Placements
Upgrade your degree by immersing yourself full-time in a professional organisation for six- or 12-months and gain the real industry experience that employers are looking for.
Guaranteed real industry experience
A Swinburne bachelor degree is more than a piece of paper. It's a career-starting résumé with guaranteed Work Integrated Learning.
Benefits of doing a placement at Swinburne
As a bachelor degree student, a six- or 12-month full-time placement in a professional organisation is your chance to learn ‘on the job’, and:
- put your knowledge into practice
- build your employability skills and capabilities
- get paid at an award level while earning academic credit
- explore your career options
- reflect on and learn from workplace experiences
- develop professional skills such as communication, teamwork and time-management
- network with colleagues and potential employers.
Ask Me Anything: Professional Placements
Hear Breyanna, Ana and Noah discuss their real industry experiences whilst completing a Professional Placement.
Want to chat to the team about placements?
Email profplacements@swinburne.edu.au if you're a higher education student or vestudentplacements@swinburne.edu.au if you're a vocational education student. We’ll be in touch as soon as we can.
More about placements
Placements are Work Integrated Learning (WIL) options you can add to your studies as a co-major (12-months) or minor (6-months).
Your placement will combine hands-on learning in industry with academic submissions, workplace reflection and feedback from your host organisation.
Placements will extend the duration of your bachelor degree by up to 12 months. If you have spare electives in your course, some of your placement may count towards the credit of your standard degree.
Most students undertake their placements in the third year of their degree, so you’ll want to map out your electives as soon as you can and register for a placement at least 6 months before your preferred start date.
There are two intakes each year:
- Intake Semester 1: register in August start in November or February
- Intake Semester 2: register in April to start in June or August.
How your course could look
This is how your placement might fit into a standard three-year bachelor degree.
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Year 1
The Career Start module will help you develop your resume while you get stuck into our Professional Purpose program.
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Year 2
Take part in our Professional Purpose workshops and start looking at what placements are available via InPlace.
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Year 3
Put theory into practice and get paid to complete your 6- or 12-month placement.
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Year 4
Consolidate your learning experiences back at uni and graduate with a full-time placement on your résumé.
Am I eligible for a placement?
To be eligible for a placement at Swinburne, you must:
- be enrolled in a standard three- or four-year bachelor degree
- have a weighted course average of 60% or higher
- have completed a minimum of 12 units (150 credit points) in your degree and have a minimum of 3 units (37.5 credit points) remaining at the completion of the placement.
Students studying through Swinburne Online (SOL) or Open Universities Australia (OUA) are not eligible to participate in the placement program.
International students who successfully gain a placement will need to transfer to a corresponding Professional Degree. This may mean extending your visa. Contact us for more information.
Placement study load
A placement is equivalent to a full-time study load. The academic units are delivered online and in partnership with your Swinburne and industry supervisors.
As you’ll undertake a full-time study load while on your placement, overloading by enrolling in additional units of study is not usually permitted.
Enrolment and fees
Enrolling in a Professional Placement co-major (12 months) or minor (6 months) will change the structure and completion requirements of your degree and could extend your degree by up to 12 months. The Professional Placement is an academic program, and all fees for local students can be deferred via HECS-HELP.
The Professional Placement minor has two 25 credit point units, which have a combined cost of A$3,487.50 that is HECS-HELP deferrable for local students.
- Work Experience in Industry A is the practical unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$1,500).
- Integrated Professional Placements A is the academic unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$1,987.50*).
In most courses, an additional 50 credit points are added to the course for the minor^, extending the duration of a course by up to 6 months.
You can also earn half credits (12.5 credit points) for Work Experience in Industry A and put them towards your course if you have a spare elective.
We recommend you book an appointment with a Course Advice Specialist to confirm how a placement will fit into your degree structure.
* Integrated Professional Placement unit fees may differ for students who commenced their degrees prior to 2021. This may apply to students in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Media and Communications. Visit our Fees page for more info.
^ Students enrolling in the Professional Placement minor will be subject to a variation in their course rules, which includes additional credit points for course completion. The amount of additional credit points will depend on whether students have spare electives in their standard degree or not. Speak to a Course Advice Specialist for details.
