Minority Awards Program

The Office of Fellowships offers internships and visiting student awards to increase participation of U.S. minority groups who are underrepresented in Smithsonian scholarly programs, in the disciplines of research conducted at the Institution, and in the museum field.

This program is designed to provide undergraduate and beginning graduate students the opportunity to learn more about the Smithsonian and their academic fields through direct experience in research or museum-related internship projects under the supervision of research and professional staff members at the Institution's many museums, research institutes and offices.

Internships and Visiting Student appointments are full-time (40 hours per week), for ten weeks during the summer, fall, or spring. Stipends are $500 per week, with additional travel allowances offered in some cases and a small research allowance for Visiting Students.

Deadlines:

February 1 (for Summer and Fall) October 1 (for Spring)

Smithsonian fields of research include:

Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, including an emphasis on the tropics Anthropology, including archaeology, Astrophysics and astronomy Earth sciences and paleobiology Evolutionary and systematic biology History of science and technology History of art, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts Social and cultural history of the United States Folklife

Qualifications:

Applicants should be currently engaged in undergraduate or graduate study, and an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 or its equivalent generally is expected.

The relevance of an internship at the Smithsonian to the student's academic and career goals will be an important part of the evaluation of an applicant. Most successful candidates are students of the disciplines in which the Smithsonian conducts research (listed above).

Applicants should note that it is not possible for the Office of Fellowships to arrange an internship project or award a stipend to all qualified candidates.

Online Application Process *

The Minority Awards program is currently accepting application online. For more information and link to the site click here

You will need to use information from this section Museums, Research Institutes, and Research Offices, includes information on staff and their research specialties, when filling out the application.

Sample Application

.PDF version  for information purposes only

* If you are unable to apply through the on-line system please contact Pamela Hudson Veenbaas at veenbaasp@si.edu to request other arrangements.

Minority Awards Programs FAQ

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