Natural History Institute, Media Arts Internship, Summer 2025
Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.
All internships are full-time for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.
The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Details about previous summer student interns and their placements can be found here.
Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000. The stipend is provided to cover living expenses and, if applicable, part of the summer earnings expectation of the Office of Financial Aid.
The stipend is not intended to be, and is not, a paid, hourly wage. An internship is an educational and experiential learning opportunity intended for the student to apply their academics and gain real-world experience.
Description of the Organization and the Internship:
The Natural History Institute (NHI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people to the natural world through a practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and the humanities. Our mission is to promote the reciprocal healing and enhanced wellbeing of humans and the rest of the natural world. We achieve this through various programs, events, and resources designed to foster a deeper connection to the environment.
The Natural History Institute is seeking a passionate and motivated intern to join our team for a summer internship as a media arts intern.
The intern is responsible for collaborating with the Executive Director and Program Director to expand the digital media outreach of the Natural History Institute through social media, photography and video production.
Work to be done includes filming and editing Notes From the Field Youtube videos, organizing and updating image libraries, designing and implementing social media campaigns, and capturing footage and images relevant to NHI’s initiatives.
Internship Work Environment:
This is an in-person internship only and 20-30% of the work will be outdoors.
The intern will be part of a small, tight-knit team which includes the Program Coordinator, Executive Director, and NHI volunteers.
Our office environment is very collaborative, and our interns have many opportunities each day to check in with their supervisor and exchange ideas.
A typical day for the intern will involve time split between working independently in the office on their projects, participating in staff meetings, and working out ideas and clarifying goals in one-on-one collaboration with their supervisor.
We offer our interns the opportunity to attend and participate in all the programs we offer during their internship including talks, field trips, and workshops and have this time count towards their 40 work hours per week. Attending these programs will help them get acquainted with the practice of natural history, fall in love with the ecoregion we are working to protect, and get to know the audience we serve with our programming.
Transportation: A car would be helpful but not necessary.
Housing: On-site housing is not available but staff will help with the search.
Location: Prescott, Arizona
- Film and edit NHI Notes from the Field videos for Youtube
- Create posts and design campaigns for NHI social media
- Organize and update NHI digital asset library
- Develop guidelines and recommendations for social media campaigns
- Provide recommendations and training on videography techniques
Bill Lane Center internships are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The opportunities are full-time (40 hours a week) for 9-10 consecutive weeks during the summer.
Specific start and end dates during the summer can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
All undergraduates of any year, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Graduating seniors are eligible only if they are graduating in spring quarter. Students who have already graduated, e.g., fall or winter quarter of this academic year are not eligible.
For more application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
Please note:
- Students are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise) during this full-time, summer internship.
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to an internship.
- New Stipend Policy per the U.S. Department of Education: A stipend is considered a resource and it may have an impact on a student’s financial aid. To comply with US Department of Education regulations, student payments, awards, prizes, and gifts that are made available to the student because they are a Stanford student, must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office is responsible for the disbursement of stipend funds to undergraduates. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Office's webpage about the student stipend policy.
Application Guidelines for this Internship:
Students of all years are encouraged to apply for this opportunity.
Possible majors or interests may include Earth Science, Science Communication, English, Communications, and Video Production.
Upperclass students or mature students are preferred due to the nature of independent living.
Required Skills:
- Strong media arts skills: photo, video, social media
- The ability to work in a highly collaborative environment
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The ability to work independently
Preferred Skills:
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Strong video production background
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Familiarity with biological and ecological concepts
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Facility in developing social media campaigns
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Strong organizational skills
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Natural history background or interest
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for a first-round interview with staff from The Bill Lane Center for the American West.
The top candidates for the position are then forwarded to the organization for second-round interviews with their potential supervisor and other staff.
Host organizations will then notify the Lane Center of their preferred candidate and that applicant will receive an internship offer from the Bill Lane Center by email.
The applicant is expected to respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to the offer or the offer will be rescinded.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, they are required to promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and withdraw their candidacy from those other opportunities.
