Course coordinator
Dr Alastair Stark
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Politic Sc & Internat Studies
This is a restricted entry course and School consent must be obtained prior to enrolment.
The Internship is based on a mutually agreed partnership between the student and an external organisation. The student agrees to carry out a research project on a topic/issue of direct interest to the external organisation. In return, the external organisation agrees to provide the support necessary for the project to be completed within a definite time frame. Secondary supervision is also provided by an academic staff member from the School.
Established internship partners include: the Queensland Government, the federal and Queensland parliaments, and a number of other national, government and non-government agencies. The availability of internships is limited. Applicants will be awarded places on academic merit taking into consideration their GPA and previous study history.
All additional costs incurred by students undertaking this course remain the responsibility of the student.
Further information including how to apply is available on the POLSIS website here.
Students are required to complete a research project over one semester, which will be the basis for a written report of 6,000 words. The applied field experience must be negotiated in advance with the Course Coordinator. Costs incurred by students undertaking the course remain the responsibility of the student. Students undertake a minimum of 120 hours for the applied field experience, working with a host organisation identified and selected by the student and approved by the Course Coordinator. It is anticipated that of the 120 hours of the experience, 2/3 will be spent in direct contact with the host organisation and 1/3 will be spent researching and preparing and writing the research report.
Students interested in this course should contact the School by email at polsis@uq.edu.au. Further information, including the application process is available atﾠhttps://polsis.uq.edu.au/internshipfield-work.
ETHICAL CLEARANCE
It is a University requirement that an Ethical Clearance is obtained for any fieldwork projectﾠinvolvingﾠhuman subjects. Working with their supervisor, students are expected to seek ethical approval for any interview, survey or other research involving people. If your fieldwork projectﾠdoes not involve people in this way, then you do not need ethical clearance.
Applications should be submitted by using theﾠNHMRC Human Research Ethics Application (HREA) form.
You must obtain Ethical Clearance before you leave for your Applied Fieldwork Experience.ﾠ
You are required to comply with the University's Fieldwork Safety Guidelines: http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/2.30.09-work-campus-safety
After you have received approval for the Internship Placementﾠfrom the School you will be requiredﾠto completeﾠthe UQﾠTravel Form.
Course requirements
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
8 units of postgraduate POLS-coded courses with a GPA greater than 5.0
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Alastair Stark
Timetable
Additional timetable information
There are no scheduled classes for this course.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to allow students to develop their research, analytical and communication skills while they acquire practical and professional knowledge in a workplace setting.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate practical and professional skills developed in the field.
LO2.
Understand the key working elements of a host organisation selected by the student.
LO3.
Communicate effectively the outcomes of the fieldwork experience.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Placement | Project Outline | Pass/Fail |
16/08/2024 5:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Research Report 6,000 words | Pass/Fail |
25/10/2024 5:00 pm |
Assessment details
Project Outline
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Placement
- Weight
- Pass/Fail
- Due date
16/08/2024 5:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Students must complete a 'project outline' in which they provide a brief overview of their proposed research topic. This proposal must be approved by both the Internship supervisor and the supervisor at the relevant organisation.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission:
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Research Report 6,000 words
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- Pass/Fail
- Due date
25/10/2024 5:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Students are to write a research report of 6,000 words on a research topic agreed to with the academic supervisor. Reports must be typed (double-spaced), fully referenced and include a bibliography. The completed report must be submitted both to the School of Political Science and International Studies and to the relevant organisation.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission:
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Pass/Fails | Description |
|---|---|
| P |
Course grade description: In order to pass the course a student must: (1) Complete and submit to both the School and the hosting organization a research report; and (2) Complete the project outline. |
| F |
Course grade description: A student will fail the course if fail to complete any one of the two tasks listed above. |
Additional course grading information
Pass:
In order to pass the course a student must:
(1) Complete and submit to both the School and the hosting organization a research report; and
(2) Complete the project outline.
Fail:
A student will fail the course if fail to complete any one of the two tasks listed above
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.
Additional assessment information
Word Count and Word Limit Penalty
Students are expected to write to the word limit set by the Course Coordinator.
Essays and research reports are given a +10% leeway on the word count (unless the word count already stipulates a range).ﾠ
Students should note :
•The Author-date in-text referencing system will count toward the word limit;
•The Footnote referencing system will not count toward the word limit.
Students should refer to the School of Political Science & International Studies Essay Guide for further information. The Essay Guide can be downloaded from POLSIS Student Supportﾠpage.
Supplementary Assessment
Supplementary Assessment is not available on the following assessment item because it is not possible to re-assess some of the minimum learning requirements for this item:
-Plan (Pass/Fail)
Marking Criteria/Rubric
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Essay Guide
The School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide can be downloaded from the School’s Student Support webpage.
The Guide sets out guidelines you should follow in preparing written assignments.
Essay Writing Assistance
The School of Political Science and International Studies schedules regular “drop-in” sessions designed to provide one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing.
There is no need to make an appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you.
The day and time of these sessions will be finalized at the beginning of each semester and published on the Student Support webpage.
Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study, research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
Library Resources
UQ Library offers training in software, assignment writing, research skills, and publishing and research management.
The University’s library holdings for Political Science and International Studies are primarily located in the Central Library.
There is a help desk in the Library. Students are also welcome to contact the BEL/HASS Librarians for assistance.
Email: librarians@library.uq.edu.au
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Fieldwork |
On location with a host organisation You must complete a minimum of 120 hours fieldwork between the start of semester and the end of semester. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.