Student Experiences

As a teaching-focused museum, students are central to the Museum’s community. The Museum aims to support the learning experience of UQ students and offers a range of programs for students interested in gaining extra-curricular experience in the Museum sector. These experiences are in addition to the Museum’s classroom-based programs, and our student-focused social and academic events.

From volunteering experiences to casual employment, our Student Experiences are suitable for students of all levels.

See below the range of experiences we offer and see which position is right for you.

Student Experiences are informed by our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan.

Join our student mailing list to stay up-to-date and be notified when new Student Experience positions are available.

Volunteering

Volunteering roles offer an introductory level of Museum experience for students interested in seeing what we do and learning how we do it. Volunteers gain extra-curricular experience in the operations of a museum including handling artefacts, data entry, basic research and other museum tasks. Volunteers work directly with the Collections Assistant and the Manager/Curator or Assistant Curator.

How to apply

Applications for 2024 Student Volunteers are closed.

Join our student mailing list to stay up-to-date and be notified when new Student Experience positions are available.

Testimonial

Volunteering with the RD Milns Antiquities Museum in 2022 has been an invaluable addition to my studies in Classics and Ancient History at UQ.

It has provided me with practical experience in the preservation and management of museum collections and the opportunity to learn from industry professionals in a collaborative work environment—not to mention the opportunity to handle awe-inspiring artefacts from the ancient world!

I hope to be able to apply the diverse skills I have acquired through the RD Milns Antiquities Museum Volunteer Program to a number of professional settings and would not hesitate to recommend this unique experience to students interested in pursuing a career in museums and cultural heritage.

Charlotte Lethbridge, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) student, UQ

Research Experiences

For students interested in collection research and museum practice, the Museum offers Winter Research Scholar and Summer Research Scholar placements.

Winter Research Scholars and Summer Research Scholars complete an independent research project related to the Museum collection over a period of 4 weeks in the winter break or 6 weeks in the summer break. These programs are run through UQ Careers and Employability and grants are available for successful applicants. Research Scholars work with the Manager/Curator or Assistant Curator.

Current Project: Back to the Future: Implementing Best Practice in Collection Documentation at the RD Milns Antiquities Museum

inter Research placements are funded by a generous donor to the Museum and Summer Research placements are funded by a gift from the Queensland Friends of the Australian Archaeological Institute in Athens from 2023-27.

How to apply

Applications for the 2025 Summer Research Program open on 23 September 2024.

Applications for the 2025 Winter Research Program open in March 2025.

For more information on UQ’s Research Experiences, visit: Summer and Winter Research Program - Careers and Employability

Join our student mailing list to stay up-to-date and be notified when new Student Experience positions are available.

Testimonial

Participating in the Winter Research Program at the RD Milns Antiquities Museum provided me with an invaluable opportunity to improve my research skills in a discipline-specific setting and gain both knowledge and experience in the area of collections and object handling. It was the perfect experience to challenge and expand the skills I developed in my undergraduate and get a taste of what it’s like to participate in a more thorough research project.

Isabella Zust-Sullivan, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) student, UQ

Internships

Internships provide advanced-level students with industry experience in a workplace setting. Interns work with the Museum to complete a dedicated project for credit with an approved UQ course.

Current UQ internship courses pre-approved for Museum placements:

MUSM7014
MUSM7015
MUSM7016

Please contact the Museum if your course does not appear on this list but you are interested in undertaking an internship placement for a specific course.

How to apply

Please consult with your course coordinators in the first instance.

For enquiries, email the Museum (antiquitiesmuseum@uq.edu.au).

Employment

The Museum is supported by a series of philanthropy-funded casual Museum Assistant positions that provide UQ students with the opportunity to gain paid experience in the museum sector prior to graduation.

Museum Assistants are semester-based appointments for advanced students seeking experience working in the museum sector. These assistants work with both the Museum’s curatorial team and with volunteers to complete a range of collections and curatorial projects including stocktake, artefact retrievals and returns, data entry and editing, collections research, and exhibition design.

How to apply

Applications for 2024 are closed.

Join our student mailing list to stay up-to-date and be notified when new Student Experience positions are available.

Testimonial

The skills I have developed as a casual Curatorial Assistant have been invaluable for my professional career and will have a lasting impact on my future. Through this role, I have gained experience in curating exhibitions from the early planning stage to the final steps of installation and advertisement. This experience has given me the opportunity to develop these skills, which I would not otherwise be able to as part of my degree. I also value that I am encouraged to apply the knowledge and skills I have developed during my PhD to my work. The experience and skills that I have gained from this role will allow me to pursue more career pathways after the completion of my degree.

Josephine Carroll-Walden, PhD Candidate, UQ