The Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship Program: A Comprehensive Overview
The Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program, funded by the Getty Foundation, has been offering paid summer internships for over 30 years. These internships are designed for outstanding undergraduate students from groups underrepresented in museums and visual arts organizations. This article provides a detailed overview of the program's structure, timeline, components, and impact.
Introduction
The Getty Marrow Internship program aims to diversify the arts landscape in Los Angeles by providing opportunities for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to gain experience in museums and visual arts organizations. The program is designed to operate at a large scale and has evolved over time to meet the changing needs of the arts community. The program provides detailed information about the structure and timeline of the Getty Marrow internship program, including descriptions of programming elements, an outline of our application review process, and sample application forms and training materials.
Program Structure and Timeline
The Getty Marrow Internship program follows a structured timeline that spans the entire year. Program administration for Getty staff occurs year-round, according to the following annual calendar:
- October: Applications open online.
- November: Applications due.
- December: Applications sent to reviewers.
- January: Review committee meets.
- February: Proposals revised as needed.
- March: Grants awarded.
- April: Positions advertised.
- May: Candidates interviewed and approved.
- June: Internships start.
- July: Programming: Arts Summit and Anti-Racism Workshops.
- August: Internships end.
- September: Surveys and final reports due.
The internships themselves take place during the summer months, typically from June to August, coinciding with higher education calendars. Internships are offered for ten consecutive weeks, with schedules not to exceed 40 hours per week and coinciding with the regular business hours of the host organization.
Internship Components
The core of each internship is the time spent at the host institution learning alongside supervisors and other colleagues. To deepen interns’ exposure to the arts and grow their networks, students also participate in several other program components outside of their home organization. This helps those who might be interested in pursuing arts careers connect with BIPOC professionals working throughout the local arts sector in a variety of different institutions and job functions. Interns throughout the years have attributed great value to these events and the power of seeing and meeting individuals who “look like them” and are working in the arts.
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Learning Communities
One advantage of operating an internship program at a larger scale like Getty’s is that this creates instant networks for participating students. All interns meet peers at other institutions through Learning Communities. These small, regionally based clusters are facilitated by a Learning Community Leader who often works at one of the participating internship organizations. The leaders are generally mid-career arts professionals, the majority of whom identify as people of color, and they introduce interns in each group to each other and organize two events for them during the internship period. Events include behind-the-scenes tours of collections or exhibitions, conversations with arts professionals, artist studio visits, gallery walks, and more. Learning Community leaders are compensated for their work in planning events and facilitating discussion and networking among the interns.
Arts Summit
Each summer all interns participate in a dedicated professional development day called Arts Summit. A keynote talk or performance at the beginning of the day brings all of the interns together to inspire and prepare them for a day of engagement and learning. Then, the interns participate in a series of career sessions that introduce them to different careers in the arts. They talk in small groups with conservators, curators, art historians, civic arts managers, arts journalists, and more to hear about their career trajectories and work experiences and have a chance to ask questions. They also take guided tours in the Getty Museum galleries and visit onsite conservation labs and exhibition design studios.
Final Evaluation
We solicit intern feedback through surveys that ask students to rate their internship experience and tell us how the program can be improved. Survey questions are grouped to give feedback on the following areas: job duties and work environment; supervision; internship experience; Arts Summit programming; and Learning Communities. This information is used to adjust program operations and content. Completion of the survey is required and happens at the end of the internship.
Eligibility and Application Process
Eligibility for the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program is limited to currently enrolled undergraduates (bachelor's degree program, associate's degree program, or vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate level) who reside in or attend college in LA County. Students must have completed at least one semester of college by June of the internship year and be a United States citizen or permanent resident (non-citizen authorized to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis; also known as a "green card" holder). Students with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status valid through the internship period are also eligible. Candidates may come from all areas of undergraduate study and need not have demonstrated a previous commitment to the visual arts.
LA-area arts organizations that want to host interns must submit a grant application to participate each year. The application requires a defined workplan and dedicated supervision. Prospective host organizations must also agree to provide the necessary workspace and equipment for interns to complete their projects. All applications are reviewed by an advisory committee, and we encourage transparency around selection criteria to communicate clearly to applicants the points on which their applications will be evaluated. Once grants are awarded, participating institutions are responsible for recruiting their own interns. They provide intern selection forms to Getty with demographic information about final candidates so that we can ensure program eligibility requirements are met and maintain baseline data about program participants.
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To apply for an internship, students must submit an application directly to the host organization. Each entry includes a position description and application information.
Compensation and Support
All Getty Marrow internships are paid, and for many students this is their first full time job. To determine the rate of pay, we scan the field to remain competitive in our area. Getty’s rate is set with the LA County Minimum Wage Ordinance as a floor. In addition, Getty offers host organizations a minimal stipend per intern towards overhead costs associated with hosting and supervising each student.
Supervisors play a crucial role in the success of the internships. Interns rely on their supervisors for routine, daily support as well as mentorship and career advice on working in the arts. To prepare supervisors to meet these needs, Getty offers a supervisor training session each year before interns begin. The orientation includes a program overview, the opportunity to ask questions, and break-out sessions led by experienced mentors who facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. In response to data collected as part of this impact report, we expanded the orientation in 2020 to add culturally responsive mentorship training and anti-racism workshops. In addition to the orientation, supervisors receive a handbook that includes key dates, mentoring tips, and reference articles.
Alumni Engagement
Engagement with interns continues after their internships end. At the end of each summer, interns transition into being program alumni and can participate in dedicated forums for them to stay in touch with each other and with Getty.
All alumni are invited to join closed social media groups and sign up for an alumni e-newsletter. These tools help foster and maintain relationships formed during the program and seed new connections. Alumni have shared that maintaining relationships with Getty is of strong interest, so we also host periodic onsite events to bring alumni together as a community.
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Alumni who are pursuing careers in the visual arts may participate in intermittent programs that boost their professional development. We provide support for these individuals to attend annual conferences of professional organizations such as the California Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Curators, and the American Alliance of Museums. During the conference, alumni meet each other and participate in networking and mentoring events. Getty has also funded periodic leadership development opportunities in which a cohort of alumni complete a sustained program together.
Impact and Success Stories
The Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program has had a significant impact on the arts community in Los Angeles. By providing opportunities for students from underrepresented groups, the program has helped to diversify the workforce and create a more inclusive environment.
Al Larriva-Latt, a Getty Marrow intern at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries, exemplifies the success of the program. Through the internship, Al gained valuable experience in archival work and made significant contributions to the organization.
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