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Internships

Internship programs offer you ways to gain academic credit whilst gaining valuable work experience in your chosen field. We know it is an important stepping stone in your transition from education to employment.

PSYC360 - Research internship in Psychology

This internship will not be running in 2024

Wollongong - Flexible 

  • Credit Points: 6
  • Pre-requisites: PSYC231 and PSYC234 and PSYC236 and PSYC241 and PSYC250
  • Co-requisites: None
  • Restrictions: Selected students will be enrolled manually by the Coordinator
  • Contact Hours: N/A
  • Coordinator: Professor Robert Barry (robert_barry@uow.edu.au)

This internship subject will provide outstanding students who have an interest in research with the opportunity to learn how research is done by working alongside researchers in an active research group.  Emphasis will be on learning practical skills in the selected area, working as part of a team, achieving research objectives in laboratory or field work, accurately recording methods and results, and critically evaluating the research methods of others.  Students will participate in ongoing research activities under the supervision of a staff member of the School of Psychology. This may occur on campus in a laboratory context or off-site at an appropriate research location. 150 hours participation in lab work or other approved activities is required.
This subject is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory based on scheduled student journal submissions and an end-of-project report.

This year there are 18 places available across 11 projects, as indicated in the table below.  For more information contact the academics running the projects.

Student applicants who currently satisfy all the prerequisites (PSYC231, PSYC234, PSYC236, PSYC241 and PSYC250) are invited to apply.  Indicate your project preferences by ranking them in the table below from 1 (top) to 11 (lowest).

The top 18 applicants (defined by marks in the above prerequisites) will be allocated to projects in rank order.  Each student will be allocated to their most preferred available project.  Allocations are non-negotiable, and if not accepted, will be allocated to the next in line.

If you wish to apply, indicate your preferences in order below and return this table to the coordinator, Professor Robert Barry (robert_barry@uow.edu.au), by 5.00 pm on 26 May.

Academic's project by title  

Academic

Project

Places

Your rank

Barry, Robert

Cardiac and EEG entrainment to music tempo

2

  

Byron, Tim

Measuring hooks in popular music using continuous self-report

2

  

Caputi, Peter

Exploring student presenteeism (the behaviour of working while ill)

2

  

Chan, Amy

What makes us feel lucky?

2

  

Hill, Harold

Experiments on monocular stereopsis, the subjective impression of three-dimensional shape characteristic when viewing with one eye

2

  

Leeson, Peter

Emotional intelligence and need for closure

1

  

Marceau, Ely

Using language analysis as a window into the brain: Clinical applications to substance dependence and personality dysfunction in youth

1

  

Palmisano, Stephen

Virtual reality motion sickness

1

  

Pickard, Judy

Parent child attachment (N.B. data collection on some Saturday and Sunday mornings)

1

  

Shira, Mark

Functional organisation and connectivity in early visual cortex

2

  

Woolrych, Tracey

The role of self-compassion and rejection sensitivity in feelings of loneliness

2

  

Geog292/352 Social Sciences Research Internship

This Autumn semester 2024, three research internships are offered in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Communities, School of Health and Society. Please email Associate Professor Jennifer Atchison (subject coordinator) for an expression of interest form for this process on jennya@uow.edu.au Forms are to be submitted to Jenny by email on or before COB Wednesday 15th Feb. Please do not email project supervisors.

Position

Research Assistant at the Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS)

Supervisor

Associate Professor Sonia Graham

Bogong moths are of deep cultural significance to many Indigenous Australians, are critical to the Australian Alps ecosystem but are also seen as a significant pest to wheat and barley crops. Despite their significance, we know remarkably little about their distribution and migration patterns. This project aims to unravel what information is contained in historical newspaper articles about the presence of Bogong moths, specifically where and when they have been reported over time.

This internship position contributes to a larger project being led by Dr Kate Umbers at Western Sydney University that is aiming to collect ecological data on Bogong moth distribution and migration. This social research project involves a media analysis to understand what historical newspapers can reveal to us about the presence of Bogong moths over time, such as what months they could be found and where, and whether this pattern changed over time. Activities will involve: using the Trove database to identify and collate newspaper articles that mention Bogong moths from the mid 1800s onwards; extracting relevant presence data into a table and possibly making maps to show where Bogong moths have been reported over time; and undertaking thematic analysis of the newspaper articles to see how experiences with Bogong moths have changed over time. There will be an opportunity to learn how to use NVivo qualitative analysis software to facilitate the analysis and comparison of newspaper articles. The internship will be supervised by Dr Sonia Graham and expressions of interest are now being sought. The internship will suit a third-year student. The internship is offered in a flexible mode for 80 hours, between July 24 to November 4. The work can be done online, and will involve about five project meetings.

