Apply to be a Postgraduate Fellow in Conservation of Museum Collections

Deteriorating mural in the Alameda Theater, a Smithsonian affiliate museum

Does the phrase, “Waterlogged Asian lacquers” stir you? When you hear, “Conservation of ship models,” do you start to pay attention?

…Do you have any idea what “Non-aqueous deacidification” means?

If so, you might be a great fit for our Postgraduate Fellowships in Conservation of Museum Collections Program. It allows recent graduates of Art, Archeological Conservation, and equivalent masters programs to come to the Smithsonian and conduct original research. It also welcomes conservation scientists, including those already working at the postdoctoral level. The program enables its Fellows to use the Smithsonian’s vast conservation laboratories, and gain further training in their field.

The Fellowships are typically one year long, but can be as short as three months. The process is simple: applicants decide what they’d like to research, and contact the program staff for feedback and ideas about potential advisors. Then the applicants are strongly encouraged to get in touch with those advisors and talk shop. Later, the applicants create SOLAA accounts and do some keyboard tapping.

If “Waterlogged Asian lacquers” excites you – or if it merely makes you tilt your head – don’t let this opportunity slip by! The deadline is December 1, 2014. Get more details here.