Museum practica must be arranged with museum personnel and authorized by the faculty of record for the specific practicum course prior to registration.
Acceptance of practicum students is limited.
Process
To apply for a practicum at the IUMAA: please review the following listings and then submit a completed application (link at the bottom) to the appropriate departmental supervisor for an interview. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.
Select candidates will be interviewed and must receive endorsement from the appropriate museum supervisor in order to enroll in the course.
After obtaining endorsement from the appropriate museum departmental supervisor, the student must obtain authorization from the faculty of record for the course.
Requirements
Required Orientation
All students earning academic credit at the museum through practica/internships are required to attend a student orientation each semester. During this orientation, introductions will be made, paperwork will be filled out, safety and security will be discussed, and a building tour will be given.
Capstone Event
The end of each semester will culminate in a Capstone Event where practicum students will present brief talks on their experiences working at the museum. These talks can focus on what you’ve learned about yourself, how you see this experience relating to your future professional life, what you learned about a particular artifact or place, or other information that demonstrates/explains your experience at the IUMAA. Participation in both the entry and exit events is required and critical.
Grading
All practicum hours must be completed during the semester you’re enrolled in order to earn a passing grade. Grades are raised or lowered based on the quality of practicum work and your adherence to museum policies and procedures. All students must participate in the Capstone Event, which will require a brief talk/presentation. The Capstone talk/presentation is 15% of the total practicum grade; the remainder of the grade level is based on practicum work performance. Please check with your departmental supervisor for specific guidelines.
Work Schedule
Students must provide to their supervisors a set work schedule at the beginning of the semester. If possible, work should be scheduled in time blocks of three hours or more.
Hours
The required number of practicum hours worked per week at the IUMAA varies according to the number of credit hours the student is enrolled in, and the semester of enrollment. Please review the table below.
Credits: Students may take 2-4 credits of practicum per semester
Semester Available: Fall and Spring
Prerequisites: None
Qualifications: Students should be efficient, organized, flexible, and able to pay close attention to details. They should also have good computer, reasoning, and writing skills. An interest in learning about and working with collections documentation systems is desirable
Duties: Students will be responsible for a variety of duties, which can include:
Generating receipts and legal documents for artifacts entering and exiting the museum(both acquisitions and loans) adhering to procedures outlined in Registration Department handbook
Accurately and timely entering of data into appropriate databases Troubleshooting discrepancies found in collections records
Safely handling artifacts per museum guidelines
Recording condition of artifacts on standard report form
Packing/unpacking artifacts and documenting packing
Other projects as the need arises
Because the nature of registration is both varied and cyclical – and many departmental activities are tied to exhibits, incoming and outgoing loans, and other museum programming – projects will be assigned throughout each semester as needed. Students will be responsible for both ongoing and short-term assignments with specific due dates.
Credits: Students may take 2 to 4 credit hours of practicum per semester.
Semester Available: Fall and Spring
Prerequisites: Introduction to Museum Studies (A403) or previous museum experience is useful, but not required. All students who wish to enroll in an inventory support practicum will be interviewed and must have permission to register.
Qualifications: Students interested in an inventory support practicum should have careful and responsible work practices, and a commitment to neatness and accuracy. Because they will be working closely with the collections, they should have an interest in experiencing the physical nature of artifacts of material culture and learning about handling, storage, and environmental best practices in collections management.
Duties: Students will be responsible for a variety of duties, which can include:
Safely handling artifacts per museum guidelines
Inventorying sections of the collection following museum procedures and recording data collected so that it can be easily read and transcribed
Troubleshooting discrepancies found during inventory
Accurate and timely data entry associated with inventory
Making certain that artifacts are neatly stored per museum guidelines
Other projects as the need arises
The museum has a fiduciary responsibility to achieve and maintain an accurate accounting for all collections. Inventory is an ongoing function that is essential to meeting this responsibility. The Registrar will assign storage sections to be inventoried and will generate the forms that the students will be required to complete. Students will interact with artifacts from throughout the world and will gain experience in museum artifact numbering and storage systems.
Supervisor: Emily Bryant, Assistant Registrar and Ethnographic Collections Manager, bryantem@indiana.edu or 812-855-0199
Credits: Students may take 2-4 credit hours of practicum per semester
Semester Available: Fall, Spring, Summer
Prerequisites: Introduction to Museum Studies (A403) or previous museum experience is useful, but not required. All students who wish to enroll in a cataloging practicum will be interviewed and must have permission to register.
Qualifications: Students interested in a cataloging practicum should be efficient, organized, and able to pay close attention to details. They should also have good computer, research, and writing skills. Legible handwriting is a must.
