Fellowships and Internships
Explore America Summer Internships
The list of internship hosts reads like a Who’s Who of the nation’s top cultural institutions: the National Archives, the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon, to name just a few. Sponsored by the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, Explore America internships are open to students from every department—including history—who want to deepen their understanding of American history and culture and gain off-campus experiences.
Chesapeake Heartland Internships
In support of Chesapeake Heartland's mission to preserve, digitize, interpret, and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture, the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience offers Washington College students, faculty, and staff several opportunities to take part in community curation projects. Paid, part-time positions for undergraduates are available for:
- Oral History Internship
- Digital Archiving Internship
- Family History Research/Black Ancestors Project
- Public Humanities Research, African American History and Culture at Washington College
- Research Assistant
For more information and to apply, please visit chesapeakeheartland.org.
Guy Goodfellow Fellowship in History
This fellowship, awarded annually, provides up to $1,000 toward the costs of research and/or experiential learning opportunities such as defraying the costs of travel, purchase of research materials and photocopies, microfilm for a History major working on her/his senior thesis. The award may also be used to supplement income for an otherwise unpaid internship at a historical national park, library, or museum.
Endowed by the Goodfellow family in memory of Dr. Guy Goodfellow, former Professor of History at Washington College, the Fellowship Program complements the ongoing the Guy Goodfellow lecture series through which History Department of Washington College brings nationally-renowned scholars in American history to campus. The Guy Goodfellow Fellows may pursue projects in the full range of historical studies, however, and are not limited to American History topics.
For more information, please contact the chair of the History Department, Dr. Janet Sorrentino. jsorrentino2FREEwashcoll
Conrad M. Wingate ’23 Memorial Fellowship
This fellowship, awarded annually, provides up to $1,000 toward the costs of research and/or experiential learning opportunities such as defraying the costs of travel, purchase of research materials and photocopies, microfilm for a History major working on her/his senior thesis. The award may also be used to supplement the income for an otherwise unpaid internship at a historical national park, library, or museum.
Endowed by Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate ’33 in memory of his late brother Conrad Meade Wingate ’23, the Wingate Fellowship complements the ongoing the Conrad M. Wingate ’23 lecture series through which History Department of Washington College continues to bring nationally-renowned scholars in history to campus.
For more information, please contact the History department chair, Dr. Janet Sorrentino, jsorrentino2@washcoll.edu
Explore America
Quill and Compass
The Quill and Compass Scholarships are for students interested in exploring history, political science, and American studies here at one of the most historic colleges in the nation.
Recipients will have opportunities to sail the Chesapeake Bay on an 18th-century schooner, learn the arts of leadership as practiced by the great figures of American history, participate in a new summer program at the University of Oxford, and walk in the footsteps of Civil War soldiers. You will be able to study in small seminars with leading scholars, conduct original research under the one-on-one guidance of a faculty mentor, or hear firsthand tales of Civil Rights-era politics from a famous U.S. senator.
The scholarships’ name symbolizes our distinctive approach to studying the past. The quill pen represents Washington College’s famed excellence in teaching writing, and particularly the literary craft of history. The compass represents the many opportunities we offer our students to explore the world beyond the college gates - especially our surrounding region of the Chesapeake Bay, one of America’s richest historic areas.
All admitted applicants who intend to major or minor in History, Political Science or American Studies are encouraged to apply. The Quill and Compass program currently offers $6,000 scholarships ($1,500 annually for four years), along with unique opportunities to participate in travel and other special activities free of charge. The scholarships themselves are awarded to three members of each incoming freshman class, but other aspects of the program are open to outstanding students across many fields.
For more information on how to apply for the Quill and Compass program, please visit the site at Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.