Students who are not able to complete an internship for credit or who would like to complete a short work integrated learning experience outside of their course, might consider completing a UTS Voluntary Internship.
Voluntary internships
Voluntary internships
Students may choose to complete a work experience or internship placement voluntarily, when they’re unable to enrol in an internship subject or when the placement is not a mandatory part of their degree.
Students, who have free electives, are encouraged to enrol in Business Internship and receive academic credit for their work.
Students, who do not have free electives or do not wish to enrol in a Business Internship subject, may complete an unpaid internship as a Faculty-Approved Voluntary Internship.
Prior to committing to a voluntary internship, an unpaid internship that is not for academic credit, students must:
- negotiate their internship details with the host organisation
- make sure they are happy with the placement arrangements (visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website for guidance about unpaid work)
- inform the faculty by submitting a voluntary internship application through UTS CareerHub. All current UTS students will be covered by UTS Insurance only if the correct paperwork is completed and submitted to the faculty for approval at least two weeks prior to the internship commencement date.
- you and your host supervisor will need to sign the voluntary placement agreement (contained in the application above) and you will need to attach this to your placement summary form. Once you submit this placement summary form, it will come to our team for checking and approving. Once approved, the signed agreement and insurance certificates will be sent via email to your nominated supervisor.
Voluntary internship criteria
Please ensure you read the following voluntary internship criteria carefully and ensure your placement summary form reflects the criteria.
For voluntary internships to be approved by UTS, they must meet the following criteria:
- the internship is only for 210 hours (30 working days) or less; and
- the student is not required to perform activities that would usually be done by an employee; and
- the student is motivated to do the internship by the desire to improve their job prospects, or for social or community reasons; and
- the student has some flexibility about when they attend; and
- the student can end the internship on short notice (without any formal notice).
Why undertake a voluntary internship?
Gaining experience before graduating is as important as completing your degree. UTS endeavours to support all students in their journey to achieve this.
An approved voluntary internship is endorsed by UTS and you will be covered by UTS Insurance for the duration of your experience, up to 210 hours, if the placement is unpaid.
Contact businessinternships@uts.edu.au if you have any questions.