Family History Internships

Earning Credit

Course: History 496R (1.0 to 6.0 credit hours)

An internship is a required course of the Family History degree, typically completed after the capstone courses have been completed. We recommend that students do their internship during their last semester or during Spring/Summer term after their final on-campus semester. We also highly encourage students to seek internships outside of Utah. One credit hour is equal to at least 42 hours of carefully supervised and coordinated work. Your suggested work hours will look like this (based on the regular 14-week Fall/Winter semester or the 7-week Spring/Summer term):

Credit Hours	Total Hours	Hours/Week (Semester)	Hours/Week (Term)
1.0	42	3-5	6
2.0	84	5-7	12
3.0	126	7-10	18
4.0	168	11-14	24
5.0	210	15-17	30
6.0	252	18-20+	36

Registering for the Class

Once you have found an internship, please contact the History Internship Coordinator and the Family History Faculty Advisor, in order to receive final approval for your internship. (Contact information is listed below.) To register for the class, you must submit an IRAMS internship application through BYU’s Internship Office. This is only for domestic internships. All international interns must go through the Kennedy Center’s International Studies Program to register for credit. When filling out your application, you MUST include your contact information, your Internship Supervisor’s contact information (as much as you know), and the total approximate hours you will work.

Course Assignments

Due dates and assignments may vary based on the number of credit hours you are taking and the start/end dates of the internship. History 496R is graded with a letter grade. These are the general assignments you can expect to complete during your internship:

• Statement of Expectations: Where you will be working and what you will be doing during your internship. Must be signed by you and your Internship Supervisor.
• Midterm Update: Brief email update on the progress and hours completed by the middle of your internship
• Final Supervisor Evaluation: An evaluation completed by your internship supervisor assessing your work performance and confirming completion of internship hours

• Reports:

  • A: Report on the Internship Experience: A well-written report of 1,000 words or more to describe, in detail, the internship experience
  • B: Report on the Special Project: If you completed a written project for your internship provider, attach that to your report. If you did not, write 1,000 words or more describing the special project done as part of the internship, such as indexing, collection description, reference material creation, etc. In those cases where the special project is a guide or publishable paper, that written material accompanied by a letter of submission would meet this requirement.

Potential Internship Locations

An internship can be done anywhere in the world. Here is a small sample of the types of internships you can do and the locations where they can be done.

Libraries and Archives

• National and Regional Archives (anywhere in the world!)
• State Archives (U.S.) and County Archives (U.K.)
• Special Collections (BYU and elsewhere)
• FamilySearch Library (Salt Lake City)
• New York Public Library (NYC)
• DAR Library (Washington, D.C.)
• Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)
• Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
• Church History Library (Salt Lake City)

Professional Research Companies

• Price Genealogists (Salt Lake City and remote)
• Brandenburger and Davis International Probate Research (Sacramento)
• FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Office

Commercial Genealogical Companies

• Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (Salt Lake City)
• FamilySearch.org - various departments

Historical Societies

• African-American Historical and Genealogical Society (Washington, D.C.)
• New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston)
• Filson Historical Society (Filson, Kentucky)
• State Historical Societies (often housed with State Archives)
• Society of Genealogists (London)
• Pennsylvania Historical Society (Philadelphia)

Internship funding

Go to the BYU History Grants and Scholarships page for information on funding your internship experience.

Email updates

To receive ongoing updates about internship, job, and funding opportunities for Family History students, contact the Center for Family History and Genealogy at cfhgoff@byu.edu and ask to be added to their email list.

Questions?

For additional help and information, contact the Internship Coordinator at 2130F JFSB, (801) 422-1789 or hist_intern@byu.edu.