[Fall 2026] Education - Access Programs

About the role

The Whitney’s Academic Year Internship program offers a semester-long paid internship for undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in an accredited academic program. The program includes training, direct work experience, professional development, and a weekly speaker series.

Responsibilities

• Pick a research topic stemming from their experience in Access Programs and/or what they learned during their time in the department.
• Help with access services for disabled and Disabled visitors. This includes helping prepare logistics for tours, submitting forms in preparation for tours, providing support for other programs scheduled by Access Programs and Initiatives.
• Gain hands-on experience in providing access services and assets to museum visitors.
• Learn about Disability and Deaf culture.
• Learn about how to provide an image description.
• Gain knowledge about the processes in an Education department within a museum like the Whitney.

Requirements

• Experience working/volunteering or studying within access services, Disability Studies or Disability centered organizations.
• Computer literacy.
• Strong organizational skills a plus.
• Communication skills.

Qualifications

• Available Monday through Friday for nine consecutive weeks, five days per week.
• Assigned to a specific department at the Museum for the duration of the internship.

Skills

• Strong organizational skills.
• Communication skills.

Benefits

• Generous support for Ostrover Family Academic Year Interns is provided by Julie and Doug Ostrover.

Pay

Interns will be paid a stipend of $3000.

Schedule

The internship is hybrid, with some onsite work. For Fall 2026, interns commit between 16–21 hours per week over 10–12 weeks for a total of 176 hours. The program will begin on September 15, 2026, and end on December 5, 2026 (this may vary depending on schedule).

About the Whitney

The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for 86 years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists themselves, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.

EEO Statement

The Whitney Museum of American Art is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Museum does not discriminate because of age, sex, religion, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, pregnancy, partnership status, caregiver status, veteran status, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, arrest or conviction record to the extent required by applicable law, credit history, domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking victim status, or any other factor prohibited by law. The Museum hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled. The Museum encourages all qualified candidates to apply for vacant positions at all levels.