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 of the program 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 college student or recent graduate (within the past 12 months at the time of application), enrolled in a degree-seeking program, and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

The internship is sponsored by the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), which connects more than 20 different park sites with over 25 miles of scenic roadway.  GWMP has historic resources in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. that span a period from the Precontact era to the 1970s.

The successful candidate will split their time equally between the park’s Museum Program and the Cultural Resources Program. Under the supervision of the Museum Program Manager, the intern will learn about and assist with museum housekeeping in a historic house setting. The intern will also help the Cultural Resources Program Manager with the management of the park’s 200+ archeological sites.

Depending on the applicant (i.e., whether they have completed a field school and/or worked with archeological artifact collections) duties may include 1) labeling, housing, identifying, and cataloging artifacts, and/or 2) conducting condition assessments of archeological sites within the park. The intern will use an existing list and maps of the sites to locate, prioritize, and assemble necessary data where sites need condition monitoring. The intern will spend the first weeks with the park archeologist to learn the technique and procedure for recordation of sites to describe any damage or threats. Following the first few weeks of training/orientation, most of the internship will consist of independent site monitoring. Public transportation to and around the area is limited. Travel and housing stipends are available.

A background security investigation may be required prior to 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 may 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.