The Professional Placement co-major has four 25 credit point units, which have a combined cost of A$5,475.00 that is HECS-HELP deferrable for local students.
- Work Experience in Industry A is the first practical unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$1,500.00).
- Integrated Professional Placements A is the first academic unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$1,987.50*).
- Work Experience in Industry B is the second practical unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$0.00).
- Integrated Professional Placements B is the second academic unit and is worth 25 credit points. (A$1,987.50*).
In most courses, an additional 100 credit points are added to the course for the co-major^, extending the duration of a course by up to 12 months.
You can also earn half credits (25 credit points) in the co-major for Work Experience in Industry A and Work Experience in Industry B and put them towards your course if you have a spare electives.
We recommend you book an appointment with a Course Advice Specialist to confirm how a placement will fit into your degree structure.
* Integrated Professional Placement unit fees may differ for students who commenced their degrees prior to 2021. This may apply to students in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Media and Communications. Visit our Fees page for more info.
^ Students enrolling in the Professional Placement major will be subject to a variation in their course rules, which includes additional credit points for course completion. The amount of additional credit points will depend on whether students have spare electives in their standard degree or not. Speak to a Course Advice Specialist for details.
Placement insurance
If you undertake a professional placement, you’ll be classified as a full-time student completing an academic program and you’ll be covered by Swinburne’s Public Liability insurance.
International students
To meet Australian visa requirements once you secure a 12-month placement, you’ll need to transfer your bachelor degree into the corresponding Professional Degree.
Upon transferring, you’ll need to complete a 12-month placement and pay additional tuition fees.
The Professional Degree can add up to 12 months onto your standard degree, depending on whether you have spare electives.
You’ll need to seek reputable advice regarding the extension of your visa.
For help about applying for placements as an international student, contact the international student support team.
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"The professional placement component of this degree was the reason I picked Swinburne in the first place. As a mature age student, I did have the luxury of being able to pick my degree because I wasn’t reliant on my ATAR, so the opportunity to get out of the classroom really appealed to me.”
Lily , Bachelor of Engineering
How to apply for a placement
- Register your interest and your eligibility will be confirmed via email within three working days.
- Use the resources provided to create a professional resume and cover letter, then run your resume through CV360 for instant feedback.
- Once your resume has been finalised, you will get access to view and apply for relevant placement opportunities and attend interviews.
- If successful, you will enrol in the relevant unit and be required to attend an induction lecture on campus prior to starting your placement. You will also be allocated a Swinburne supervisor to support your learning throughout your placement.
Securing a placement is a competitive process and will rely on the quality of your resume, cover letter, academic record, interview, and (sometimes) portfolio.
Every organisation will have a slightly different interview and screening processes that may involve job interviews, group assessments and other tasks.
You’ll be paid as part of your placement, and your employment contract is directly between you and your host organisation.
Support network for placement students
While on a placement, you’re considered a full-time student of Swinburne and will still have access to all of our support services at the university.
As well as your academic and industry supervisors, you can also reach out to these services for further support: Student HQ, AccessAbility Services and Student Placement team at profplacements@swinburne.edu.au.
Hear from our students
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6 reasons to try a professional placement
Although Daniel is from Tigerland (bom bom bom bom) when a paid professional placement came up at North Melbourne Football Club, it was an opportunity that sounded too good to turn down.
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Tips to help you on your professional placement
Stepping into the industry you’ve been studying for the past few years can be nerve wracking, even more than your coursework. Here are some tips to make that transition to work a breeze.
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Isaac's placement story
The Data Experience
Isaac’s placement experience has allowed him to merge Physics and Finance to create business solutions.
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Osama's placement story
Richmond Football Club
Read about Osama's experience interning at Richmond Football Club during his professional design placement.
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Freya's placement story
August
Freya discovered the benefits of taking on new challenges during her placement.
Interested in doing a placement?
Develop your employability skills, gain valuable work experience and get paid with a placement from Swinburne. Register your interest for a placement now.