Content for 80-hour placement agreement

Desired outcome

The media analysis will contribute social data to Dr Kate Umbers’ Australian Research Council Industry Mid-Career Fellowship. It is possible that the intern’s media analysis could be turned into an article for submission to the Australian Geographer journal.

Description of roles and tasks

  1. Search for and download the historical newspaper articles using the Trove database.
  2. If necessary, undertake training in how to upload documents into NVivo and undertake word frequency searches and thematic analysis.
  3. After consultation, use NVivo to analyse the newspaper articles
  4. Write a report that summarises the quantitative and qualitative data.
    Maximum word count: 5000 words.

Planned timetable for 80 hours

  • Read key articles provided by Dr Umbers followed by a meeting between student, Dr Umbers and organisation supervisor (4 hours)
  • Use Trove to search for and collate newspaper articles from mid 1800s onwards and discuss at meeting (8 hours)
  • Training session on NVivo if needed (3 hours)
  • Preliminary coding of 10 newspaper articles in Excel and NVivo (10 hours) and meeting (1 hour)
  • Coding of remaining newspaper articles (60 hours) and meeting (1 hour)
  • Report writing (15 hours) and presentation of results meeting (1 hour)

Position

Research Assistant at the Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS)

Supervisor

Associate Professor Sonia Graham

The Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts (LICCI) project, led by the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, aimed to document how Indigenous peoples and local communities perceive climate change impacts and how they have adapted their livelihoods and culture. To do this, the project team studied 50 sites around the world. This innovative program allowed for a better understanding of local climate change impacts as well as providing a new way of testing hypotheses of how climate change impacts Indigenous peoples and local communities on a global scale.

This internship position will analyse data collected through the LICCI project that focused on the benefits of, and opportunities taken by, Indigenous peoples and local communities in response to climate change. There are two datasets available for analysis, a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. Activities will involve: using the LICCI database to collate data relating to opportunities for adaptation to climate change; analysing the data to understand the extent to which adaptation opportunities are consistent across Indigenous and local communities; and writing up the results into an academic output, such as a journal article, poster or presentation. There will be an opportunity to learn how to use NVivo qualitative analysis software or SPSS statistical software to facilitate the analysis and comparison of the data.

The internship will be supervised by Dr Sonia Graham and expressions of interest are now being sought. The internship will suit a third-year student. The internship is offered in a flexible mode for 80 hours, between February 26 to June. 14 The work can be done online, and will involve about five project meetings.

Content for 80-hour placement agreement

Desired outcome

The data analysis and write-up will be the first to analyse the LICCI data on adaptation opportunities. It is possible that the intern’s analysis could be turned into an article for submission to an academic journal.

Description of roles and tasks

  1. Collate data on adaptation opportunities from the LICCI database.
  2. If necessary, undertake training in how to use NVivo or SPSS to bring the data together before analysis.
  3. After consultation, use NVivo or SPSS to analyse the data
  4. Write a report that summarises results of the analyses.
    Maximum word count: 5000 words. 

Planned timetable for 80 hours

  • Read key articles provided about adaptation opportunities and the LICCI project followed by a meeting between student and organisation supervisor (4 hours)
  • Use LICCI database to collate data about adaptation opportunities and discuss at meeting (6 hours)
  • Training session on NVivo or SPSS if needed (2 hours)
  • Preliminary data analysis (10 hours) and meeting (1 hour)
  • Analysis of remaining data (40 hours) and meeting (1 hour)
  • Report writing (15 hours) and presentation of results meeting (1 hour)

Position

Research Assistants at the Australian Centre for Culture Environment Society Space (ACCESS)  

Supervisors

Dr Nicole Cook and Dr Elyse Stanes

Are you passionate about exploring the geographies of food waste? In Australia, households generate a staggering 12 million tonnes of waste annually, sparking a need for change. Recognising this, state governments, local councils, and households are actively exploring alternative strategies to curb food waste. This project will delve deeper into the functionality of these alternative food waste management practices as part of the transition towards more circular economies. A particular focus of this research is on higher density living.

