University of Missouri

A leadership team from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, will partner with nine cultural heritage organizations to prototype a collaborative model for internships that offers peer support and fosters mentorship to students from faculty and site coordinators. The project team will bring students, faculty and site supervisors together for a 4-5 day project team kick-off meeting to design a micro-internship program allowing diverse students to participate in 2-3 week fully-paid internships at heritage sites across the U.S. For two to three weeks, six to ten students will work in pairs at pre-selected internship sites with the support of mentors. The project activities will result in a curriculum and guide for future micro-internships that attract diverse students into the heritage museum workforce with additional opportunities and added career-building potential.