Choose Getty itself or a participating arts organization.
Getty Marrow supports paid work in museums and visual arts organizations. It is not limited to art-history majors or applicants with museum experience. The first decision is where you want to work: Getty Center or Getty Villa applicants use Getty’s process; applicants to other participating organizations apply to those hosts.
| Question | What to know |
|---|---|
| Academic audience | Full-time undergraduates in eligible degree pathways, with completed college study; recent graduates immediately before the internship may qualify. Second bachelor’s-degree students are excluded. |
| Geography | Attend college in or permanently reside in Los Angeles County. |
| Status | U.S. citizen, permanent resident or qualifying DACA status valid through the internship period. Read the complete current rules. |
| Background | No prior museum experience or arts major required; program seeks perspectives underrepresented in the arts. |
| Next opening | November 2026 announced for Getty’s next cycle; external organizations have separate application routes. |
| Funding benchmark | The published 2026 Getty placement offered $7,150 for ten full-time weeks. Housing, transport and health insurance were not provided. Recheck the next offer. |
The Getty application page says 2026 is closed and the next cycle opens in November 2026. Its old January 21 deadline is explicitly part of the 2026 instructions. Treat the new cycle’s exact deadline as unconfirmed until Getty publishes it.
Museum work is broader than curating an exhibition.
The official application page describes work in communications, conservation, curatorship, interpretive content, library collections, education, philanthropy, public programs and publications. Use those examples to ask which task you want to learn, not to assume every department will hire in the next cycle.
A business student might be interested in a grantmaking database or audience research. A writer might prefer interpretive content or publications. Someone who enjoys careful records could investigate collections work. These are possible connections between preparation and tasks, not substitute qualifications for a particular posting.
Read the actual description and identify the output: a researched entry, an edited text, a program plan, a reliable record or a piece of audience analysis. Then choose evidence from your own experience that shows a relevant habit. A student job involving clear communication or careful organization can be useful evidence even when it was not inside a museum.
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Make the interest concrete before discussing the institution’s reputation.
An application becomes more informative when you name a question or task. “I want to learn how a museum explains an unfamiliar object to a first-time visitor” gives a reviewer something to assess. “I have always loved world-class institutions” does not explain what you would do or learn.
Museum-work application planning note
For private preparation, choose a publicly accessible collection entry and compare what it tells an expert with what a first-time visitor might need. Identify one unfamiliar term, one piece of missing context and one question you would ask a qualified specialist. Keep your interpretation separate from documented facts. This is a preparation exercise, not an authorized rewrite of Getty’s material.
The retained 2026 instructions requested a statement addressing both interest and relevant experience, transcripts and one confidential reference. Use the new instructions when released rather than assuming the format remains identical. Give a recommender who knows your work the actual prompt and submission route; additional letters are not automatically helpful.
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Price the commute and housing before accepting.
Getty’s FAQ describes in-person work over ten consecutive full-time weeks and says housing and transportation are not provided. A paid internship can still be difficult to accept if you must fund a second rent or an expensive commute. Use the exact workplace, not the general label Los Angeles, to assess feasibility.
Build a simple comparison with actual offers: gross pay, housing, transport, meals and any expenses required before the first payment. Keep taxes and deductions separate from program costs. An advertised stipend is not a guarantee of the amount left for savings.
Ask what the schedule includes and which program events are mandatory. Record any approved arrangement in writing. It is better to resolve a class or travel conflict before accepting than to assume a full-time summer internship will operate like a flexible volunteer project.
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Leave room for learning without claiming access or authority you do not have.
You can show care for collections without pretending to be a curator or conservator. Explain an actual research, writing or organizational task and the checks you used. If you have only observed a specialized procedure, call it observation. Do not propose handling or treating collection objects without the training and permission the host requires.
Before sharing internship work later, ask what may be public. A draft text, internal catalogue field or image may have restrictions even when the institution itself is public-facing. A permitted description of your contribution can be enough; a portfolio does not require publishing every file you touched.
The next useful action is to choose a few task-based options, confirm the relevant application route and prepare evidence that fits them. Getty’s program and the LA County college program have different repeat-participation and scheduling rules. Compare them separately rather than assume the two programs are interchangeable because both support arts organizations.
Data and worked inputs
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