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Partnership_
Student internships and placements
Bring creativity to your workplace
Boost your workforce and reputation by collaborating with creative, innovative and adaptable Arts and Social Sciences students.
Our students offer innovative approaches to problem solving, curiosity, inventiveness, critical thinking, ability to synthesise information quickly, in addition to highly effective communication skills – all of which transfer readily into workplaces.
Our placement partners include; Accenture, ACON, Allianz, Australian Network on Disability, BT Investment Management, Challenger, City of Sydney, Commonwealth Bank, EY, KPMG, Macquarie Bank, NBCUniversal, Pfizer, PwC, Telstra, and Westpac.
Host our students
- Contact us by completing our partnership enquiry form.
- Connect with our Placement Officer - Tell us about your organisation and what you are looking to achieve through hosting a student. We can plan the key roles and responsibilities of the placement.
- Sign a Student Placement Agreement - It is an overarching written agreement between your organisation and our university which sets out items such as responsibilities, insurance requirements, student supervision during placement, privacy and confidentiality.
- Student application and selection process - Students apply for the role by submitting their resume and cover letter. Depending on your field and the subject learning requirements, you can review a shortlist of applications, and interview potential placement candidates.
- Student placements and internships - Students undertake a placement with your organisation. You will be supported by our Placement Officer throughout.
- Share your feedback - Tell us about your experience hosting a student from the University of Sydney and our student’s performance.
Our students can work on a variety of projects and tasks including:
- conducting research, competitor analysis and surveys
- producing effective and persuasive writing with balance and nuance
- developing social media engagement and generating online content
- interpreting and reviewing official documentation and communications
- synthesising complex information and writing concise reports.
Administration of the program will be managed by our Placement Officer from the selection to the completion of the placement. Our Academic Placement Coordinators can discuss with you about the design of the student placement, so you can maximise the leaning potential for your student and your organisation.
The placement duration may vary if the arrangement is on a part-time or full-time basis.
- Generally part-time students intern 1-2 days a week over the course of the 13-week semester (see key dates on our calendar) or until the hours are completed.
- Full-time placements will see students interning 5 days a week over approximately 4 weeks.
Programs by fields of study
We offer a variety of student placements and internship programs. Each of them is uniquely designed to align with our degree offerings or for specific purposes. Find a program that may be best suited for your organisational needs.
Host our students undertaking Masters and Graduate Diploma programs in Museum and Heritage Studies and Art Curating.
By collaborating with Art Curating students, you will appreciate their proficiencies in the interpretation of visual and material culture, art history and the principles of contemporary curating. Our Museum and Heritage Studies students can demonstrate their expertise in audience-engagement strategy, policies and procedures in collections and heritage site management, as well as theories of object and place analysis.
In the museum and gallery sector, our students excel in collection management, curatorial work, education, exhibition development, audience engagement, public programs, valuation, and auction operations. In the heritage sector, placements encompass archival research, place documentation and interpretation, and assessment of cultural significance.
We are keen to collaborate with host institutions including Australian and international museums and galleries, libraries, archives, auction houses, private corporations, art lenders, as well as organisations that run art fairs, festivals, and biennales.
Download our placement information pack (pdf, 388KB).
Duration: 20 days full time or equivalent part time.
Enquiries: glam.internships@sydney.edu.au.
In our FASS3000 unit of study, our senior-year students build professional connections and develop skills related to their undergraduate major in a work or work-related setting through a self-sourced industry placement or internship. Students apply theoretical knowledge in real- world work environments with a range of organisations and industry partners aligned with their degree and career aspirations. The work undertaken will be unpaid and for academic credit.
Duration: 90 – 140 hours throughout the semester, typically 1 – 2 days a week.
Enquiries: fass.internships@sydney.edu.au.
Our students in the Master of Cultural Studies can bring interdisciplinary knowledge from their studies to your organisation. In this degree, our students learn about race and ethnicity, popular culture and media, gender and sexuality, and globalisation and consumer culture. They explore a range of tools to analyse and understand how cultural practices and meanings are produced.
Our students are well-placed to do cultural analyses across different sectors and issues. It is recommended you place them in research-based work, or in policy development and strategic planning settings, which often draw their interest. They can contribute to a wide variety of work, such as archival research, art curation, publicity management and events planning in both independent and collaborative settings.
Enquiry: soh.internships@sydney.edu.au
Professional experience is a central component of all teacher-education and social work programs at the University of Sydney.
