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Department of History

Contact Information

(209) 667-3238
kboettcher@csustan.edu

Bizzini Hall, B118

College of the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Stanislaus State History Internships

The Stanislaus State History Department can provide internship credit at the graduate and undergraduate level for work that allows you to apply theory and method from your history courses in such areas as museums, archives, cultural resource management, historic sites, and digital and oral history. With an internship, you can get hands-on experience working in the field of history and thus you may gain experience with artifacts, documents, and public audiences. Internships are opportunities for you to put your history skills to work in the world and they will help you to build a strong resume.

Internships are either paid or voluntary, depending upon the internship provider.

There are several internship possibilities – with local, state, federal, commercial, and non-profit organizations - in the Turlock area and across the six counties that the Universities serves (see below). Internship providers will help you learn what your history degree can do, all while earning course credit.

Tips for the Internship Creation and/or Interview

If you would like to approach an organization that can sponsor an internship but that organization is not yet listed on the Stanislaus State S4 site, you will need to initiate the application and/or conversation with the organization and then submit the paperwork to have it listed on S4. Here is a good article to help to prepare you to approach such organizations: “Creating Your Own Internship.” University Career Services at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. ND.

In order to assure a good fit between organization, supervisor and intern, we recommend to our internship providers that the internship matching process include an interview. Here is a good source on the topic: Loretto, Penny. “Top Internship Interviewing Tips.” The Balance Careers. November 20, 201

Course Enrollment

History internships require a course component that is designed for history students. The course component will allow you to apply, integrate, and explore your educational experience as an intern in a public or private organization. The experience will be under the joint supervision of the organization and the history department; the internship position should be approved by the provider before course registration. Depending on the hours arranged to work, you may be eligible for 1-4 credits per semester.

In order to register for HIST 4940 or HIST 5940 all students must have approval of the Internship Instructor. The instructor will provide you with special registration code to allow you to register before the add deadline, but students should be advised that to remain enrolled in the course, each student must submit several required documents via our campus portal to the CSU integrated management system for off-campus learning experiences, CalState S4 (or S4 for short). See below for more details.

Once enrolled in the course, you will be provided a syllabus and schedule of assignments due for your academic credit. You will be required to attend a minimum number of course sessions (most likely online), to be arranged.

All students are required to complete 48 hours of internship work for every credit hour they receive for their History Internship. This entails 48 hours for 1 credit, 96 hours for 2 credits, 144 hours for 3 credits, or 192 for 4 credits. During a regular semester this averages out to about 3, 6, 9, or 12 hours of work per week for 1-4 units of internship.

Undergraduates may repeat the course for a total of 6 units however you may only apply a grand total of six units of individual study (Hist 4980) and internship (4940) toward the major’s upper division requirements.

Graduate students may repeat the course for a total of 6 units however you may only apply a grand total of six units of individual study (Hist 5980) and internship (5940) toward the MA requirements.

Documentation Needed (related to enrollment)

  1. Choosing your site
    Students are responsible for selecting their internship site and verifying that the site is listed on the S4 system. If you select a site that is not on the S4 database, you must alert your faculty member in the first two weeks of class. Sites not on S4 will be required to submit the necessary University paperwork - this includes a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for internships, to be arranged with the Service Learning and Academic Internships Office - this process can take a few weeks. You cannot start at your internship until it is listed in the S4 system.
  2. Site Supervisor Letter of Introduction
    You must provide your supervisor with the department’s “Internship Introduction Letter.” This outlines for your supervisor what the expectations are for both you and your supervisor to complete the internship successfully. You and the internship supervisor should sign this form and you should return it to me as outlined on the letter. You should also keep a copy for your records.
  3. General Student Internship Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines (S4)
    You are required to complete the General Student Internship Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines for on the S4 site. This form provides the university with basic internship information, emergency contact information, learning objective and participation guidelines. You are also required to complete a Liability Waiver also on the S4 site. Once complete, the form will be on file in the Office of Service Learning and the Department of History.

Internship Opportunities

Internship placement will most often require your own coordination with an internship provider. Over time, the Stanislaus State history department expects to be able to refer you to established community partners across the region and the country. Following are some potential internship providers:

You can look for internships in the following three ways:

  1. Visit the Stanislaus State Service Learning (S4) website to search for opportunities in and around Turlock, CA (some of the organizations listed below may be or have been listed here, see those marked with *; some have recently expressed interest in Stanislaus State interns and/or are in the process of setting up internships on S4, see those marked with **).
  2. Visit the California Intern Network/University Enterprises Inc. to search for an internship related to your specific interests throughout California (some of the organizations below may be or have been listed here, see those marked with #).
  3. Apply for or propose internships directly with the following organizations.

Regional Historical Museums and Archives (ordered by proximity to Stanislaus State)

  1. Turlock Historical Society Museum*
  2. Hughson Historical Society Museum* 
  3. McHenry Museum, Modesto**
  4. Merced County Courthouse Museum* 
  5. Filipino American National Historical Society Museum, Stockton** 
  6. San Joaquin County Historical Museum, Lodi** 
  7. Calaveras County Museum and Historical Society ** 
  8. Calaveras County Archives*
  9. Mariposa History Museum*
  10. Northern Mariposa History Center 
  11. Tuolumne County Museum, Sonora 
  12. Tuolumne City Memorial Museum 

State sites

Other popular programs

Internship Partners Wanted

We are searching for new opportunities for our students as well as new partners within our community. If you are interested in working with Stanislaus State historians, please contact Dr. Jennifer Cullison.

Contact Dr. Jennifer Cullison, Assistant Professor of History

Office location
Bizzini Hall
See Building #2: Map
Office: B118H

Email: jcullison@csustan.edu
Phone: (209) 667-3316

Updated: December 13, 2023