Our fellowship program supports two-semester practicum-internships designed to provide students exceptional professional-level experience in NYC’s world-class institutions.
Our fellowship program supports two-semester practicum-internships designed to provide students exceptional professional-level experience in NYC’s world-class institutions. Fellowship recipients for academic year 2023/2024 include:
- Met Museum Data Analysis & Visualization for Collections Information Fellowship – Alya Zouaoui
- Pratt Center Mapping, Data Analysis & Visualization Fellowship – Evelyn Mukherjee
- MoMA UX Research Fellowship – Tharani Prabu
- Met Museum Digital Product Design Fellowship – Bryony Hoare and Rishi Mudaliar
- Brooklyn Public Library Children’s/Young Adult Services Fellowship – Grace Pickering
- Brooklyn Public Library Center for Brooklyn History User Services Fellowship – Anna Leuning
- New York Public Library Digital Archives & Preservation Fellowship – Emma Powell
- Lesbian Herstory Archives Fellowship – Beth Grassmann
- MoMA Library Fellowship – Noa Ryan
- Met Museum Watson Library Fellowship – Candace Hernandez and Olivia Buck
- Frick Library Fellowship – Charelle Mack and Francesca Strathern
- Franklin Furnace Fellowship – Morgan Võ
- MoMA Linked Open Data Fellowship – Samie Konet
- Whitney Museum Collection Information & Data Fellowship – Zixuan Zhao
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Digital User Experience Fellowship – Mehika Singhal
Past recipients can be found in our newsletter: 2022/2023, 2021/2022, 2020/2021, 2019/2020 and 2018/2019.
Our fellowship program is made possible through donations from our generous community and occasional grants. Supporters include:
- Dorothy M. Cooper Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Morton D. Flaum Memorial Scholarship
- Ford-EEOC Scholarship
- Bogardus Scholarship
- Scilken Endowed Scholarship
- Hoffman Scholarship Fund
- Library School Graduate Association Scholarship
- Hart Scholarship
- Carnegie Corporation of New York
- Donors to the Fund for Pratt: School of Information
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (grant #s: ARPML-250555-OMLS-22, RE-71-12-0023-12, RE-01-08-0012-08, RE-01-10-0018-10, RE-01-05-0036-05)
Application Information
Students can apply for the fellowship program starting in their second semester of study. Partnering with NYC museums, libraries, and other institutions, we offer students fellowships that support tuition scholarships in the amount of $7,450 ($3,725 in fall 2023 and $3,725 in spring 2024).
Fellows are required to carry-out two-semester practicum/internships, requiring 120 hours per semester of on-site work at one of the partner institutions. To fulfill the fellowship requirements, students must enroll in a course related to their practicum (the course varies by fellowship). Students must also either enroll in INFO 698 Practicum/ Seminar in the spring 2024 semester or present their fellowship projects at #Infoshow2024. The practicum and internship site work and supervisor must the same for both the practicum and internship.
Please be aware that each of the fellowships have different eligibility requirements which are detailed in the application.
Fellowship Opportunities 2023-2024
Fellowship opportunities for the 2023-2024 academic year are listed below. Students can apply for multiple fellowships but must apply to each fellowship separately and can only participate in one. Applicants must have enrolled at the School of Information no later than the spring 2023 semester and be graduating no earlier than spring 2024.
**The application deadline is Monday, April 3, 2023 at 5:00PM EDT.
Pratt Center Mapping, Data Analysis & Visualization Fellowship
One fellowship opportunity is available at the Pratt Center for Community Development for a MS Data Analytics and Visualization student. The 2023-2024 fellow will work on a variety of projects to support affordable housing, climate justice, and equitable economic development in NYC. Projects can include geospatially projecting data, such as producing city-wide maps of different types of building and housing stock, various legislative boundaries, and other types of data in support of affordable housing policy campaigns.
Met Data Analysis & Visualization for Collections Information Fellowship
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Digital Data Analysis & Visualization fellowship will provide an opportunity to apply and expand the fellow’s knowledge and skills from their coursework in a world class institution.
Tasks and responsibilities for the 2023-2024 fellow may include (but are not limited to):
- Providing metrics on The Met’s digital space (collection, public API, visitor & onsite experience, digital content, programs etc) through Google Analytics, SQL, and other relevant tools.
- Creating cohesive, data driven stories on how the Met’s digital data connects with other data sets across the museum through dashboards and presentations through tools such as Looker, PowerBI, Google Slides, or Power Point.
- Learning how to create workflows and collaborate with project management tools (JIRA, Confluence, Airtable, etc)
- Presenting an impactful fellowship capstone project on an existing or potential area in The Met’s digital space that is of interest to the fellow and data and analytics team.
