American Latino Museum Internship and Fellowship Initiative

This initiative is designed to provide opportunities for internships and fellowships at American Latino museums for students enrolled in Institutions of Higher Education, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The initiative will nurture students carrying out studies relating to American Latino life, art, history, and culture. There are two programmatic goals--supporting museum-based undergraduate internship programs and museum-based fellowships to increase museum career opportunities. Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity for details of the specific goals and objectives for the initiative.

An applicant to this initiative must meet geographic and governance criteria and qualify as one of the following types of organizations: 1. A museum with a primary focus on American Latino life, art, history, and culture that uses a professional staff, is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes; owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits these objects to the general public on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates. 2. A public or private nonprofit agency that is responsible for the operation of a museum that meets these criteria. 3. A museum service organization or association whose primary purpose, as reflected in its mission, is to support museums whose primary focus is on American Latino life, art, history, and culture. 4. An Institution of Higher Education, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions, that will engage in the project with one or more eligible museums. Applicants should consult the Notices of Funding Opportunity for more details.

Undergraduate and graduate students who wish to pursue studies and/or careers in the study of American Latino life, art, history, and culture will benefit from museum internships and fellowships supported through this assistance.

1. Ensure that required registrations are active and user names and passwords are in place.
2. Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity carefully to get all the information required for applying.
3. Compose the complete application, using resources available through www.imls.gov (e.g. on-demand webinars, instructions, Sample Applications, Reviewer Resources).
4. Contact an IMLS staff member to ask any questions about the application and review process.
5. Submit the application via Grants.gov by the deadline.

IMLS staff review applications for eligibility and completeness. IMLS uses a peer review process to evaluate all eligible and complete applications. Peer reviewers are experts in the field with relevant knowledge and expertise in the types of project activities identified in the applications. IMLS instructs reviewers to evaluate applications according to the review criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Peer reviewers must comply with Federal ethics and conflicts of interest requirements.

The IMLS Director takes into account the input provided by the review process and makes final funding decisions consistent with the purposes of the agency’s mission and programs.

IMLS will not release information about the status of an application until the applications have been reviewed and all deliberations are concluded. IMLS expects to notify both successful and unsuccessful applicants of the final decisions by email in July 2024.