We are excited to announce that there continue to be multiple opportunities to work with Columbia's Oral History MA program students this year!
First, we are seeking organizations or projects with which students can partner to conduct three interviews as part of their fall fieldwork course.
These fieldwork partners will be required to work with the student to create a brief project design, ensuring that their work will both serve the needs of their partner and fulfill their requirements for the course. The main expectation of partners is that they will connect students with narrators so that they can do three sessions of interviews in October and November 2016. Students and fieldwork partners work together to negotiate any other deliverables, such as indexes or edited excerpts.
Second, OHMA students are able to undertake internships for credit.
They may be involved in any phase of the oral history process, from designing a project to conducting interviews, processing an archive, or creating a public presentation using oral histories. Students will be expected to negotiate a work agreement with their sponsoring organization or project in advance, complete a certain number of hours of work (100-200, depending on how many credits they enroll in), and reflect on their experience.
Internships can be for fall 2016, spring 2017, or summer 2017, and can even stretch over more than one semester. Especially in the summer, internships do not need to be based in New York City. Internships can also be open to alums and students on a non-credit basis—in this case, OHMA plays less of a role in supervising their work.
Sponsoring organizations or projects will be expected to create a work plan, supervise, train, and mentor the interning student, and evaluate their work. Internships may be paid or unpaid, although it is preferable if students can be compensated. Please be aware that there is a chance that you may be willing to host a student but we will not be able to place a student with you.
If you are interested in being a fieldwork partner, please fill out this survey by August 1.
If you are interested in hosting an intern, please fill out this survey by August 1.
For more information, check out a few of our students’ internship reflections on the OHMA blog. We are excited for our students and alumni to work with your organization and collaborate on new oral history projects!