- Interacting with Met staff and learning museum best practices, culture, and vision.
MoMA Digital User Experience Fellowship
The purpose of the Pratt SI UX Research Fellowship at the Museum of Modern Art is to provide students interested in the arts and culture sector with the opportunity to work on UXR projects in a practical museum setting. Students will work within MoMA’s Digital Product team alongside a team of designers, developers, and product managers on projects aimed at better understanding the museum’s diverse audiences and reshaping digital engagement both in the museum and virtually. The student will learn to plan and conduct research projects within the context of the product development lifecycle and informed by MoMA’s digital strategy. They will be introduced to a variety of research methodologies that the UX team at MoMA employs while conducting research and discovery, and are also invited to bring their experience, interests, and perspectives to the team and its work.
Applicants must be comfortable with at least one of the following design tools: Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD. Familiarity with at least some of the following UXR methodologies is required: Generative audience research, moderated/unmoderated usability testing, card sorting, tree testing, and survey design. A strong desire to pursue a career in a non-profit and/or arts institution is expected, as well as an enthusiasm for visual art and museums.
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Digital UX Fellowship
Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design and is the steward of one of the most diverse and comprehensive design collections in the world. The purpose of the Digital User Experience Fellowship at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge in the area of user experience (UX) and digital product design in a practical setting. Information Experience Design students who are passionate about design—from historical to contemporary—and are intrinsically motivated are particularly encouraged to apply.
Students will bring a visitor-centered perspective and contribute to a project based on current museum priorities and the fellows’ skills and interest, such as:
- Redesigning the museum’s digital collections interfaces
- UX feedback for the Digital Exhibition site
- Developing new digital products or revisions to existing products
- Improvements to Cooper Hewitt’s main website
The student will work with a team that includes in-house developers and third-party developers. Applicants must be comfortable with prototyping software (e.g., Sketch or Adobe XD) and other Creative Suite products and UserTesting.com.
Metropolitan Museum Digital Product Design Fellowship
The purpose of the Pratt SI Digital Product Design Fellowship is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge in the area of product design in a practical setting, in this case, a world-class museum – The Met. Students will work in one or more areas that the Product Development department, including Museum Digital Experience and Global Audience initiatives. The student will work with a team that includes developers, designers, product managers, user researchers, and analytics experts to help shape the experience across the Met’s digital platforms and contribute to the establishment of a universal Design System. Students will learn how to apply a user- first mindset and the ability to deeply empathize with human behavior in order to shape how people interact and experience art online. They will help create experiences that drive both the product’s interaction and visual design. Students will gain familiarity working in an Agile product development environment and with project management tools.
Students will also learn how a design system works within the context of product development, and practice design thinking. The student will be considered a Graduate Intern, and part of the Met’s Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Program cohort. They will participate in Met internship programs to learn about museum practice broadly and talk with Met staff across the Museum. Applicants must be comfortable with Figma. Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite is also required. Motion design skills are a plus. A strong desire to pursue a career in a non-profit and/or arts institution is expected, as well as an enthusiasm for visual art and museums. The selected student must be able to attend mid-day programs for interns at the Met on Fridays.
MoMA Linked Open Data For Museums Fellowship
The focus of the fellowship in the MoMA Archives is to expand, enrich, and explore as linked open data information related to MoMA’s ninety-three-year institutional history of collecting and exhibiting modern art. While projects will be worked out with the specific fellow, possible activities include: refining and standardizing exhibition data sets and recreating that data in Wikidata; connecting archives and library resources and creators to Wikidata and Wikipedia; creating data visualizations to demonstrate and interrogate the richness of the dataset; or exploring mapping software and other free tools for exploiting the data. Relevant skills that will be developed during the course of the fellowship include data analysis, reconciliation methods, archival research methods, and semantic web methods. The project’s ultimate aim is to create new research tools for art historical scholarship while also demonstrating methods for interlinking library archival resources online.
The purpose of the LOD for Museums Fellowship is to provide support for a student in the MS Museums and Digital Culture or MS Library & Information Science program to investigate the application of Linked Open Data (LOD) within a museum setting. The fellowship allows the student to apply the knowledge and competencies acquired from their course work in a professional setting while developing new skills through participation in an on-site internship.
Whitney Museum Of American Art Collections Information & Data Fellowship
The purpose of the Collection Information & Data Fellowship is to provide an opportunity for a MSMDC student to gain first-hand experience in multiple areas related to the management of permanent collection information, data, and records in a museum setting. The fellowship will take place in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Permanent Collection Documentation Office, which is part of the Museum’s Research Resources Department.
