intern at an institution close to home or apply your Wheaton education to an internship in a foreign country. In many instances, internship experiences confirm the path a student takes post-Wheaton. In others, however, you may discover what you do not want to do for a career allowing you to focus in a new direction.  

The following tips may prove useful to students interested in arts-related internships:

  • Create a resume.
  • Make an appointment to speak with an advisor at the Filene Center.
  • Meet with your faculty advisor, too.
  • Take advantage of occasions to network with your peers, alumni, family, and friends, as you never know when and where internship opportunities may appear.
  • Don’t be afraid to contact an institution even if they don’t appear to offer internships.

To learn more about internships and to receive advice and guidance in improving your resume, writing a cover letter, networking, and preparing for interviews, please visit Career Services in the Filene Center.

And, once you’ve got that internship, make certain to apply for funding to support your experience. Many students receive funding to pursue several internships. Through the Wheaton Edge, every student is now guaranteed funding for at least one experiential learning opportunity. What will yours be? 

Among others, History of Art students have recently interned at:

Student Employment

Work-study employment provides History of Art students with opportunities to strengthen their research, writing, and critical thinking skills and their ability to collaborate. Some student employees learn collections and gallery management while others have the opportunity to assist faculty and staff with research for articles and manuscripts or with exhibitions.

Former student employees now work in a wide variety of for-profit and non-profit institutions including the Giust Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and even Wheaton College! Others have applied the skills they gained to graduate studies in various disciplines. To learn more about student employment at Wheaton or to review current job openings, please visit the Student Employment Office.

Work-study opportunities in History of Art

History of Art Faculty

 The Beard & Weil Galleries

  • Gallery Intern
  • Gallery Monitor

 The Permanent Collection

  • Collection Assistant
  • Curatorial Intern
  • Graphic & Web Designer

Prizes and Awards

  • The Friends of Art prize recognizes the best student paper, with a reward of $400 and by publicly congratulating the student at Honors Convocation
  • The History of Art prize recognizes the highest student GPA, with a reward of $125 and by publicly congratulating the student at Honors Convocation
  • The Patti Eberhart ‘68 Art Travel Award is an overseas and travel grant in memory of Wheaton alumna, Patty Eberhart, ’68. The award, is given to support study for up to six weeks during the summer. Smaller amounts are also available for study opportunities of shorter duration. This award is intended to cover the recipient’s expenses, which may include travel, housing, meals, inoculations, etc. The call for Eberhart proposals is sent out mid-semester in the spring, and is open to all History of Art and Visual Art majors. Questions about the Eberhart Grant should be directed to the department Chair.
  • Wheaton Foundation Awards
    These grants, generally of no more than $250 each, are intended to underwrite expenses connected to academic work beyond normal requirements in a specific course (research expenses, materials, etc.), and are awarded twice a year by the Committee on Admission and Academic Standing. Applications go to the Advising Center and require the support of the faculty member overseeing the work.
    Contact Career Services
  • Student Travel Grants
    Students traveling to topical and professional meetings, singly or in groups, with or without faculty members, for educational purposes may apply directly to the Provost’s Office for travel grants at any time during the academic year.
    Contact Career Services
  • Wheaton Fellows
    The Wheaton Fellow Program grants stipends to students to pursue projects of their own creation on or off campus over the summer. Qualifying projects may include: unpaid internships, community service, research in which the student is the primary designer of a project which has an informal Wheaton sponsor, or other self-initiated research leading to or as part of an Independent Study course. Other kinds of projects may qualify for support, and students are encouraged to pursue innovative project ideas and to design their own projects in consultation with the Filene Center, which will provide forms and detailed guidelines. (Student/faculty research on projects in which the faculty member is the designer or ” Principal Investigator,” however, will be funded as Mars Fellowships–see below) All continuing students, except (in the summer) Trustee and Community Scholars (who already have summer stipends as part of their scholarships), are eligible to apply.
    Contact Career Services
  • Davis International Fellows
    Summer grants to students for international internships, service experiences or overseas structured independent research, available to students with a 3.0 GPA or better at the end of their sophomore year. Applicants will develop sites or research projects for $5000 summer awards. Students may apply for Davis Fellow awards.
    Contact Career Services