U.S. Embassy Museum Internship Program in Peru

For the eleventh consecutive year, the U.S. Embassy is sponsoring an internship program for American graduate students of museum and conservation programs to be held from July through August 2013. This program falls under the Embassy’s activities in support of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Cultural Patrimony Protection, signed between Peru and the United States in 1997 and renewed for the third time in 2012.

 

The objective of this program is to enable well-qualified graduate students the opportunity to do field research in Lima and Lambayeque. It will also support museums that house rich art collections, but are greatly in need of skilled professionals. This is a unique opportunity for self motivated students who want to experience firsthand with pre Hispanic artifacts and live in Peru.

 

These internships will provide an excellent opportunity for Peruvian and American colleagues to exchange ideas on new techniques related to conservation and cataloguing, with long-term possibilities for collaboration.

 

Three selected museums have presented projects and provided detailed outlines of the work to be performed. Professional museum staff will supervise each intern and costs will be shared among all parties. The Embassy will be the link between the universities and the Peruvian museums and will provide required materials. Each museum will be in charge of supervising the program. Also, the university or the intern will be responsible for international and national transportation and health insurance. The Embassy provides a small stipend to cover living expenses such as meals and incidentals.

 

All applicants must be U.S. citizens, must have at least intermediate oral Spanish skills, must be willing to complete the full course of the internship, and must be enrolled or have recently completed a graduate program in museum studies or a related field.

 

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter with the following information:

• Name of applicant,
• Name of specific internship program,
• Name of current graduate program,
• Honest assessment of Spanish ability which may be corroborated in a phone interview

Please also attach current curriculum vitae, a one-page essay explaining the student’s interest in the internship, and a letter of recommendation by a professor.

 

Send the above information to the attention of Vanessa Wagner de Reyna, email wagnerv@state.gov, fax: 011- (511) 618-2729 by March 30, 2013. Students will be notified if they have been accepted by mid-April. The Embassy will then provide additional information regarding travel, visas, and other requirements to the selected interns.

 

For more information, please visit: http://peru.usembassy.gov/internship.html