Duties: Students taking a cataloging practicum will be expected to:
Familiarize themselves with the way the museum’s collections move through standard channels of registration and cataloging
Learn and follow proper methods of handling artifacts
Learn the IUMAA standardized cataloging system
Catalog or re-catalog collections according to museum procedures
Create paper records of work as instructed
Research collections as necessary for accurate cataloging/re-cataloging
Write up research notes and bibliographies as collections are cataloged/re-cataloged
Supervisor: Matt Sieber, Manager of Exhibits and Photographer, msieber@iu.edu and Sarah Rosenkrans, Exhibits and Education Assistant, srosenkr@iu.edu
Credits: Beginning students must take a minimum of 3 credit hours of practicum.
Semester Available (Fall, Spring, or Both): Both
Prerequisites: Returning students may take 2 to 4 credit hours, subject to supervisor’s approval. Introduction to Museum Studies (A403) or previous museum experience is helpful but not required for an Exhibits practicum. All applicants must provide at least one example of their writing, preferably including a research paper with sources. A detailed list of database and computer program experience must be submitted. An interview is required.
Qualifications: Students interested in exhibitions practica must be efficient, organized, motivated, and able to pay close attention to details. Skills in the areas of carpentry, graphics production, and/or research are helpful. Willingness to do mundane tasks and get dirty is required.
Duties: Students taking an exhibitions practicum must be capable of meeting deadlines. Students will be expected to familiarize themselves with museum policies and procedures as they relate to exhibitions. Depending on the needs of the exhibit schedule, students may be asked to assist with carpentry, painting, construction of mounts, assist with framing photos, object photography, research on artifacts, and/or help with label production. All students will be expected to assist with clean-up, exhibits maintenance, and various miscellaneous tasks. Students assist the Manager of Exhibitions, Head of Programs and Education, Exhibits and Education Assistant, and the Preparators to mount and install exhibitions.
Supervisor: Sarah Rosenkrans, Exhibits and Education Assistant, srosenkr@iu.edu
Credits: 2-3 credit hours
Semester Available: Fall and Spring
Prerequisites: Introduction to Museum Studies or previous museum experience preferred but not required. Course work related to interior design, informal learning techniques, and graphic design is also helpful, but not required. An interview with the supervisor is required.
Qualifications: Students should be organized, creative problem solvers that can visually communicate their ideas. Must have prior knowledge or be willing to do research related to museum exhibit design and ADA standards. Experience working with power tools and/or tinkering with simple computers and circuits will open up more opportunities.
Duties: Interested students will help the exhibits team develop hands-on interactive elements for the IUMAA’s exhibits. This process is comprised of many tasks including, but not limited to:
Familiarizing themselves with exhibit topic and basic construction techniques
Developing ideas for hands-on interactives connected to the exhibit themes
Pitching designs to exhibit team and working with supervisor to refine them
Potentially, helping construct final designs and install them into exhibit space
Supervisor: Matthew Sieber, Manager of Exhibits and Photographer, msieber@iu.edu
Credits: Students may take 2 to 4 credit hours of practicum per semester, depending upon supervisor’s approval.
Semester Available: Fall and Spring
Prerequisites: Experience in digital photography is required. Experience in studio photography and scanning historic photos and documents is useful but not necessary.
An interview is required, including portfolio review or samples of previous printing work and/or digital work.
Qualifications: Students interested in photography practica should be efficient, organized, motivated, able to pay close attention to details, and possess digital photography experience.
Duties: Students taking a photography practicum will be expected to:
Familiarize themselves with museum policies and procedures as related to photography
Learn proper handling of artifacts, including historic negatives and prints
Work in the studio photographing various artifacts as needed in digital format
Keep careful records of the work
Work in the studio photographing various artifacts as needed in digital format
Work in the graphics lab or collections workroom digitizing the museum’s collections of historic photographs and/or negatives
Supervisor: Rose Hessert, Administrator and Project Manager, rhessert@indiana.edu
Credits: 2-3 credit hours
Semester Available: Summer (Full Term, 12 Weeks)
Prerequisites: Experience in retail, design, marketing, and museums are useful but not necessary.
Qualifications: Students should have strong organization skills and be able to communicate their ideas visually and verbally. It will be necessary for the student to have an openness to other cultures and mindfulness for respectful merchandising.
Duties: Students taking the merchandising practicum will be helping to design the layout and create displays for the new IUMAA Store. We will be using the exhibits and museum departments for inspiration in the store merchandise. During this practicum, students will help with building the physical store, online store, and processing merchandise. This process is comprised of many tasks including, but not limited to being on ladders, using measuring tapes, possible off-site trips to fabric and hardware stores, lifting, cleaning, and computer work.
