UTC RAVE Alert

Undergraduate Fellowships

The North Callahan Special Collections Undergraduate Fellowship program offers students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga paid opportunities to prepare for graduate studies or careers in archival administration and records management.

Special Collections stresses a standards-based approach to digitization and description, and uses archival and digital asset management systems commonly adopted by galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) in the United States. Fellows who successfully complete projects in Special Collections gain important transferable skills and exposure to professional software applications.

Eligibility

Fellows must be undergraduate students classified as juniors or seniors and enrolled full-time at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Definitions of the Classification of Students and Registration Classification are available in the Undergraduate Course Catalog.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

Fellowship responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • arranging and describing archival collections;
  • authoring biographical and historical notes that provide context for archival materials;
  • creating finding aids in compliance with Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and local practices using ArchivesSpace;
  • transcribing audio and video assets;
  • using scanners and cameras to digitize archival materials and rare books;
  • creating descriptive metadata and developing digital collections using CONTENTdm;
  • applying controlled vocabularies, including LCSH, LCNAF, AAT, and RightsStatements.org, to describe digital objects;
  • and assisting researchers by working shifts on the Special Collections reference desk.

Fellowship qualifications include the following:

  • ability to learn about Special Collections discovery tools and resources through training and self-paced learning;
  • ability to work independently and produce high quality, thorough, and accurate work;
  • ability to follow detailed written instructions;
  • strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills as well as demonstrated initiative and adaptability;
  • working knowledge of office productivity suites, such as Microsoft Office and Google Drive;
  • and effective written and oral communication skills.

Intern Perspectives

Read about past projects and experiences in our Intern Perspectives series on the Library’s blog.

Application

Special Collections is accepting applications for fellowships for the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2025-2026 academic year. Candidates who submit an application, including a cover letter and résumé or CV by noon on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 will receive first consideration. The Writing and Communication Center offers resources for Writing a Cover Letter and Writing a Résumé. Cover letters and résumés must be uploaded to the application form as PDFs.

Fellows must work ten hours per week onsite in Special Collections both semesters from August 18, 2025 to December 1, 2025 and January 12, 2026 to April 27, 2026. Fellows will be paid $13 an hour.

Questions about the fellowship or application process may be addressed to Special Collections at [email protected].

Submit an Application

Assignments

In addition to their project-based work, fellows must submit an updated résumé for review and author an Intern Perspectives blog post.

Résumé and Cover Letter

All interns and practica students in Special Collections will submit a cover letter and résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) to the Director of Special Collections for review. The cover letter and résumé/CV will be in response to a job or internship posting that is relevant to the goals stated in the student’s proposal and must be a job or internship to which student would reasonably apply with their current experience level or after completing a graduate degree in library or information sciences, public history, or a related field. The Director of Special Collections will coordinate with each student to set a deadline for submitting their résumés and cover letters. To prepare for this assignment, students should view the following resources:

Job Listings

Résumé

Cover Letter

Students must submit the following documents:

  • The job or internship posting they are responding to (URL to the posting or a .pdf)
  • Cover letter (.pdf)
  • Résumé (.pdf)

Once submitted, the Director of Special Collections will schedule a one-on-one meeting with each fellow to provide feedback about improving their resume or CV to meet the goals stated in their proposals.

Blog Post

All fellows are expected to write a blog post summarizing their practical experiences. The posts are meant to give the fellows opportunities to describe their experiences and think critically about what they have learned, how the experience contributed to their stated goals, and what challenges they encountered. All blog posts should be 1-3 pages in length and include at least two images. They should be submitted to their supervisor by email before or on the last day of the fellowship. Fellows may consider the following questions, in no particular order, when drafting their blog posts:

  • What did you do? What projects did you undertake?
  • What did you expect to learn? Did you learn what you expected to learn?
  • What were your goals at the outset of the internship? How did they change as the internship progressed? How did your coursework, software competencies, or other skills inform your work?
  • What challenges did you face? How did you overcome these challenges?
  • How did your experience change your perspective or assumptions about archival work?

Fellows who wish to receive feedback on their posts, may submit them to their supervisor at least one week before the end of their internship.

Blog posts will be published in the UTC Library's blog Intern Perspectives series.

Communication

Special Collections communicates with fellows through email and a Google Calendar. Further, Special Collections uses Google Sheets to manage most projects. In order to engage with Special Collections, volunteers and interns must have a MocsMail or Gmail account.

Fellows working in Special Collections also meet one-on-one with their onsite supervisor every week. Meetings are scheduled via MocsMail/Google calendar and students are expected to lead meetings by asking questions, bringing up concerns, and/or pulling material for consideration by their supervisor.

Library

Library