This document is based on my experience in researching and applying for history-related summer internships.  Please send any comments, corrections, or suggestions to blrob@rice.edu.

1. Decide what kind of job you’d like to have once you graduate from Rice.

•  If you graduate with a B.A. in history, you don’t have to attend either graduate school or law school.  There are lots of other options!
• Studying history equips you to do many things.  History classes teach you to read closely, to analyze how persuasive and sound arguments are, to write and to speak well, and to work in groups.  These skills are transferable to many careers; you just need to pick one that you’ll enjoy!
• For example, you can find history majors who work as: archivists, business executives, civil servants, editors, government historians, journalists, lawyers, librarians, public relations specialists, historical preservation workers, social workers, elementary and secondary school teachers, urban planners, and writers.
• If you’d like more ideas on what to do once you graduate, read Great Jobs for History Majors by Julie Ann DeGalan and Stephen E. Lambert (ISBN 084424351) or Careers for History Buffs and Others who Learn From the Past by Blythe Camenson (ISBN 0844241091).

2. Decide what kind of summer internship will help you learn about and land this post-Rice job.

• After you’ve visualized your ideal post-Rice job, decide how to learn about and land it.  A summer internship lets you: a) see whether you like doing this kind of work; and b) meet people in this field, who might hire you later.
• Now describe the kind of internship you want:
1.  For example, does your internship have to be a paid one?  Many history-related internships with non-profit organizations, such as museums and archives, are unpaid; thus, limiting yourself to paid history-related internships will reduce your choices.
2. If you have to work at a paid summer job, can you work part-time at an unpaid history-related summer internship?
3. Or can you volunteer with a history-related organization on weeknights or weekends?
 

• Select the geographic area in which you wish to look for a history-related summer internship.
• You can find many history-related summer internships in Washington D.C..  However, with time, you can also uncover history-related summer internships elsewhere.

4.    Research the history-related summer internships available in the geographic area you have selected.

• Peruse the history majors section in the Alumni Contact Service (ACS) binder in the Rice Career Services Center.  Find out which Rice alumni live in the area in which you’d like to work, and send your resumé to them.  Ask them if they know of any organizations or businesses that offer history-related internships for which you’d be qualified.
• Contact colleges, libraries, museums, historical societies, and newspapers in your preferred geographic area.  Ask them to recommend history-related summer internships.
• Look through general internship books, such as America’s Top Internships by Mark Oldman (ISBN 0375751696) or The Internship Bible by Mark Oldman (ISBN 037575170X).  Would you like to hold any of the internships listed there?
• Don’t forget the yellow pages in your local phonebook!  See if any of the businesses you find under “genealogical services,” “library research,” “living history,” or “publishing” appeal to you, and then ask them if they sponsor summer interns.
• Be creative and persistent.  For instance, does a famous author of biographies or historical fiction reside where you want to work? If so, you can write to him through his publisher, and ask him if he needs a summer research assistant.

5. Apply for the  history-related summer internships you’ve selected.

• When you apply for most history-related summer internships, you’ll have to submit a current resumé. Prepare your resumé now if you don’t already have one!  For help, read The Adams Resumé Almanac by Robert L. Adams (ISBN 15585038587), or talk to the staff in the Rice Career Services Center.
• Also, you will need to submit a cover letter (read The Adams Cover Letter Almanac by Robert L. Adams (ISBN 1558504974) for help), an official transcript, a short writing sample, and a letter of recommendation.
• Make sure that your application arrives before the final deadline!
• Send your forms by Federal Express or UPS.  These companies give you a package number, by which you can track where your parcel is and who signed for it.  This way, you will have a record that the organization received your application.
• Call the group one week after you’ve sent your application:
1. Confirm that they received your application.
2. Ask when they will decide which applicants they will accept
3. Ask how they will notify applicants of their decision (by phone, by email, or by snail-mail).