Job Listing
 🔗Park Archeology Intern – 1200 hours

  • Internship
  • NCPE Internship
  • Lincoln, NE
  • $23.50 USD / Hour
  • Applications have closed
  • Department: NPS Midwest Archeological Center
  • Job Reference #: 4107b
  • Job Summary: Assist Center staff with archeological fieldwork in the National Park Service's Midwest Region park units and associated laboratory tasks.
  • Job Qualifications:

    The intern should have completed college-level coursework in archeology, anthropology, or a related field, including completion of an archeological field school.

    In addition, the intern should have knowledge of the following:

    Technical methods and procedures of archeology to perform a variety of routine technical tasks;

    Precontact and historic cultures of the area to reliably identify and record cultural remains in surveys, excavation, and laboratory analysis;

    Basic laboratory methods in order to prepare artifacts for testing, curation, and storage;

    Basic tools and equipment common to archeological functions; and

    Database management, word processing, and specialized software programs essential to archeological description, management, and reference.

    The intern should also have the ability to communicate information in a clear and concise manner, good attention to detail, and strong organizational skills.

  • How to Apply:

    Click on the application button at this listing and follow the instructions to apply online.

  • Job benefits: Paid Time Off (PTO); Housing Allowance; Travel Stipend
  • Physical Demands / Work Environment: The fieldwork component of this job requires full days of manual labor, sometimes in less-than-ideal environmental conditions. Some of the Center’s project areas are in remote locations and receiving medical attention can take time. In more remote locations, staff may be required to cooperate to carry project and personal equipment some distance. The laboratory component of the position may require periods of sedentary work demanding focused attention on artifact or data-related tasks.
  • Application Email: manager@preservenet.org

Website National Park Service/NCPE Internship Program

The Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) is a regional archeology center for the National Park Service located in Lincoln, Nebraska. MWAC provides archeological services to units in the Midwest Region of the National Park Service including planning and guidance, field investigations, and collections management.

The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)’s Internship Program is a partnership with the National Park Service and other Federal agencies with cultural resource protection and public land management responsibilities. The purpose is to accomplish needed and important work on federally protected lands while providing program participants with professional experience in their chosen fields. Interns work under the guidance of agency staff who are subject area experts to carry out the mission of the park.

To be eligible, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old (or 35 if a veteran) when starting the internship, a post-secondary student (certificate program, 2-year, 4-year, or graduate level), or a recent graduate (within the past 12 months at the time of application), and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  

The successful candidate will assist Center archeologists with a variety of archeological field activities and may include pedestrian inventory, geophysical survey, and various types of archeological excavations. When not on field projects, the intern will assist Center staff with laboratory tasks related to current and legacy archeological projects.

Pedestrian inventory involves walking over the landscape and searching for archeological features and artifacts. The intern will record data and prepare field records using paper and digital methods and equipment (e.g., site maps, photographs, surface artifact analysis forms, field notes, etc.). Excavation and testing of archeological sites require focusing on careful recovery of artifacts and samples, completion of standard feature and level forms, screening soils to recover artifacts, and performing flotation of soil samples. The intern will assist staff in maintaining field equipment and supplies.

In the laboratory, the intern will package, identify, catalog, and label artifacts for permanent curation. The intern will maintain related databases, forms, maps, and files; enter archeological project data including artifact information, catalog records, field notes, site records, etc. into automated systems, appropriate forms, and archival records; retrieve and compile data as required for resource management reports, interpretive exhibits, etc.; perform basic supervised research; conduct record searches and interviews; and synthesize information collected for scientific, historical, and interpretive values.

The intern will be based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and travel to park units with other Center staff, as needed. Laboratory activities will take place at the Midwest Archeological Center.  This position is currently funded for up to 1200 hours. A background security investigation may be required before the start date. All NCPE internships accrue 4 hours of PTO for every 80 hours worked.

Qualified NCPE interns who complete their internships may count their position towards earning a Public Land Corps (PLC) Non-Competitive Hiring Authority certificate.  Once earned, the PLC certificate can be used to apply for eligible Federal permanent, temporary, or term positions. Visit https://preservenet.org/ncpe-internships/ for details about this benefit. Successful completion of the internship does not guarantee Federal employment.