We are seeking interns who will play a pivotal role in shaping our research endeavours. As an intern, you will be instrumental in various research tasks, focusing either on unravelling the successes and challenges associated with council FOGO (Food Organics, Garden Organics) collection and waste infrastructure, OR delving into the intricacies of the delivery and adoption of FOGO, as well as other circular food waste methods, especially within apartment households. You will not only work with existing data, but also engage with and learn from a range of stakeholders working in this space.

Interns will contribute to cutting-edge research and also gain invaluable experience in the development process of sustainability and resilience research, with a specific emphasis on the critical issue of food waste.

Content for 80-hour placement agreement

Internship: Understanding how households engage with food and food waste practices

**while not essential, this internship would suit someone who lives in an apartment

  • Conduct literature review on research at the intersection of waste research and housing research (specifically research in apartments)
  • Research assistance with developing the project design (ethics)
  • Engage with essential stakeholders through outreach efforts.
  • Top of Form
  • Participate in stakeholder meeting with key stakeholders (owners corporations/apartment households/community providers of waste management)
  • Conduct preliminary analysis and write brief report related to practices and possibilities for household waste management.

Planned timetable for 80 hours

  • Initial meeting and project discussion (2 hours)
  • Progress meetings (fortnightly) (10 hours)
  • Human research ethics training (3 hours)
  • Literature review identifying and describing key research gaps at the intersection of food waste and apartment/highrise living (30 hours)
  • Minutes and participant observation of resident and owners-corporation and community waste processing hubs activity participating in reducing and or repurposing food waste (17 hours)
  • Preliminary analysis and report (18 hours)

The internship can be completed in a flexible format (face-to-face on campus or via zoom). with the fieldwork trip being optional. If you opt not to participate in the fieldwork trip, an additional 17 hours will be added to another task to ensure the requirements for the internship are met. Travel expenses will be paid for by Elyse Stanes’ Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award.

The intern is encouraged to meet the researchers on campus at the start of the project. This subject would suit a 2nd or 3rd year student with an eye for detail, and a keen and demonstrated interest in housing and/or waste research.

This subject provides academic credit to accompany the work placement (internship) which is on occasion organised by students with the permission of the Discipline Leader PAIS, in conjunction with the Head of Students for the School. 

For full subject information, see the subject database.

This subject will enable Politics students to undertake internships in relevant political offices in the Illawarra or Sydney. Students undertaking this subject will be attached to the office of an elected politician, or work within a part of government bureaucracy. They will undertake duties as directed by their supervisor in that institution. Enrolment is conditional of approval being granted by Discipline Leader, PAIS.

For full subject information, see the subject database.

Admission to the Australian National Internship Program (ANIP) is highly competitive and by application to the ANU. If selected students will undertake two months or more full-time work in as a parliamentary intern based in the offices of Members of Parliament and Senators and engaging with a range of activities that shape national policy-making. Placements in the Public Service or other agencies are also possible. UOW will credit the completed ANIP with 12 credit points. Enrolment in POL346 is conditional on being selected for the ANIP.

For full subject information, see the subject database.

If you are a hard-working, high performing student committed to progressing to a career in the field of creative arts there may be an opportunity for you in the Creative Arts Internship Program.

Successful students will spend a minimum of 60 hours in an organisation, working on an agreed project with exposure to a fully operational professional environment.

Applicants must be mature, engaging, articulate and willing to serve as ambassadors for the University. You should aspire to benefit from the experience professionally, culturally and personally.

Students are eligible to undertake a placement with an organisation provided they meet the following criteria:

  • current and enrolled student at the University;
  • approval is obtained from the Faculty/Department; and
  • the Faculty/Department confirms that the Placement is related to the student’s studies.

Expression of Interest

Expressions of interest should be made to Grant Ellmers in the first instance.

Students who wish to apply for this subject are required to organise their own internship. This will involve contacting local businesses and liaising with them regarding your start date, hours of availability and what you hope to achieve from the internship. Once the internship has been organised students will need to complete the documentation listed below and send it to TAEM administration.

Resources

To complete your enrolment, successful applicants are required to:

Enquiries

Please contact Grant Ellmers for further information or advice

Students enrolled in this subject should contact the Subject Coordinator to discuss internship options. View the subject description for detailed information and session availability.

Documentation

Applications must be submitted a minimum of five (5) workings days prior to the commencement of your placement. Failure to do so may delay and/or invalidate your placement plans.

Prior to commencing placement, students must complete and submit the following:

The Internship Evaluation Form is to be completed by your supervisor at the placement organisation.