In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
A professional internship or work placement provides you with experience in a professional environment relevant to your chosen discipline. The process of combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience will assist you in understanding the relevance of material presented during discipline studies and further expand your professional knowledge and work-readiness with practical experience. Following a detailed application and selection process in the term prior to your BUSN20020 enrolment term, once you are placed with a host organisation, you will be engaged in work-integrated learning (WIL) while being supported by the School of Business and Law. You will undertake applied organisational research with a focus on your host organisation's approach to systems, processes and strategies related to your discipline, i.e. human resource management, marketing, management or accounting, with a view to improving organisational effectiveness. You will also be required to document and reflect on your work placement experiences to assess professional growth, recognise and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and develop an action plan for future professional development. This unit involves a company placement, either self-sourced by students, or organised and coordinated by a number of internship providers (external companies contracted by CQU to manage this aspect of the internship unit for Postgraduate business students). This unit involves some on-campus classes as well as an intensive placement in a host organisation. Because of the involvement of these external host organisations and internship providers, this unit is only available to full-time on-campus international students normally based on the Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane campuses. The unit assessment centres upon an organisational analysis, an applied research project on a particular aspect of your host organisation’s operations, and a personal reflection
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: For Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) students, successful completion of ACCT20074 Contemporary Accounting Theory, ACCT20075 Auditing and Ethics, and ACCT20080 Ethics and Governance; OR For non-MPA students, successful completion of BUSN20017 Effective Business Communications and BUSN20016 Research in Business; and No Failures on the student’s Academic Record, and Must be on track to complete all units (other than BUSN20020) of their course prior to final term of enrolment. BUSN20020 must be the only unit undertaken in the final Term of enrolment. Enrolment in this unit is subject to your successful application through the SONIA internship system early in the term prior to your final term of enrolment. This process will involve lodging a formal application through SONIA, an examination of your academic record, then interviews with external organisations including possible host organisations. Students may choose to self-source an internship, but all self-sourced placements must be approved and vetted, and students must nonetheless apply through the SONIA system, following the same timeframes as all other students. Placements through an internship provider are not guaranteed, but unsuccessful students will be notified in time for the School to facilitate enrolment in alternative electives. Once accepted for placement in a host organisation, students will follow normal office hours for four days per week over 10 consecutive weeks for the work placement component of BUSN20020. Students cannot self-enrol in this unit; only students who have been successful in securing an approved internship in a host organisation, and who meet the other requirements of this unit, will be enrolled into BUSN20020 by the WIL team. The Postgraduate Business Internships Moodle site outlines all application processes in detail.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Information for Class and Assessment Overview has not been released yet.
This information will be available on Monday 19 May 2025All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit team self-reflection; feedback from the internship provider and host companies; anecdotal discussions with students.
Students who have not completed MGMT29013 (Professional Practice and Career Development) are not as well prepared for the internship application (including resume, cover letter and interview skills) as those who have completed this unit. They need more support to get 'internship-ready' and may have negative experiences if their first attempt at securing an internship is unsuccessful.
Not all courses can have MGMT29013 as a core unit, so that alternative support needs to be provided. It is recommended to involve the CQU Careers team more, e.g. in initial briefings, and through direct referrals of all internship applicants to the careers counsellors for one-on-one support.