Graduate Summer Internship in Objects Conservation

Job Description

Job Description

Internship Overview:

The conservation department of the Cleveland Museum of Art welcomes applications for a summer graduate internship in Objects Conservation for an 8 - 10 week period (June -August 2026). The intern will join a collaborative and convivial team in caring for, studying, and treating objects from the Museum’s encyclopedic and renowned collection. The CMA maintains a full schedule of loans, rotations, and exhibitions, with associated assessment, documentation and treatment needs. The conservation department is also committed to ongoing research and investigation of objects in the collection. The intern will have the opportunity to work closely and collaboratively with conservators in other specialties, collections care specialists, curators, mount makers, registrars, and exhibition designers, to gain well-rounded professional experience in the diverse responsibilities necessary for a conservator working within a museum setting.

Due to the diverse, encyclopedic collection at the CMA, projects can be tailored to the student’s interests and experience. Summer plans also include caring for the museum’s group of outdoor sculptures, field trips to visit colleagues at local historic sites and conservation practices in the Cleveland area, and preventive conservation tasks. The Conservation team values outreach and accessibility, and the intern will have opportunities to present and share their conservation activities on social media and blog posts. A few hours a week of gallery maintenance will also be part of the intern’s responsibilities.

The Institution:

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. A major renovation and expansion project completed in 2014 has transformed the museum into a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts and art education. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in the University Circle neighborhood. The Museum's conservation department currently employs 14 full-time staff members, including conservators in paper, Asian paintings, textiles, paintings, and objects, as well as technicians and a chief conservator. The department regularly hosts pre-program conservation interns, graduate interns, and post-graduate fellows. The significant resources of the Cleveland Museum of Art, including its outstanding library and archives, and nearby Case Western Reserve University with its innovative maker space, think[box], contribute to a unique internship opportunity.

Requirements: Candidates must be currently enrolled in a recognized conservation graduate program. The candidate must be eligible to legally work in the US.

Salary: Interns are expected to work 35 hours per week. Summer graduate interns will receive $19/hour for the 8- or 10- week summer internship and will receive a $5,000 stipend that can be used to cover relocation costs and/or travel. All income will be subject to taxes.

Application Procedure:

Please submit application materials via the Cleveland Museum of Art’s website: https://www.clevelandart.org/internships

Questions should be addressed to Beth Edelstein bedelstein@clevelandart.org

Application materials must be received by end of day February 9, 2026, and interviews will be conducted in February.

For consideration, please submit the following materials in English; PDF format is strongly preferred for all materials.

• A letter stating your interests and intent in applying for the internship, including how working at the Cleveland Museum of Art aligns with your professional goals
• Curriculum vitae or resume
• Online portfolio (preferred) or examples of examination and treatment reports with images