The Arnold Arboretum offers paid internships in collections management with concentrations in horticulture and landscape maintenance, arboriculture, plant production, or collections curation. Experiences combine hands-on training, educational classes, and visits to other botanical institutions. Interns are accepted for 12- to 14-week appointments (typically May through August) with the exception of a limited number of longer-term (18- to 24-week) appointments based on available funding.
As part of the training program, interns work alongside professional staff in their host department and participate in instructional sessions across disciplines to develop a comprehensive sense of the Arboretum’s collections management practices. Field trips to other public gardens are offered throughout the summer to expose interns to the broader field of public horticulture and provide networking opportunities with professional staff at these institutions. As members of the Arboretum community, interns are encouraged to share their experience and knowledge, and to participate fully in the work of the institution. As a capstone project, interns work as a group to address a real collections management issue and present their proposal to their peers and Arboretum staff.
Internships are available with the following concentrations:
- arboriculture (climbing arborist)
- curation
- horticulture & landscape maintenance
- plant production