Access Tactile Inventory Undergraduate Intern
Access Tactile Inventory Undergraduate Intern – Fall 2025
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Access Department is responsible for ensuring that people of all abilities feel welcome and can make direct connections with the Museum’s collection and exhibitions.
The Department offers internships to college students who enjoy working with people with disabilities and are interested in learning more about the intersection of art and disability.
The Access Tactile Inventory intern will play a crucial role within the Access department, documenting and cataloging the multisensory tools used on access tours. These tools, referred to as tactiles, are objects such as fabrics, sculptures, jewelry, and material samples, which provide options for multisensory engagement with art objects on the tour. The selected intern will continue the work of previous interns, documenting our collection of tactiles and uploading information about them onto a digital database. Creation of tactiles that relate to the museum's collection will also be encouraged.
Additionally, the intern will support ongoing accessible programming within the Museum.
The intern will report to the Assistant Director of Accessibility and work alongside and learn from experts in arts and disability. They will gain valuable professional skills, including communication with a variety of audiences, visitors, and organizations. The intern will also gain experience in photographing objects, creating object records, and website design within a museum setting. Additionally, the selected intern will have opportunities to work with a wide range of people, with a diversity of disabilities, and will build a professional network with disability advocates and arts administrators, and related organizations.
Ideal candidates must be able to commit to work onsite 20 hours weekly, mostly between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, and join in attendance at the Museum Pathways & Practices professional development course from 12:30-2:30pm on the following Fridays: Sept 19, Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 10, Oct 17, Oct 24, Oct 31, Nov 7, Nov 14, Nov 21, and Dec 5.
The selected intern will be paid at a rate of $16.80 per hour and will receive a $90.00 per month transportation subsidy. (This subsidy is subject to taxes.)
As we amplify our efforts toward becoming a truly inclusive institution, ensuring that diversity, equity, and access are lived values, we actively encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to apply to the program.
Essential Functions:
- Observe access tours to see how tactiles are used in a tour setting
- Photograph tactiles
- Continue the work of previous interns to build object files to document each tactile
- Upload documentation to an online database
- Prepare and offer a 3-minute final presentation of the internship as part of the Museum Pathways & Practices professional development course
Qualifications
- Enrolled in an undergraduate program, concurrent with the internship period
- Demonstrated interest in accessibility-related practices
- Proven ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
- Proven ability to interact easily and successfully with the disability community
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and take initiative
- Ability to set realistic project deadlines and work independently to meet them
- Ability to commit to work onsite 20 hours per week (within Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm parameters), from Sept 12 through Dec 12, 2025, including attendance at the Museum Pathways & Practices professional development course from 12:30-2:30pm on the following Fridays: Sept 19, Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 10, Oct 17, Oct 24, Oct 31, Nov 7, Nov 14, Nov 21, and Dec 5.
- Ability to attend orientation on Fri, Sept 12, 2025, 10am to 3:30pm.
How to Apply
- DO NOT INCLUDE any document, (e.g., transcripts, writing samples, or even recommendations), that is not specifically requested within this description.
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Combine your cover letter and resume into a single document, (Word or PDF). The cover letter must include all of the following:
- the title of the internship for which you are applying (one internship per application)
- how the named internship fits into your academic and/or career goals
- why your specific skills/experience/interests qualify you for the internship
- any periods when you are not available for an in-person interview
- your contact information including e-mail and daytime phone
- Save your document file as (LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_POSITIONTITLE_Fall2025)
- Candidates may apply for no more than two internships per season and must submit a separate cover letter/resume document for each position.
- **Direct any/all questions to: intern@mfa.org before submitting your application. Applications not conforming to these guidelines may be deemed ineligible.
- Upload the single document as your resume via the ADP portal Internships | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ASAP before August 11, 2025.