The Permanent Collection Documentation Office collects, preserves, and makes accessible records pertaining to the institution’s permanent collection, oversees the Museum’s collection database (The Museum System/TMS), and creates and maintains the Content Standard Element Sets (CSES) for cataloguing and describing works of art in the museum’s jurisdiction. Its primary role is to document the history of the permanent collection and to provide primary source material (located in the object files and artist files) for staff, interns, and visiting researchers seeking further knowledge on the objects and artists in the Museum’s collection.
Responsibilities include:
- Assisting Museum staff, interns, and outside researchers with research inquiries
- Assisting Permanent Collection Documentation Manager with collection information and data fact-checking, as needed
- Data entry, including assigning descriptive subject terms to permanent collection object records, and entering provenance data, in TMS
- Drafting and entering published reference citations into TMS
- Organization of primary source documents and filing
- Data entry and associating permanent collection images in ResourceSpace, a digital asset repository
The Research Resources Department supports the research needs of museum staff and members of the academic and museum communities by providing access to primary resources, published resources, and other research material relating to the Museum’s history, collections, and programming. Comprising the Research Resources Department are the Permanent Collection Documentation Office, Library, Archives, and Licensing division.
Moma Library Fellowship
The fellowship presents the opportunity to participate in several aspects of MoMA library operations. The fellow will focus their time on reference, collection development, and acquisition activities. Particular projects will be determined at the start of the fellowship but may include such tasks as reading room staffing, assessing current reference tools, and backlog appraisal and remediation. Appropriate training and supervision will be provided for any tasks assigned. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated a knowledge of and interest in art history, particularly modern and contemporary art, and be excited to learn of the particular role the museum library plays within the institution.
The fellow will work primarily in the MoMA Library, Manhattan, though some work may be required at the MoMA QNS warehouse facility in Long Island City for 8 hours/week (120 hours/semester for the fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters). While COVID safety protocols may determine some aspects of the work environment, the fellowship is expected to be entirely on-site.
Center for Brooklyn History (BPL) User Services Fellowship
The fellowship recipient will assist the Reference Librarian in the reading room of an interior landmarked research library. Duties include staffing the reference desk, answering in- person and remote reference questions, facilitating appointments for archival research, gathering user services assessment data, and creating an online subject guide. Candidates may also suggest and initiate any special projects that may be of interest to them. The ideal candidate should have an interest in user services in a special collections environment while demonstrating reliability, punctuality, attention to detail, and follow-through. Competitive candidates will have already completed coursework in reference and user services. An academic focus or some experience with special collections and archives is preferred.
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) Children’s & Young Adult Services Fellowship
This Fellowship is for MSLIS students who plan to work in children’s and young adult services at the public library.
The Fellowship offers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in children’s and young adult services at the Brooklyn Public Library, a leader in traditional and innovative library services that reflect the dynamism of diverse communities.
Specific projects and activities will be determined at the start of the fellowship but may include tasks such as the design and implementation of programming for children and youth, collection appraisal and preparation of readers’ advisory resources, and community outreach and library advocacy. Projects and activities will align with ALSC and YALSA core competencies for librarians serving children and youth.
Fellows will work at Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library Youth Wing (10 Grand Army Plaza), under the supervision of children’s and young adult services librarians. Adjustments to on-site work may be made in order to observe COVID-19 guidelines.
Frick Art Reference Library Fellowship
Two fellowship opportunities are available at the Frick Art Reference Library working with the web archiving team for the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC). Fellows will contribute to a unique web archive collection devoted to born-digital resources for art history, including websites for New York City galleries, museums, artists’ websites, catalogues raisonnés, and auction catalogs. The fellows will evaluate candidate sites for web archiving; be trained in using Archive-It, Conifer, and Webrecorder tools to capture websites; create bibliographic records for websites using OCLC Connexion; perform review, maintenance and QA of archived websites; participate in discussions regarding web archiving policy and workflow for the Frick and NYARC; and assist with beta testing of new tools and research. Fellows will additionally have the opportunity to present at local and national professional events, contribute to NYARC blog posts, and become actively involved with the international web archiving community.
Lesbian Herstory Archives Fellowship
The Lesbian Herstory Archives is home to the world’s oldest and largest collections of materials by and about Lesbians and their communities. The Lesbian Herstory Archives exists to gather and preserve records of Lesbian lives and activities. This ensures future generations will have ready access to materials relevant to their lives. You can learn more about LHA at https://lesbianherstoryarchives.org/.
