Fine Art Museums of San Francisco interns, de Young. Photograph by SmoothPix, 2024
Emerging professionals
Who is an emerging professional? An emerging professional is anyone with 0–3 years of experience in the museum field. This includes youths (18–24 years old), current college students, recent college graduates, and those making a career pivot.
To stay informed about our current emerging professional opportunities, please check back here or visit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) Career Center.
Part-time openings in visitor experience + retail
We hire part-time/on-call positions with the retail and visitor experience departments throughout the year. These are valuable opportunities to learn more about our institution while gaining a unique perspective on how guests are motivated to visit and interact with the collections. You can find these positions posted on the FAMSF Career Center.
Joseph F. McCrindle Curatorial Internship
The Joseph F. McCrindle Curatorial Internship is an annual paid internship with the European Paintings curatorial department at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The intern works closely with curatorial staff at the Legion of Honor. The intern will assist with permanent collection documentation, research, and departmental administrative tasks. This internship is typically 6 weeks full-time or 12 weeks part-time, with the timeline varying year to year.
This internship is an opportunity to work in a position of responsibility in the European Paintings department of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and contribute to the department’s ongoing research and documentation initiatives. This internship is geared toward interns with career or graduate school goals within art history, as the experience gained will be within a curatorial department.
Compensation: $20 hourly rate of pay
Key dates
This internship program is on hiatus for 2026. We will reopen applications in 2027.
Qualifications
Coursework in European art history strongly preferred; BA or expected BA, including coursework in art history, required.
Application materials
When applying for an internship, be aware of the following requirements:
Resume or CV: with your education, work, and volunteer experience, as well as links to a portfolio, as applicable.
Cover letter: to expand on your interests and qualifications for the position.
Response to supplemental questions: answer all parts of each question clearly, concisely, and truthfully.
Please note:
All interns must be at least 18 years old by the start of the fellowship program.
Applicants can apply to the Summer Internship and the Cataloguing Curatorial Fellowship as well. Please list which FAMSF fellowships and internships you applied to in your application.
Letters of recommendation, transcripts, and diploma copies are not required. Please do not share them with us; they will not be considered as part of your application.
The only way to be considered for this internship is through the online application. If you have any issues accessing the application or need support completing the application, please contact careers@famsf.org. We will not accept or consider paper applications or resumes.
Summer internship program
Our summer internship program is a paid opportunity in one of the largest public arts institutions in San Francisco. This program provides professional experience for students, those just entering the workforce, and other emerging professionals who are interested in art and museum careers.
Our internship program works with eight museum departments to host eight interns. One intern is assigned to each department, and is hosted by two department mentors. Previous participating departments include:
Africa, Oceania + the Americas
Conservation
Development
European Decorative Arts + Sculpture
Exhibitions + Graphic Design
Facilities + Operations
Registration + Collections Management
Web + Digital Strategy
Key dates
We’re pausing internships in 2026 to rethink and improve the program. We can’t wait to share what’s next with you in 2027.