Montpelier Volunteers & Intern Program

The Montpelier Archaeology Department has operated one or more field schools for the past two decades and, as such, has a long history of interaction with colleges and their students, most notably James Madison University and SUNY Potsdam. Interns have, however, come from other schools including, but not limited to: Cornell University; NorthWestern University; Mary Washington University; University of Virginia; Virginia Commonwealth University; and Sweetbriar.

Internships are created on an individual basis so as to ensure that the student, or graduate, can acquire the experience that they desire. They take two broad forms: laboratory-based and field-based. For those students who have not taken an archaeological field school, we generally require that they participate in one of our two field schools offered during the summer and then spend the rest of the summer conducting their internship.

Laboratory Internships

The majority of college-based internships focus around post-excavation work (e.g., working in the laboratory, the Montpelier archives, etc.). This type of internship typically addresses a current research question and, coupled with experiential activities, can lead to a research paper as part of extra credit activities or in fulfillment of degree requirements.

Examples of previous Laboratory Internships include:

• Minimum Vessel Analysis of Ceramics
• Analysis of Stratigraphy from various sites across the property
• Analysis of building materials (brick, mortar, and stone)
• Digitizing field records

Field Internships

All successful applicants for Field Internships must have completed a field school and submitted a resume to Matthew Reeves. In most cases, interns will participate in one of our university field schools and take their internship following the field school (in other words, all in one summer). In general, field interns assist the staff in our training programs (Earthwatch and University Field Schools) and work directly with student/volunteer participants. As such, this experience offers interns a chance to build supervisory skills and further refine their field techniques.

How long will an Internship take?

Montpelier supports a number of different archaeological internships:

• 1 Month Internship. The minimum period for a Field Internship, and one that requires the student work 35 hours per week, five days a week. A stipend is provided.
• 2 Month Internship. Same as the 1 Month Internship, though with a higher stipend in the second month.

If these time frames do not fit a student’s schedule, we are flexible in offering a program that will meet their schedule.

Free housing is available in the Archaeological Intern House on a first-come, first-served basis, with the caveat that in certain periods of the year, Montpelier’s Archaeological Training Program members take precedence.

How to Apply

To contact Matthew Reeves about the Intern Program, or for further information about archaeology at Montpelier, please use our contact form, selecting "Archaeology" as the contact department, or call Matthew Reeves, Director of Archaeology, at (540) 672-2728 x160. Student intern positions require the submission of a cover letter and current resume.