The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Archives and Special Collections (ASC) is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented digital projects intern to support active digitization and digital health humanities initiatives from March through June 2026. Working closely with ASC archivists, UCSF faculty, and a digital imaging team from Ritsumeikan University, the intern will contribute to the digitization of Japanese rare books, historical patient records, and related materials. This role blends hands-on technical work with collaborative project coordination in a real-world health sciences archives environment.
This on-site, paid internship is based at the UCSF Kalmanovitz Library in San Francisco, up to 20 hours per week for 10–12 weeks and an anticipated hourly wage of $25–$27.
What you will gain
As a digital projects intern, you will gain practical experience and mentorship related to archival, library, data science, and digital cultural heritage careers. As an intern, you will:
- Learn digitization workflows, including quality control and file management
- Gain experience with Optical Character Recognition and Handwritten Text Recognition (OCR/HTR) text processing, evaluation, and correction
- Create, translate, and enhance metadata (Japanese-to-English translation)
- Work with controlled vocabularies and linked data practices (e.g., MeSH, LCSH)
- Develop skills in project tracking, documentation, and data management
- Collaborate with archivists, librarians, data scientists, programmers, and international partners
- Participate in staff meetings and have opportunities to attend data science and digital health humanities workshops and classes
Who should apply
This internship is ideal for currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students who are curious about archives, libraries, digital collections, or cultural heritage work. Students studying the following (or related) fields are encouraged to apply:
- Library and information science
- Records management or administration
- Data science or computer science
- Digital humanities
- East Asian studies
- Museum studies
Prior experience in archives is not required. What matters most is reliability, strong attention to detail, and an eagerness to learn.
How to apply
For qualifications and application instructions, please review the internship description.
Application Review Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 11:59pm (PT)
Apply by the application review date for full consideration. Applications will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
Feature image: Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Sadahide, “Sailing from California Harbour, America”