Practica at the Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology provide students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience in museums while earning academic credit through Indiana University’s Program in Arts Administration, Department of Anthropology, Department of History, Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, the Department of Information and Library Sciences, and other coursework. Acceptance of practicum students is limited.
Museum practica must be arranged with museum personnel, and authorized by the faculty of record for the specific practicum course prior to registration.
To apply for a practicum at the IUMAA, please review the following listings, and then submit a completed application (link at the end of this document) 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 and Capstone Event 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. During the end of the semester Capstone Event each student 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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: Jennifer St. Germain, Archaeology Collections Manager Contact: jstgerma@indiana.edu
Credits: Students may take 2-4 credits of practicum per semester
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Fall
Prerequisites: Prior coursework in museum studies, archaeology, folklore, history, or related fields. Previous museum experience useful, but not required. Opportunities are limited and students who wish to enroll in a collections management practicum will be interviewed and must have permission to register.
Qualifications: Good computer skills and willingness to learn new programs and procedures, excellent attention to detail, and flexibility to shift tasks as needed. Photography or visual/digital arts experience useful but not required.
Duties: Students taking a collections management practicum will be expected to learn museum record keeping systems and follow proper methods for handling artifacts and historical documents. Projects typically vary over the semester and may include the following activities:
Artifact inventory and collections tracking
Packing/unpacking and shelving collections
Collection photography, cataloging, and other documentation
Creating storage mounts and containers for artifact collections
Researching archival documents and reports for provenance or other collection information
Supervisor: Emily Bryant, Assistant Registrar and Ethnographic Collections Manager Contact: bryantem@indiana.edu or 812-855-0199
Credits: Students may take 2-4 credit hours of practicum per semester
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Fall
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 Contact: msieber@iu.edu
Credits: Beginning students must take a minimum of 3 credit hours of practicum.
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, 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 her or his 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: Matthew Sieber, Manager of Exhibits and Photographer Contact: msieber@iu.edu
Credits: Students may take 2 to 4 credit hours of practicum per semester, depending upon supervisor’s approval.
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Both
Prerequisites: Experience in any or all of the following areas is useful but not necessary: Digital photography experience Scanning photographs and storing digital information Studio experience An interview 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: Sarah Junk Hatcher, Head of Programs and Education Contact: sahatche@iu.edu
Credits: 1-4 credits are available
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Both
Prerequisites: A403 preferred but not required.
Qualifications: Students should have a basic understanding of informal education and museums or be willing to learn. The ability to multi-task and do research is required.
Duties: Interested students must be willing to learn and do a wide variety of tasks. Examples include creating online exhibits using specified software; writing content for family guides, tour notes; working events like First Thursdays or Lotus in the Park; grant writing; planning talks; or preparing craft activities.
Supervisor: Sarah Junk Hatcher, Head of Programs and Education Contact: sahatche@iu.edu
Credits: 2-3 credit hours
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Both
Prerequisites: Introduction to Museum Studies or previous museum experience preferred but not required. Coursework or experience in education, art education, folklore, anthropology, or history is required. Graphic design skills will open up different opportunities
Qualifications: Students should have a basic understanding of informal education and museums or be willing to learn. The ability to multi-task and do research is required.
Duties: Interested students must be willing to learn and do a wide variety of tasks. The major project will be gaining a familiarity with our photography collections and state social studies, fine arts, and language arts standards. With this knowledge, the student will select sets of photographs that teachers can use to enrich or enhance their teaching. Each set will require a short introduction and short descriptions of each photograph. The opportunity exists to similar work with the education collection, a set of objects donated to the museum with the intent to be handled and learned from.
Supervisor: Sarah Junk Hatcher, Head of Programs and Education Contact: sahatche@iu.edu
Credits: 2-3 credit hours
Semester Available (Summer, Fall, or Both): Both
Prerequisites: Introduction to Museum Studies or previous museum experience preferred but not required.
Qualifications: Students must have a high degree of attention to detail, the ability to use a database, and a willingness to help evaluate object for educational utility and safety. The ability to do research is required.
Duties: Students will work to re-catalogue education collection artifacts with a special eye towards what sorts of subjects or topics they could assist in teaching about; students will also work on updating database records.
