Summer Internship Stipend Program | Department of History

Thanks to its Summer Internship Stipend Program, the History department offers a limited number of competitive stipends (typically in the range of $1000-$3000) to defray the costs of unpaid summer internships. The internships can be from a wide variety of fields (e.g. at museums and historical sites; in the private sector; at NGOs; in local, state, and federal government; at overseas institutions), although the department will prioritize applicants whose position as an intern relates in some way to their study of history or broader skills as a History major. The internship might, but is not required, to count for History credit (HIST 493).

For an application form, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies in History.

Here are just some of our past award winners, sharing their experiences as History majors with support for their summer internships.

C. Blake-Harris at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid

“I am very grateful for the History Department’s internship award for my summer internship! This summer, I was very lucky to be interning with the Public Diplomacy section at US Embassy Madrid. I had to find my own housing in a capital city in Europe which was no easy or inexpensive feat and the funding from History went to covering my housing costs. Over the course of my internship, I was given a number of opportunities that I could never have imagined being able to complete as an undergraduate but was able to do because of the generous grant from the History Department and the opportunity offered by the Department of State. No day was like the one before it at my internship. I had a wide variety of tasks and duties. From reviewing nominations for embassy-sponsored programs such as the International Visitor Leadership Program and the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs to leading outreach to Gilman Scholars in Spain for involvement in embassy programming to researching and writing talking points about US foreign policy direction speeches for Ambassador Buchan (a fellow Tar Heel), I was able to get a true taste of what life as a Public Diplomacy Officer was like. I plan to take the Foreign Service Officer Test in the spring and am currently applying for graduate fellowships offered by the Department of State and the experience gained from my internship will be invaluable in these endeavors.”

C. Blake-Harris (class of 2020)

Mercer Brady on the Speaker’s Balcony of the Capitol Building

“Through support from the history department I was able to intern with my local Congressmen, Ted Budd, in Washington D.C. this summer. I participated in this internship this to gain office experience, expose myself to opinions that differ from my own, and learn more about Congress, North Carolina, and my home district. I developed my research and writing skills as I was able to write to constituents about upcoming legislation and opportunities to interact with the Congressmen. I frequently gave Capitol tours, attended briefing on the behalf of the legislative staff, and took phone calls from constituents. This internship experience was invaluable to my ability to know myself and to learn about what capacities I succeed in professionally.”

Mercer Brady (class of 2020)