Internships – Museum of Chinese in America

We are currently not accepting any applications. Our internship program is on hold until further notice. Please continue to check this page for any updates.

MOCA’s internship program offers a dynamic and exciting learning experience in the arts, culture, and history fields. All our interns take part in orientation, professional development seminars, and conduct exhibition/program related research and outreach. Though the process they will learn valuable professional skills and about MOCA’s history and strategies for fulfilling its mission. They will receive program-specific training designed by MOCA’s team to help them succeed in their chosen program area.

Program Areas:

Archives and Collections
Communications, Graphic Design, and Media Production
Development and External Affairs
Education
Exhibitions

*Internships will be conducted in a hybrid format and applicants must be able to work on site

Who Can Apply:
This program is open to current undergraduate or graduate students. Recent graduates and high school students are welcome to apply

How to Apply:
Your application should include:
• Completed Internship Application Form. You can download the form here.
• Cover Letter: Explain your background, qualifications, your interest in MOCA and how you see yourself in the future. Indicate which program area you are applying for and why you might be a good fit for the position.
• Résumé.

Please send the materials above as Word or PDF attachments, entitled as “YourNameLetter,” “YourNameResume” and “YourNameApplication” to internships@mocanyc.org. In the subject line, please include your full name, and indicate the program area(s) to which you are applying (e.g., YourName_Collections/Exhibtions). You can also mail your application to Kevin Chu 215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013.

Archival Project Intern

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is seeking 2 Archival Project Interns (full-time or part-time with at least 21 hours per week) for a grant funded project to begin asap. The project period will be between March 2021 to August 2021. Interns must be willing to work on site.

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is the leading institution dedicated to preserving and presenting the history and culture of Chinese in America. Located in the heart of New York Chinatown, MOCA’s Collections & Research Center provides unique access to the images, papers, oral histories and artifacts which document the stories.

General Responsibilities:
Under the supervision and training of the Collections Staff, Archival Project Interns provide assistance for processing, digitizing, time-coding, transcribing, cataloging, and disseminating oral history audio/video interviews in different formats such as cassettes, VHS, mini DVs, as well as born-digital.

Responsibilities:
• Work on site to organize and assess materials with direction from the Director of Collections
• Organize interviewee consent forms; identify access restrictions
• Research individuals and organizations in order to create proper finding aids
• Create collection Marc records and EAD finding aids in ArchivesSpace, as well as other description as needed, applying DACS archival descriptive standards
• Catalog each interview in database software PastPerfect
• Timecode, summarize, and keyword oral history interviews (bi-lingual preferred)
• Minor audio editing to obscure sensitive information such as addresses.
• Adjust and resize images using Photoshop
• Additional tasks as needed

Qualifications:
• Education background in Museum Studies, Collections Management, or Library Information Studies.
• Excellent organizational skills and an eye for detail
• Previous experience handling museum, archive, or library collections a plus
• Strong computer skills; knowledge of collections management systems preferred, especially ArchivesSpace, ArchivesToolkits, Archon, PastPerfect or TMS
• Knowledge of digital photography and digitization technologies
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently and as a team player in a fast-paced environment; handle multiple tasks at once; adhere to deadlines
• Language specializations required on Chinese regional dialects such as Cantonese, Taishanese, or Fujianese

Compensation:
Archival project interns are grant funded positions. The project intern will receive payment of $15 per hour; paid semi-monthly.

Apply:
Email a resume and cover letter to collections@mocanyc.org with “Archival Project Intern Search” in the subject line.