National Park Service- Cultural Resources Diversity Program

The Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program provides a career exploration opportunity for diverse undergraduate and graduate students ages 18-25 in historic preservation/cultural resources work. The program places interns with National Park Service park units and administrative offices, other federal agencies, state historic preservation offices, local governments, and private organizations. Intern sponsors provide work experiences that assist interns with building their resumes in this field.

This program serves two purposes:

(1) Diverse undergraduate and graduate students ages 18-25 gain exposure to and experience in the historic preservation/cultural resources field.

(2) National Park Service and partnership organizations have the opportunity to meet promising young people who might choose to work in the field.

Internships are offered during the summer (10 weeks). Projects include editing publications, planning exhibits, participating in archeological excavations, preparing research reports, cataloguing park and museum collections, providing interpretive programs on historical topics, developing community outreach, and writing lesson plans based on historical themes.

Career Workshop

Each summer, the Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program hosts a Career Workshop so that interns can learn more about the National Park Service and other cultural resources careers beyond their summer internship experience. In 2011, eighteen Diversity Interns visited Washington, DC in August to attend the annual Career Workshop.  The undergraduate and graduate students visited and spoke with professionals from the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Program, the DC Historic Preservation Office, and the National African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. 

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Students Apply

Both undergraduate and graduate students can participate in 10 week, paid internships during May/June through August.

The 2012 student application deadline is Friday, March 2, 2012. All student applications are processed through the Student Conservation Association (SCA).  Submit your scanned application materials by email directly to the SCA Coordinator:

Justin Chow, jchow@thesca.org, 703.524.2441