Pathway Programs at LACMA support the career development and training of future museum leaders. The diversification of our programming, collection, audience, staff, and leadership is a major priority for the museum. Through paid fellowships, internships, and apprenticeships for museum roles in all departments, LACMA is dedicated to fostering inclusive cultures that reflect the communities we serve.
Pathway Programs at LACMA support the career development and training of future museum leaders. The diversification of our programming, collection, audience, staff, and leadership is a major priority for the museum. Through paid fellowships, internships, and apprenticeships for museum roles in all departments, LACMA is dedicated to fostering inclusive cultures that reflect the communities we serve.
Mellon Summer Academy and Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program
Program Overview
Deadline: August 1, 2025
The Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship is designed for students to complete during their undergraduate studies, with the goal of preparing them for future graduate work. This two-year fellowship at LACMA offers hands-on experience in a museum setting, where fellows assist curators and staff on exhibitions, collections, and public programs. Each fellow is paired with a curatorial mentor and collaborates with professionals across departments—including conservation, education, and publications—to deepen their academic learning and expand their understanding of art and art history. Fellows commit 12–16 hours per month during the academic year, followed by a full-time (40 hours/week), 10-week summer internship at LACMA.
- Application Materials
See the application form.
- Personal Statement
Limit your personal statement to 700 words (about two typed double-spaced pages) to include the following information:
Explain your interest in the MUCF.
Describe why you consider yourself to be a voice representing unique perspectives and your commitment to including varied frames of reference in the curatorial field. Drawing on your extracurricular activities, areas of study, background, or other experiences, explain your possible contributions to the MUCF.
Provide an example of an experience where you were able to offer a distinct perspective to a project, discussion, or dialogue and the impact your viewpoint had on the outcome.
- Resume
Include relevant employment, volunteer experiences, and computer and language skills.
- Letter of Recommendation
Include one confidential letter of recommendation from faculty at your institution or past/current employers familiar with your skills and professional ability.
Recommenders should submit the confidential letter via email directly to fellowships@lacma.org from their institutional or employer email address, clearly indicating applicant’s first and last name, by August 1, 2025.
- Transcripts
Provide unofficial transcripts for your entire undergraduate career, including the institution you currently attend and any institution you may have previously attended.
- Application Submission
Email all application materials (excluding letter of recommendation) to fellowships@lacma.org.
Arrange documents as one PDF in the following order: Application; Personal Statement; Resume; Transcripts.
Application materials are due by August 1, 2025.
- Questions?
Email fellowships@lacma.org.
Mellon Summer Academy and Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program
Program Overview
Deadline: August 1, 2025
The Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship is designed for students to complete during their undergraduate studies, with the goal of preparing them for future graduate work. This two-year fellowship at LACMA offers hands-on experience in a museum setting, where fellows assist curators and staff on exhibitions, collections, and public programs. Each fellow is paired with a curatorial mentor and collaborates with professionals across departments—including conservation, education, and publications—to deepen their academic learning and expand their understanding of art and art history. Fellows commit 12–16 hours per month during the academic year, followed by a full-time (40 hours/week), 10-week summer internship at LACMA.
- Application Materials
See the application form.
- Personal Statement
Limit your personal statement to 700 words (about two typed double-spaced pages) to include the following information:
Explain your interest in the MUCF.
Describe why you consider yourself to be a voice representing unique perspectives and your commitment to including varied frames of reference in the curatorial field. Drawing on your extracurricular activities, areas of study, background, or other experiences, explain your possible contributions to the MUCF.
Provide an example of an experience where you were able to offer a distinct perspective to a project, discussion, or dialogue and the impact your viewpoint had on the outcome.
- Resume
Include relevant employment, volunteer experiences, and computer and language skills.
- Letter of Recommendation
Include one confidential letter of recommendation from faculty at your institution or past/current employers familiar with your skills and professional ability.