In the fellowship, we expect to structure it around the interests of the chosen fellow. Potential projects include:
- Imaging & Metadata Rehousing: Graphics, Buttons, Videos, T-Shirts, Banners
- Archival Processing: Music (Legacy Formats), Special Collections, Periodicals, Unpublished Papers
Watson Library Fellowship
Two opportunities are available for Pratt MSLIS students at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library. The goal is to provide students with guided learning experiences across the key activities of art librarianship. A sincere interest in a non-profit and/or arts institution is expected, as well as an enthusiasm for visual art and museums. Selected participants will be considered Met Graduate Interns, and part of The Met’s Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Program cohort. They will participate in Met internship programs to learn about museum practice broadly and meet with Met staff from across the Museum.
Over two semesters, fellows will participate in several areas of the library: technical services, digitization, and systems. This will take place in the context of hands-on work whenever possible, but also through meetings and demonstrations with staff members. At the same time, there will be a project which will be an opportunity to focus more deeply on several of these areas, developed in consultation with library staff to meet both library needs and intern interest and aptitude, while maintaining some continuity of core duties. Participants will have the option to give a presentation to library staff on their project at the end of the second semester.
Participants will learn best practices from a workflow level down to a personal level, working with competencies already in place for Watson Library staff. These can include:
- hands-on work with technical services workflows;
- importing and editing bibliographic records in Sierra and Connexion Client;
- gain familiarity with how Python, SQL, Javascript and HTML/CSS are used in a live environment;
- learn how to perform basic book conservation procedures (making enclosures, plastic covers, etc.);
- carry out basic acquisitions functions such as placing orders, selecting and receiving;
- learn the basics of creating metadata in CONTENTdm and work with our cutting edge scanners on digitization projects;
- record loading and data transformation.
NYPL Digital Archives Fellowship
The purpose of the Digital Archives and Preservation Fellowship is to provide support for a MSLIS student with the Advanced Certificate in Archives to gain hands-on experience with the lifecycle of born-digital collections, including disk imaging, born-digital audio/video, supporting archival processing, and ingest into NYPL’s repository. The Fellow may gain or grow technical experience with tools such as Forensic Toolkit, GitHub, Preservica, Python, and various command-line tools, such as BagIt and Siegfried.
Note fellowship tasks do not include digitization or archival processing.
Hands-on Experience
Fellowship time is split between two teams.
- NYPL Digital Archives Team
- Read and contribute to the NYPL digital archives documentation
- Inventory media from an archival collection
- Transfer files from obsolete digital carrier formats using write blockers and forensic workstations
- NYPL Digital Repository Team
- Read and contribute to the NYPL digital preservation documentation
- Prepare materials for ingest into NYPL’s Preservica instance
- Survey unmanaged collections to prepare for ingest
Research Activities
Fellows are encouraged to spend 50% of their time on a project of their choosing based on the exposure to activities within the program. NYPL staff will help guide the development of this project. Examples include:
- Testing and documenting the usage of obsolete media readers like DDS-2 tape drives
- Creating file format signatures and access formats for unidentified formats
- Improving processes through the development of documentation and/or scripts
- Researching the accessibility requirements of access provided via emulation
- Other projects as discussed
All projects are conducted from the Library Services Center in Long Island City, Queens.
Franklin Furnace Archives Fellowship
Franklin Furnace’s mission is to present, preserve, interpret, proselytize and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, cultural bias, their ephemeral nature, or politically unpopular content. Franklin Furnace is dedicated to serving artists by providing both physical and virtual venues for the presentation of time-based art, including but not limited to artists’ books and periodicals, installation art, performance art, and unforeseen contemporary avant-garde artforms; and to undertaking other activities related to these purposes. Franklin Furnace is committed to serving emerging artists; to assuming an aggressive pedagogical stance with regard to the value of avant-garde art to life; and to fostering artists’ zeal to broadcast ideas.
The School of Information fellow will work with our Archives Assistant and Archives Technologist, under the supervision of Harley Spiller, Ken Dewey Director, to promote the discoverability of BIPOC artists whose work is represented in the Franklin Furnace artists’ books collections and related vertical files. The resultant information will be shared and promoted through digitization and other communication efforts, including blogging and social media outreach.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Digital User Experience Fellowship
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is home to 11 resident arts organizations that present music, theater, dance, film, opera, and more, and is a cultural and civic cornerstone of New York City. The purpose of the Digital User Experience Fellowship at LCPA is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge in the area of user experience (UX) testing and evaluation to a practical setting. Students who are interested in making improvements to LCPA digital interfaces and encouraged to apply.
This fellowship will be particularly concerned with usability testing and making improvements to existing web properties. The student will work with the staff that is remote, and must be comfortable with prototyping software (e.g., Sketch or Adobe XD).