Because many on this list have asked about the Intern Agreement we use at Strawbery Banke, I thought I would describe the form (which is easy to adapt) and clarify its place in the process.

First of all, this is not an agreement related to credit from the student's institutions. when necessary, that is handled separately. I have found that most students' sending institutions don't require any formal paperwork for summer internships, even in some of the major graduate programs. Though they may require work from the student to document the internship, in five years of having more than 35 interns, I've only had to become involved in credit arrangements for four of them. It seems as though the academic-year internships which are done in conjunction with a specific course outline require this more often than the summer internships, which are often elective or at least informally managed.

The agreement, instead, is one between our institution and the student. It is a single document which clarifies all the plans we have made after their application was accepted and formalizes their intent to join us and stay through the term of the internship. It helps us feel the process is complete and that I, the student, and their direct supervisor all have the same information.

So the agreement is a simple Word template, printed on our letterhead. We customize it for each student, print two copies on letterhead, and send both to the student with an acceptance letter. The student sends bak the two signed copies, then I sign both copies, and we return one to the student while keeping the other for our files. The form has the following fields:

Intern Name:
Museum Department:
Department Supervisor: [who will be responsible for the intern]
Internship Start Date:
Internship End Date:
Credit or Other documentation: [describe]
Housing arrangement: [if museum is providing]
Stipend: [if offered]
Responsibilities and projects: [quick description of specific projects or tasks expected to be part of the assignment]
Schedule: [outline expectations of days, hours to be worked, and any days off the intern has requested in advance, or holidays given (such as 4th of July, in summer)

Simple as this is, it becomes the one-stop, one-page reference for all the questions people normally have about interns before they start! I think it also assures the interns that they've had a formal intake of some kind. 

Hope that helps!

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