Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía - Research Grants and Internships in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Reina Sofía research grants and internships

You will receive a paid internship at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) in Madrid, Spain’s national museum of modern and contemporary art, for a period of 12 months. Two research fellowships are remunerated at a rate of 24,000 EUR gross per year. Most other positions are remunerated at 21,000 EUR gross per year and include training in areas such as exhibitions, collections, communications, editorial work and public programmes. A small number of positions in the library and restoration departments are remunerated at a separate rate. Each position includes social security cover and a museum mentor who will support you in your work. You will work at the museum for approximately 7 hours a day, Monday to Friday, and are entitled to 22 working days’ holiday per year. Around a dozen places are offered per cycle.

Who can apply

• Degree: You must hold an official university degree. Some institutions also require a relevant postgraduate qualification, for example in contemporary art history, aesthetics or cultural management. A foreign qualification must generally be recognised in Spain.
• Field of study: That depends on the institution in question. You can choose from art history, fine art, architecture, the humanities, philosophy, translation studies, information science, communication studies, sociology, economics or conservation.
• When you graduated: For most apprenticeship places, you must have completed your qualification in 2011 or later.
• Grades: In many cases, a grade point average of at least ‘notable’ is required, which is significantly higher than the grade ‘satisfactory’.
• Languages: If you come from a country where Spanish is not an official language, you must be fluent in spoken and written Spanish. You can demonstrate this by providing a DELE certificate. Some institutions also require English language skills at level B2 or C1.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. If you are not a Spanish national, you must be legally resident in Spain.
• Past grants: You have received no more than two MNCARS grants to date. Furthermore, you have not held any post at the museum lasting longer than six months in the last three years.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the museum’s electronic portal (Sede Electrónica) within 15 working days of the publication of the call for applications in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE). The deadline for applications for the current cycle is 30 June. All documents must be submitted in Spanish. A selection panel will then assess applicants on the basis of their academic achievements, professional experience, publications and language skills. The final decision will be made within six months.

How realistic are your chances?

The selection criteria for each post are very strict: a specific degree, often a relevant postgraduate qualification, a minimum grade and a very good command of Spanish – all of these are assessed for a single post per profile. This keeps the pool of applicants small. A candidate whose degree and language skills match a particular profile exactly will only be competing against a handful of others. Make sure you have your application documents and proof of your Spanish language proficiency to hand, as the application deadline is short.