Information about social work field-education placements can be found in the Field Education/Practice Learning Handbook (PDF, 2.1MB), which is published annually by the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. Alternatively, agencies and organisations are invited to email our social work program coordinator directly.
Enquiry for Social Work: fieldeducation.manager@sydney.edu.au.
Enquiry for Education: professionalexperience.manager@sydney.edu.au
Our Media and Communications students offer practical and theoretical skillsets to their placement hosts. They excel in tasks ranging from podcasting, media liaison, corporate communications and social media management to media strategy development, research, writing, and diverse forms of audio-visual production. We have partnered with high-profile media organisations such as Nine Entertainment, ABC and SBS, public relations firms, publishing houses, and welcome collaboration opportunities with organisations offering media-related work.
Undergraduate students
Our students in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) undertake the internship in their final year of their degree. Host organisations will benefit from their practical media skills, innovation, relevant industry knowledge and critical intelligence alongside their liberal arts education.
Postgraduate students
Our students undertaking Postgraduate Placements Program (pdf, 158KB) are well placed to work across a range of industries including book publishing, podcasting and public relations. Many have worked in the media industry or in other professional capacities and can bring a wealth of skills to your organisation.
Duration: 140 hours
Enquiry: media.internships@sydney.edu.au.
Host our Politics and International Relations students, who are trained by world-leading academics in international affairs and political practices.
By working with our students, you can tap into their comprehensive knowledge of policy development, economics, society, culture, gender and sexuality, as well as their refined skills in research, communication, strategic thinking, and conceptual analysis. You will also appreciate their well-crafted language and communication skills, which can be leveraged for tasks such as report writing, developing media assets, and literature reviews.
Eager to put theory into real-world application, our students can address contemporary issues by demonstrating strong problem-solving skills. With their mission-oriented and autonomous nature, along with a strong work ethic, these students are well-suited for research-based tasks. Suitable roles include Digital Media Content Creator, Project and Administration Assistant, Political Campaign Assistant, as well as roles in marketing and communications, policy, research, advocacy, and journalism.
Our previous host organisations include Parliament of NSW, Centre for Work Health and Safety, Youth Justice – NSW Department of Communities and Justice, UNICEF, and European Australian Business Council.
Duration: 120 hours.
Enquiries: ssps.studentplacements@sydney.edu.au
Our Social Justice Student Placements program (pdf, 110KB) offers valued industry partners with access to postgraduate students motivated to bring positive social change and make meaningful contributions in society. You will benefit from their highly developed critical thinking and ethical problem-solving skills, along with their foundational knowledge of policy, law and activism.
Our students pursue a diverse array of Masters degrees that are closely aligned with social justice including Human Rights, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Relations, International Studies, Public Policy, and International Security.
These students thrive in project-based roles that involves advocacy and fundraising, policy literature review, digital engagement and campaigns, community organising, research analysis, event support, and tasks that enable them to apply their knowledge in public policy and communication skills.
Previous partners include World Wildlife Fund, NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, People With Disability Australia and Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation.
Duration: 140 hours (20 days full time or equivalent part time).
Enquiries: ssps.studentplacements@sydney.edu.au.
Testimonials
"They are highly skilled students with strong interpersonal skills, and they are creative problem solvers with an ability to adapt and learn in our fast-paced environment."
- Sheree Thompson, KPMG
"Our team was pleased to have taken part in the student internship placement. The experience has enabled us effective communication and learning in different ways of reviewing and working together, even in a global pandemic."
- Tracy Duncan, Principal Management Officer, Implementation and Delivery, Department of Communities and Justice
"Appen is proud to have partnered with the University of Sydney since 2016. Their interns bring fresh perspective and energy to our workplace, helping to drive improvements in our processes and documentation. They enrich our team’s linguistic, language and technical knowledge with their insights, and the program helps us to identify great candidates for future employment opportunities."
- Judith Bishop, Director AI Specialists, APAC US
"All of the students were cooperative, mature, responsible and intelligent in their approach to the internship during the interview process and induction. Their short presentations on their work at the Parliament were all very well researched and thought provoking."
- Jeannie Douglass, Manager Parliamentary Education, Parliament of New South Wales
"We noticed during recruitment campaign that we didn't have a diverse pool of candidates - most applicants had business degrees. As a result, we decided to broaden our reach to students studying arts degrees in order to expand the expertise of our team."
- Eshan Motwani, Senior Associate, PwC
Contact us
Are you interested in learning more about student placement programs? Please contact us at fass.internships@sydney.edu.au and artss.careers@sydney.edu.au.
Rebecca Chow
Team Leader, Student Affairs and Engagement
