The Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at UNSW offers many WIL opportunities through their undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Some programs have a mandatory WIL component to fulfil the requirements for professional accreditation (e.g. Education and Social Work). For details please see the information below which provides information on the WIL courses provided by each School in relation to their respective programs.

The School of Built Environment at UNSW offers an exciting WIL course as a gateway to working with a range of local and overseas built environment organisation that provide a first step to forging a career and building work-ready skills.

FADA6700 Professional Placement is an elective course available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This WIL course provides you with the opportunity to apply the theory and skills learned while studying within a professional workplace.

Global Opportunities

The I-A International Professional Placement Travel Grant program

Third and fourth year undergraduates as well as Masters level students are able to undertake FADA6700 Professional Placement in a global workplace. In doing so, students can apply for an I-A International Professional Placement Travel Grant to contribute towards flights and living expenses. The travel grant program is a collaborative initiative developed by I-A graduating students and staff members.

Launched in 2019, the program currently runs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It pairs two BE students with two Cambodian architecture graduates from the Royal University of Fine Arts. Placements are offered by local organisations with a social focus, working in the Built Environment. In 2020, this includes community-based not-for-profit Sa Sa Art Projects in collaboration with The Vann Molyvann Project. Here students will be actively engaged in the development of an interdisciplinary exhibition on urban dynamics in South East Asian cities. The second placement is with international NGO Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, offering students a unique experience in the development of low-cost housing models.

For further information see here.

Listen to Janice Ma, a 2nd year Architecture student, discuss her professional placement experience at PTW Architects

The School of Art & Design at UNSW offers an outstanding WIL opportunity through the Professional Experience Project (PEP) program, which is designed to equip students with grounded and sustained experience in a professional workplace environment. It can be undertaken locally, inter-state, or overseas. 

PEP offers every Art & Design student the opportunity to build additional professional skills and knowledge that can assist with making informed choices about future career pathways, complete practical work experience under the guidance of practicing professionals, and to accelerate establishing a professional network and links that may open up graduate employment pathways. 

PEP is a compulsory WIL core course undertaken by students enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons), Bachelor of Media Arts (Hons) and Bachelor of Design (Hons). 

PEP requires students to complete ADAD3000 PEP, which consists of 150 hours of professional engagement. This can take the form of a placement (internship) with an industry partner or project-based activity with a creative or design-led business, gallery or arts organisation. If you select the internship option you may also enrol in ADAD4001 Professional Experience B as one of your electives, which adds an additional 150 hours to extend your placement. 

For more information about the PEP program see here, where you will also find a list of current PEP partners.

The School of the Arts & Media offers an exciting range of WIL opportunities including foot-in-the-door internships, advertised opportunities and option to self-source your internship. Our Work Integrated Learning courses provide opportunities in media, film, creative writing, PR & Advertising, performing arts industries and much more.

Courses offered by the School of the Arts & Media are as follows:

Internship opportunities are advertised in the Student Placement Management System, InPlace. Students can log in using their zID and zPass.

For more information about the Arts & Media WIL program, please see here.

The School of Humanities and Languages offers a number of postgraduate degrees in translating and interpreting, which include the following WIL courses:

Other WIL courses available are:

Student Testimonial: Master of Translation & Interpreting placement

 “The UNSW translation and interpreting practicum was one of the most valuable experiences of my postgraduate study. It offered me a great opportunity to translate news and promotional materials such as UNSW China Guide, pamphlet, and video subtitles for UNSW International Office, which not only enabled me to link my expertise to practice, but also helped me to improve my transferable skills such as communication skills through discussing translation requirements with project owners. It transformed me from a student into a productive translator and benefited my career in a long run.”
 

- Yifang Zhang, Former Master of Translation and Interpreting student

WIL courses are offered in a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Some are required for professional accreditation such as the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours). For more information regarding Social Work Placements:

Other WIL courses available in the School of Social Sciences are: 

 

Watch undergraduate and postgraduate students from the School of Social Sciences, along with industry partners, talk about WIL.

For more detail about WIL courses offered in the School of Social Sciences see here.

The Professional Experience program for both undergraduate and postgraduate students enables pre-service teachers to develop the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to plan for and manage successful classrooms. It aims to develop a strong commitment, enthusiasm and respect for the teaching profession and encourages pre-service teachers to engage with the broader community. The Professional Experience placements are with primary and secondary schools (both Department of Education and Independent schools).

The relevant courses are:

For more detail about the Professional Experience program see here