The Frist Art Museum (FAM) is committed to equity and inclusion at all levels. One of the primary goals of FAM’s board-approved strategic plan is ensuring that the museum is stable, sustainable, equitable, and a great place to work. This includes recruiting, developing, and retaining museum professionals, with a focus on encouraging mentorships and providing supervised internships to build a pipeline for emerging professionals and future museum leadership that reflect the demographics of Nashville-area communities. FAM’s internship program is designed to introduce college students to the many career pathways offered within a non-collecting art museum.
Internships are offered to students currently enrolled in an academic institution during the school year, or recent graduates, with internship periods coinciding with the fall and spring semesters and summer break.
Any student or 2024–2025 graduate may apply. Preference is given to juniors and seniors majoring in art education, art history, business, communications, design, education, fine arts, museum studies, and/or related areas, and recent graduates with degrees in these fields.
Successful candidates for all programs must complete a background check and submit all application materials.
Interns will be paid $16 per hour on a weekly basis.
Summer 2026 Internship
Interns are expected to fulfill a maximum of 128 hours to successfully complete the program. They are generally expected to complete a minimum of 8 hours per week, but this expectation is flexible with the agreement of the supervisor.
Applications for the summer 2026 semester will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on March 23, 2026. No late applications or letters of recommendation will be accepted after the deadline.
Application Process
To be considered for an internship, you must submit a PDF to internships@FristArtMuseum.org containing all the following documents:
- A cover letter explaining why you would like to participate in the selected internship at the Frist Art Museum, and how it fits into your long-term career goals
- A letter of recommendation from an academic faculty member. These can be emailed separately to internships@fristartmuseum.org with Letter of Recommendation for [applicant’s name] written in the subject line OR included with the PDF packet.
- Any samples or portfolios depending on the department that you apply for. It would be indicated in the department paragraph on the application.
- The intern application (Coming soon)
If you applied for a spring 2026 internship and were not selected, and you are interested in applying for an internship for summer 2026, you may resubmit the same application packet with all the required materials but with a summer 2026 application. - Please note the PDF should not be a zip file but a combined PDF document.
- Optional: A current resumé
All applications must be submitted as one digital package with the following filename format:
LastName_FirstName_Summer2026app
You will receive a notification when your application has been received. We will contact those whom we wish to interview.
Please note that this is a competitive program and submitting an application does not guarantee an internship.
The following departments/areas within the Frist Art Museum will offer internships for the summer 2026 semester:
- Coming soon
Summer 2026 Internship Schedule:
Application deadline: March 23, 2026
Internship start date: May 22, 2026
Length of internship: 10 weeks
Required commitment: 160 hours maximum (16 hours/week)
The Frist Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer that values and seeks out a diversity of perspectives.
