Internships

Several HAA majors undertake at least one internship in an arts-related organization to develop their resumes and gain important experience that will be professionally valuable. In the local Pittsburgh area, our students routinely find positions at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory, the Society for Contemporary Craft, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and the Young Preservationists Association, among others. A listing of local internship opportunities can be found here.

Our students have also been competitive, securing appointments at national internship programs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Smithsonian Institutions, and elsewhere. For a list of these and other opportunities, consult this handout.

The HAA department, through generous support from The Fine Foundation, is able to provide three museum professions fellowships each academic year to qualified HAA majors. Each recipient is supported with a stipend of $3500 which enables him or her to devote full attention to an intensive internship, working directly with a local arts professional who serves as a mentor. Fine Fellowships usually take place each summer, but on occasion, a student may hold this position over the course of an academic year. Each year, the call for applications is announced early in the spring semester for the upcoming summer/academic year. In the past, Fine Fellows have worked for the curators of the Department of Contemporary Art at the Carnegie Museum of Art, at the archives of the Andy Warhol Museum, at the office of the curator and acting director of the Andy Warhol Museum, and for the director of the Society for Contemporary Craft. Please consult the application for more details. 

ANY STUDENT WHO IS CONSIDERING UNDERTAKING AN INTERNSHIP SHOULD VISIT THE HAA DEPARTMENTAL ADVISING ORGANIZATION SITE ON COURSEWEB.PITT.EDU, AND CONSULT THIS GENERAL GUIDE.