Research topics for internships may also be related to future exhibitions at Finnish National Gallery museums, as long as they draw on material from the collection.

The aim of the Finnish National Gallery is to support the intern’s skills in practices related to researching art history and cultural history. Each intern is assigned a tutor, who is a member of staff at the Finnish National Gallery. The Finnish National Gallery is not responsible for the academic supervision of the intern’s Master’s thesis.

The research internship programme is one of the ways in which the Finnish National Gallery increases the recognition of its collection and its impact in this field of research and actively partners with academia with the aim of upholding humanistic values and promoting an understanding of the world and culture by producing new, meaningful knowledge.

Apply for a research internship

The history of the Finnish Art Society can be researched through two different archives that are part of the Finnish National Gallery’s collection.

In 1939, the responsibility for museum operations was transferred to the Fine Arts Academy of Finland Foundation. The Finnish Art Society continued is activities as an association of art enthusiasts, organising exhibitions and annual art lotteries for its members, as well as awarding art prizes and grants in the field of visual arts. These activities can be researched using the Archive of the Finnish Art Society 1940– .

We recommend that applicants familiarise themselves with the collections available at the Finnish National Gallery before submitting their application. Suggestions for research materials and research questions can be found in the FNG Research online magazine, under FNG Resources.

  • Explore materials on our collection website.
  • Contact us to enquire about other collection materials or research questions based on our collections as well.
  • Suggest research questions related to the upcoming exhibitions at the Finnish National Gallery’s museums.

A prospective intern should state in their application which materials from the Finnish National Gallery collection they would like to research and would commit to research during the internship period. The research material may form a part of the intern’s thesis material, but this is not a requirement.

Applications can be written in English, Finnish or Swedish.

The application should state the following:

  • Why are you applying for a research internship at the Finnish National Gallery?
  • Why do you want to do research based on physical collections and objects, archival material and data?
  • Why are you interested in the Finnish National Gallery’s collection as research material?
  • What are the collections and collection materials at the Finnish National Gallery that you would like to research?
  • When would you like to work as an intern, if you are selected?
  • What is the topic of your Master’s thesis, if you have chosen it?
  • What kind of a plan do you have for your Master’s thesis?
  • A brief description of your studies so far
  • References from your supervisors at university, if you wish to attach these to the application