Internships in the Faculty of Science

Most international students will be studying in Australia on a student visa, which means you are not permitted to work for more than 48 hours per fortnight (starting 1 July 2023). Internships taken as part of Faculty of Science degrees will be counted towards this 48-hour limit unless the internship is taken outside of Australia. This means that you must count hours completed for an internship as you would for any other job, regardless of whether the internship is paid or unpaid.

We highly recommend you check the exact conditions of your visa on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Note: some Masters level courses have a mandatory work experience component and are therefore exempt from the 48-hour limit. To check if this applies to your course, see the University's information on student visas.

Yes. If you are already based internationally, you may complete an internship in your country of residence through a for-credit internship subject.

Yes. Feel free to think broadly and ‘outside of the box’ when exploring internship opportunities. Whilst the assessments for the subject will require you to draw connections between your studies and the work you will undertake during your internship, you are welcome to explore career options outside of your specific discipline areas.

Yes. All internship placements require Subject Coordinator approval to ensure the Learning Objectives are met.  The Objectives are not location-based, which means online/virtual internships can meet the Objectives.

No. Your placement must be a new opportunity in a new organisation that you have sourced specifically for the Internship subject. Entering an entirely new work environment is an important requirement of this subject.

No. Internship applications where relatives or family members also work become ineligible for credit. The faculty encourages you to reach out to your personal and professional networks to source an internship. However, when it comes to interning in an organisation, the experience needs to be independent of any personal relationship. This is required to ensure your internship experience is free of biases and there is no conflict of interest.

Yes. However, please note that whilst undertaking a co-curricular internship, you are not covered by the University’s insurance. For this reason, not-for-credit internships typically must be paid. Under this arrangement, you would be a paid employee of the host organisation and covered by their insurance.

No. If you have already commenced a placement, it will not be eligible for inclusion in the internship subject.

The subject application form requires you to attach correspondence confirming your internship offer. This can be either: a) An official offer letter from your host organisation on company letterhead; or b) An email from your host supervisor with their contact details visible. The offer letter/email must be in English, must specify your internship start and end date, and should include a brief description of your duties whilst on placement.

Stipends/allowances are processed by the University and internship applications with such an arrangement require additional processing time. Please note Faculty of Science does not process stipends related to overseas internships.

This will depend on the unit you are applying for. The majority of units where minimum requirement is 80hrs, the maximum total hours allowed is 150hrs. However, for some units, the minimum hour requirement is 200hrs. Internships in this case cannot exceed 200hrs.

All applications must be submitted at least 3 weeks before commencement or the application deadline as noted on the Key Dates for each unit. The application process is highly complex and requires participation of multiple stakeholders. No extensions are provided beyond the application deadline as stated for the relevant semester intake for each unit. Students are encouraged to plan their internship and enrolment accordingly.