National Geographic Cartographic Intern, Summer 2025

About the Role & Program

Join us for the opportunity to intern with the National Geographic Cartography team! Cartographers play a pivotal role within the storytelling framework at National Geographic. Maps serve as vital tools in conveying location and visualizing concepts and data that may be challenging to articulate through prose or photographs alone. This responsibility entails delving into a subject, identifying aspects that benefit from spatial representation, and engaging in an iterative process to ensure clarity for a general audience. These tasks span various media formats, including feature articles in National Geographic Magazine, digital releases, and interactive presentations.

This internship focuses on honing journalistic skills to locate the most up-to-date spatial data, craft pertinent maps to enhance and bolster narratives, and collaborate with subject matter experts to meticulously verify all information.

The approximate dates for this internship are from May/June 2025 through August/September 2025. If selected for this internship, you will report directly to the Senior Manager of Cartography. A cover letter indicating your interest in the National Geographic Cartographic Intern, Summer 2025 position is required.

What You Will Do

• Create content for NGM and NGH, learning how custom cartography is created for a journalistic publication.

• Participate in all group meetings and content critiques, will be expected to complete assigned mapping on time

• Work on mining databases and GIS resources to analyze and map story data.

• By working with staff who do this on a regular bases, you will gain experience using GIS in a working environment

• Learn how a multidisciplinary story team constructs a project to be published on multiple platforms.

• You will be attached to one or more story teams assisting a staff cartographer.

• Work on short form content for the digital platforms providing mapping support to scheduled digital stories.

• By attending the daily digital meeting and working with the Manager, Digital Cartography, the intern will participate in story ideation and execution.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Strong oral and written communication skills

• Analytical and organized

• Ability to handle and prioritize simultaneous projects and meet deadlines

• Self-motivated and resourceful, with the ability to work with minimal direction and exercise independent judgment

• Proficient in the use Adobe Creative Suite; Avenza Mapublisher; QGIS or other GIS software

• Adept at learning new software

• Curiosity about National Geographic and its core subjects

• Interest and knowledge of Geography

Education

• Senior year preferred

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in History, Statistics, Anthropology or a related field.

Eligibility Requirements & Program Information

Candidates for this opportunity MUST meet all of the below requirements: 

• Be enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a degree taking at least one class at time of application OR currently participating in a Disney College Program or Disney Internship.

• Current Disney Interns, College, International, or Culinary Program Participants: You may only work for ONE consecutive year (12 months) in any combination of an internship and/or program.

• Be at least 18 years of age

• Possess unrestricted work authorization

Additional Required Documents

• A cover letter indicating your interest in the National Geographic Cartographic Intern, Summer 2025 position is required.

​Additional Information

• Able to have a consistent, reliable work schedule throughout the internship

• The approximate dates of this internship are May/June 2025 through August/September 2025

• Fully available from Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm EST for the duration of the internship, 40 hours each week

• Able to provide own housing for the duration internship program in the Washington D.C. area

• Able to provide/have reliable transportation to/from work