7AAVDH15 Internship
(20 credits)
The optional internship module is seen as an important part of the MA Digital Humanities (MADH) programme and is strongly recommended to all students for whom it is relevant. This module complements the theoretical and historical approaches taken in the compulsory and other supporting modules. It allows students to observe and analyse first-hand an organisation in the Digital Humanities sector while gaining work experience and developing transferable. Where relevant the internship may also feed into dissertation research, possibly with the host organisation serving as a case study.
For this module students are required first to inform programme staff of their interests, career goals and previous work experience, and attend a series of internship preparation seminars. Care will be taken to ensure that experienced students gain appropriate new experience. With help from programme staff, students then work towards finding a suitable placement in an organisation within the digital humanities. These include archives, libraries, galleries and museums, research organisations. Examples of internship roles include project management, general administration, marketing, research, database management, education, and collections management.
The placement should last no less than 30 days, in order to allow sufficient time for skills development and for the student to make some worthwhile contribution to the organisation. After completing the placement, students are required to produce for academic examination a report (of 4000 words) and oral presentation (of 15 minutes duration) on the host organisation and its policies and/or practice towards digital humanities. In researching the host organisation and its broader context students are expected to draw on insights gained from taught modules and to link the analysis to current debates on policy, management, technologies and other issues in digital humanities. Alongside its academic role in the MADH programme, an internship offers students the opportunity to gain valuable experience, skills and contacts in the digital humanities sector.
All internships must be approved and are monitored by MADH staff with these work-based learning goals in mind. In the oral presentation, as well as summarising the findings of the report, students are asked to reflect critically on the work-based learning that took place. It is ultimately the responsibility of students to find and complete an appropriate internship, and to produce the report and presentation for assessment.
Further to the information available in the Internship Handbook, support is given via the semester one seminar programme, which includes advice on seeking and completing a placement, and on writing the report and giving the presentation. One-to-one guidance from MADH staff is also offered throughout the year.
In addition, King’s College London has partnerships with a range of organisations that offer internships. These positions cannot be guaranteed, but it is expected that up to half of students in any one year will take placements organised by the College.