Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) encompasses a unique blend of history, science and art, at the centre of the Greenwich World Heritage site. Student Internships at Royal Museums Greenwich support research in maritime and naval history; material culture; royalty, court culture, art and architecture; and the history of science and technology, in the context of maritime history, astronomy and time.

Internships are particularly beneficial to those considering postgraduate research.

About internships
Designed around a defined project, our Student Internship Programme provides access to our world class collections, plus valuable experience in the study of material culture. During each internship, participants undertake new research that furthers understanding of the collections at the Museum, and they help to increase the accessibility of our collections to audiences. Participants are encouraged to put research outcomes towards their university dissertation, article assessments or seminar papers.

Who can apply
- Holders of UK/EU passports who have the right to live and work in the UK.
- Postgraduate students.
- Final year undergraduates who wish to use research on the Museum's collections for a dissertation or long essay.
- Students between undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Applicants are invited to suggest their own research topic for their internship. A selection of potential topics (incl. some print related topics) based on the expertise of our curators are listed below for inspiration.

Art and architecture
- The Queen’s House
- Architecture
- Fine and decorative arts
- Fashion and interiors
- Art and astronomy
- Provenance research

Charts and maps
- Cartographic materials and historic globes

Horology
- Horological collections.
- Time derivation
- Time distribution
- Changing aesthetic and functional aspects of timekeepers in relation to changes in society.

History of navigation
- The use of scientific instruments in polar exploration (mid 19th to early 20th century).
-The process of invention and adoption of navigational instruments eg. instruments produced as prototypes and used for trials, or those which did not prove to be successful.
- The development of computing instruments for navigation

History of science and technology and the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- The history of magnetic and meteorological instruments used at the Royal Observatory Greenwich (late 19th to early 20th century).
- Object-based research on our collection of telescopes, sundials astronomical compendia and astrolabes
- The history of photographic and spectroscopic techniques and instruments used at the ROG

Naval history
- Researching and cataloguing the Museum’s collection of Theodor de Bry prints. This famous engraver created numerous depictions of the early European expeditions to the Americas, and the NMM has one of the finest collections of his work. Applicants with some knowledge of early-modern history/art history are encouraged to apply.

Ship models, Ships’ Equipment and Boat collections
- Lifeboats and lifesaving
- Sailmaking
- Half block models, their design, development and uses
- Maritime patent models
- Sectional models (such as bow, midship and stern), design, development and uses
- Naval architecture and Royal Dockyards
- We particularly welcome projects which involve researching and cataloguing the Museum’s Ships’ Equipment collection
- Anchors (model and full sized)
- Ships’ bells

Student internships last up to six weeks, depending on the scope and level of the proposed project.

The bursary offered is £1,575 gross for the six week period.

2017–18 proposal deadline: Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Application contact details: send applications to Lizelle de Jager by e-mail ldejager@rmg.co.uk

Start date: successful applicants will discuss their start date with the relevant curator. Internships take place between July 2017 and April 2018.

Please note: successful applicants must meet the requirements.