Recommenders should submit the confidential letter via email directly to fellowships@lacma.org from their institutional or employer email address, clearly indicating applicant’s first and last name, by August 1, 2025.
- Transcripts
Provide unofficial transcripts for your entire undergraduate career, including the institution you currently attend and any institution you may have previously attended.
- Application Submission
Email all application materials (excluding letter of recommendation) to fellowships@lacma.org.
Arrange documents as one PDF in the following order: Application; Personal Statement; Resume; Transcripts.
Application materials are due by August 1, 2025.
- Questions?
Email fellowships@lacma.org.
Unframed Blog Posts
ASU-LACMA Master's Fellowship in Art History
While graduate training in art history remains a requirement in the museum field, it is one of the most significant barriers to equitable advancement as employees must choose between continuing to work and graduate training. Launched in 2018, the ASU-LACMA Master's Fellowship in Art History was designed to address this issue.
The ASU-LACMA Master's Fellowship in Art History is a three-year program, pairing rigorous academic instruction through traditional master’s-level coursework and thesis with on-the-job work experience. Fellows, who are current LACMA, ASU Art Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, or Heard Museum employees with a specific interest in making museums more inclusive and equitable, enroll in two courses per semester remotely, and fulfill language, professional development, and research requirements during the summer, while continuing in their current role at their museum. Fellows also participate in convenings focused on current issues in museum practice and institutional leadership and a customized externship, all under guidance from an outside museum professional mentor. Upon completion of the program, Fellows receive a master’s degree in Art History from ASU.
Unframed Blog Posts
LACMA has partnered with Fisk University to develop the ART-CC (Assessment Recruitment and Training in Collections and Conservation) Fellowship Program to offer students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) two-year fellowships in Registration and Collections Management. This program is designed to nurture museum professionals, build institutional capacity, increase access to museum and archival collections at HBCUs, and help diversify the fields of Registration and Collections Management. Fellows complete one year of training at LACMA, then spend one year in Nashville at the Fisk University Galleries. In their second year, Fellows complete a collections assessment alongside Fisk University staff and with continued mentorship from LACMA staff. Fellows also participate as mentors in LACMA and Fisk’s ongoing FLICCR program (Fisk LACMA Introduction to Conservation, Collections Management, and Registration), which is part of Fisk University's Museum Leadership Program.
ART-CC is funded by an Institute for Museums and Libraries Museum Grant for African American History and Culture.
LACMA is a key partner of the Diversity Apprenticeship Program (DAP), an initiative by The Broad to create career opportunities for people from underrepresented communities in the museum field broadly and the art handling and preparations world specifically. By underrepresented, we mean people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color; women; immigrants; LGBTQIA+; people who were formerly incarcerated; and foster youth.
The DAP provides nine-month, full-time paid apprenticeships in art handling and preparations. Apprentices receive one month of training and then rotate to at least three of 19 partner sites for hands-on experience in art handling and preparations. LACMA hosts apprentices, serves on the DAP Advisory Committee, and provides support during the initial month of training. Through the DAP, we help create tangible changes for apprentices and the communities they represent. The DAP approach, while representing new directions in the field, serves as a real-time springboard for the museum field to move toward more equitable workforce strategies.
LACMA is a key partner of the Diversity Apprenticeship Program (DAP), an initiative by The Broad to create career opportunities for people from underrepresented communities in the museum field broadly and the art handling and preparations world specifically. By underrepresented, we mean people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color; women; immigrants; LGBTQIA+; people who were formerly incarcerated; and foster youth.
The DAP provides nine-month, full-time paid apprenticeships in art handling and preparations. Apprentices receive one month of training and then rotate to at least three of 19 partner sites for hands-on experience in art handling and preparations. LACMA hosts apprentices, serves on the DAP Advisory Committee, and provides support during the initial month of training. Through the DAP, we help create tangible changes for apprentices and the communities they represent. The DAP approach, while representing new directions in the field, serves as a real-time springboard for the museum field to move toward more equitable workforce strategies.