The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)’s Internship Program is a partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) 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 successful candidate will develop an Explore brochure directed to the public to raise awareness about NPS programs and partners. The intern will have input on the geographic focus of the brochure, featuring an area within Interior Regions 3, 4 and 5 (Midwest), such as Chicago, Detroit, or Kansas City, that possesses sufficient properties to highlight select NPS programs. The primary NPS programs of this focus are National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), National Heritage Areas, Historic Surplus Property, and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The intern will create the content and design for the brochure and ensure consistency with NPS graphic standards, principles of effective communication, and compliance standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, providing greater accessibility by users of differing abilities. The internship will result in a printed brochure provided to partners in the highlighted area for distribution to their visitors.

Secondary duties may include writing social media content, reviewing materials created for the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, or providing editorial assistance on Underground Railroad Network to Freedom nominations. The intern will write an article for the program’s annual NHL newsletter highlighting and promoting the Explore brochure and/or a select NHL from the highlighted area. Some project-related travel may be required and will be funded by the program.  The intern will work within the regional Historic Preservation Partnerships program, located in Omaha, NE. The intern is responsible for housing and transportation to and from Omaha; travel and housing stipends are provided.

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.