Online
The placement will have two components: (1) online classes each week that you must attend where we work on employability skills, have in-class exercises, and prepare you for the placement, as well as discussing your experiences once your placement has begun; (2) your industry partner placement. We aim to embed students in organisations - and it may be possible that you will be in an organisation workplace for some or all of your placement - depending on the industry partner capacity. There may also be occasions where an industry partner does not have sufficient space in their workplace to provide you with a desk, chair etc., and in these circumstances you will work outside the organisation.
Students are expected to meet with their partner at least weekly once the placement has begun, for up to 1 hour of contact time with a supervisor, although this may be more depending on their availability. You may take your placement either intensively, with the full 80 hours worked in just over two weeks, or across an 8 week period, working on average 10 hours per week with your industry partner. You will also have assignments that you will be undertaking - some are in-class and some are in your own time. And you will have readings each week - some of these readings you will be responsible for finding, others will be provided on MyLO. You are expected to do the readings before coming to class. You will also have a learning journal/portfolio to complete each week. You will need to work on the entries each week and you will have to go back to earlier entries and add reflections as your placement progresses.
You are expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism during your placement. You are representing the university and will be working on a real-world project with an industry partner. We take great care to build relationships of trust with our partners and it is essential that you behave as a professional in the workplace.
There are forms that you will be required to complete as part of your placement, including a workplace contract, a risk assessment, and potentially a confidentiality agreement. You cannot undertake your placement until these forms are properly completed.
Students will typically undertake this unit in the third or final semester of their masters candidature, after they have successfully completed their core units
Introduction
Students in this unit will undertake the equivalent of an unpaid, professional placement of 80 hours duration, which gives them a work integrated learning experience – providing intended learning outcomes that could reasonably be expected from a placement within a government, non-government or private sector organisation. Typically a placement project is arranged with an industry partner by the Unit Coordinator. The placement may occur as part of a group experience, where you will work with a team of students on a real-life project, or as an individual placement, potentially embedded in an organisation. On those occasions when an 'in workplace' placement is possible, students must obtain written approval from the Unit Coordinator before approaching an industry partner. During the placement, students will participate in completing discrete projects, everyday work tasks, or a combination of both. Over the course of the placement, it is expected that students will apply their discipline-specific knowledge and develop a better understanding of environmental management, protected area management, planning, environmental geospatial science, and/or related fields. The placement will include understanding the structure and functions of key agencies and organisations, the role and responsibilities of professionals, and students will develop an understanding of Australian workplace culture. Through this authentic, problem-based learning experience, students will be encouraged to develop contacts within their profession and among broader stakeholders during and after their placement. Over the course of the unit, students will practise key employability skills, will experience aspects of workplace cultures, and will develop skills as a reflexive practitioner, reflecting on their values, professional ethics and professional codes of practice. Assessments will enable students to apply discipline specific knowledge, and insights from the scholarly literature to everyday planning and management practices. Through assessment tasks, students will enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Assessment will emphasise important transferable employability skills such as writing and communicating (e.g. presentation skills, report writing) and professional skills (e.g., preparing a CV, writing briefing notes, writing reports, and addressing selection criteria).
Summary
| Unit name | Professional Placement |
| Unit code | KGA709 |
| Credit points | 25 |
| College/School | Sciences and Engineering School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences |
| Discipline | Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences |
| Coordinator | Associate Professor Joanna Ellison |
| Delivered By | University of Tasmania |
| Level | Postgraduate |
Availability
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Semester 2 |
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- Key:
On-campus- Off-Campus
- International students
- Domestic students
Note
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Units are offered in attending mode unless otherwise indicated (that is attendance is required at the campus identified). A unit identified as offered by distance, that is there is no requirement for attendance, is identified with a nominal enrolment campus. A unit offered to both attending students and by distance from the same campus is identified as having both modes of study.
Key Dates
| Study Period | Start date | Census date | WW date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semester 2 | 20/7/2025 | 18/8/2025 | 7/9/2025 | 25/10/2025 |
* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).
Unit census dates currently displaying for 2025 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2025 will be available from the 1st October 2024. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).
Learning Outcomes
- Apply key employability skills and interpersonal skills to professional work tasks to the satisfaction of a supervisor in a real or simulated Australian workplace
- Apply discipline-specific knowledge in a professional setting, to meet client objectives for a real or simulated project
- Appraise the role of values and ethics in professional practice and identify appropriate sources of help for managing ethical dilemmas in professional workplaces
- Evaluate opportunities and challenges in professional environmental management, geospatial science, and/or planning practice and formulate solutions to resolve these
- Communicate with peers, industry professionals and supervisors, conveying information in verbal and written forms appropriate for a professional audience
Fee Information
| Field of Education | Commencing Student Contribution 1,3 | Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3 | Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3 | Domestic Full Fee 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 040103 | $2,328.00 | $2,328.00 | not applicable | $5,560.00 |
- Available as a Commonwealth Supported Place
- HECS-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility3
- FEE-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility4
1 Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
2 Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
3 Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
4 Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.
If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UniConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.
Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.
Requisites
Prerequisites
completion of 100 credit pointsTeaching
| Teaching Pattern | There are a total of 260 hours of work for this unit. This assumes for a 25 credit point unit, you will undertake 20 hours of study each week across a 13 week semester. The activities you will undertake include watching a 10-20 minute lecture in your own time, attending a compulsory weekly workshop online or in person (depending on your enrollment) that you will participate in with other students, reading articles in your own time and finding your own readings, answering questions and completing activities for the professional portfolio (in your own time), completing 80 hours of unpaid work with an industry partner (either in person or online), and completing the assigned assessment tasks - some individually and some as part of a group. The compulsory weekly workshop must be attended in-person if you are enrolled in Hobart. You will need written permission from the Unit Coordinator if you are not able to attend this session based on family responsibilities or work clashes. Employers are usually able to provide you a leave of absence for attending the workshop. All assessment tasks are to be submitted to the relevant link on MyLO. You will need to prepare a risk assessment as part of an assessment, which you will submit to a separate link on MyLO. You will also need to complete 3 separate CoSE forms (schedule A, B and C) as part of your placement application. These will need to be submitted to the relevant link on MyLO. |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Placement contract and risk assessment (10%)|Project management and performance evaluation (10%)|Placement project (20%)|Placement application (30%)|Professional portfolio (30%) |
| Timetable | View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable |
Textbooks
| Required |
All required readings are provided via the Reading List on MyLO. A text book – Communicating in Geography and the Environmental Sciences by Iain Hay is accessible via the library as an electronic resource. |
|---|---|
| Recommended | Any recommended readings will be provided via MyLO. |
The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.