The Public Policy and Professional Internship is part of the Crawford School of Public Policy’s suite of work integrated learning (WIL) options that promote reciprocal learning between academic studies and workplace application. This course provides students with an opportunity to gain credit towards their degree by undertaking a self-sourced internship. Students complete a placement in an appropriate public purpose or private entity to gain exposure to the organisational context and professional practice of public policy, and prepare a substantial research report that applies theoretical knowledge to a project topic connected to the internship. Each student will work with an academic advisor to guide the design and conduct of the research project. This course has dual overall learning goals to promote discipline-based concept application and career literacy-based professional development.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Apply discipline-based theoretical knowledge and tools learned in coursework to a research project that is tied to the internship experience.
- Exercise critical thinking and judgement in the context of developing advanced professional knowledge.
- Demonstrate the ability to work under professional supervision, gain useful experience of a professional context and how organisations operate, and develop enhanced awareness of how economic and societal trends affect work opportunities.
- Demonstrate interpersonal and communication behaviours, attributes and skills that enable negotiation and collaboration with others, as well as enhanced self-awareness to identify personal characteristics and how these can support or hinder work behaviours.
- Clarify personal and professional goals consistent with personal characteristics and interests, and understand how skills can be transferable, including an enhanced ability to demonstrate employability skills to others.
Work Integrated Learning
Placements
This WIL component supports your internship in a policy-relevant agency or organisation with integrated career skills development and academic mentoring to develop applied research.
Other Information
CRWF8019 is a selective entry course. To apply students need to:
(a) submit initial expression of interest to crawford.internships@anu.edu.au at least two months before the intended placement start date, and
(b) have completed at least 24 units of courses in a Crawford masters degree program, and
(c) have achieved an average mark of at least 70 in the completed masters courses.
Students should also be aware of the need to adhere to the following deadlines when preparing an internship:
- Five weeks before internship placement commences – internship application approved
- Three weeks before internship placement commences – Assessment task 1: statement of expectations due
For more information on self-sourced internships please see the Crawford internships website.
Indicative Assessment
- Statement of Expectations (1000 words). Before starting their internship students will submit a Statement of Expectations that outlines what knowledge, skills and experience they intend to gain from the internship. The Statement is a type of ‘learning plan’ that should cover three areas: Expectations about the internship role; Expectations about personal and professional development; and Expectations about knowledge and skills application. The Statement will be used to help guide learning during the internship and will be used as a basis for reflecting on achievements and professional development as part of the Reflective Journal (15) [LO 3,4,5]
- Reflective Journal (1500 words). After completing their internship students will submit a Reflective Journal. The Journal is a critical component of ‘experiential learning’. It provides a structured opportunity to reflect on how concrete experiences in the internship have helped both to enhance understanding of academic concepts and to develop a better conception of your own personal work characteristics and work preferences. The Journal will comprise internship journal entries (five journal entries recording key experiences and observations on concept application) and reflections on expectations (analytical observations on achievements and professional development expectations set out in the Statement of Expectations). (25) [LO 1,3,4,5]
- Research Report (5000 words). After completing their internship students will submit a Research Report that addresses a policy or governance question on a topic connected to the internship. The Report is a discrete research output for assessment against academic standards. While the Report can be informed by work undertaken during the internship it cannot be a document drafted as part of internship work requirements. The Report is a time-constrained policy or governance research project based on analysis of existing data that will provide experience in designing and conducting rigorous research. (60) [LO 1,2,3]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The self-sourced internship should provide a minimum of 130 hours assessment and internship combined.
Inherent Requirements
To complete this course, students may be required to attend a domestic or international field location. To participate at the location, students may be required to:
- Travel to the field location and stay in field accommodation such as shared basic cabins or dorm rooms;
- Monitor and manage their own health while studying and living with a small group of people at the location, which may be isolated;
- Understand and respect the needs of other participants and act professionally throughout the trip.
Students who cannot meet these requirements will not be able to participate at the location and therefore cannot complete the course.
In addition, some internship options may require students to:
- Safely traverse 2-3km over uneven ground at a moderate pace.
Students who can provide evidence they are unable to meet this requirement may be able to choose other options or negotiate alternative participation and assessment requirements with the course convenor.
If you have any questions regarding your course and the requirements it has for successful completion please contact either the course convenor for specific information or the relevant college and/or school mobility team.
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Crawford School of Public Policy to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
The prescribed text is: O’Leary, Z. and Hunt, J. 2016. Workplace Research: Conducting small-scale research in organizations. Sage. London. Course materials will be provided on Wattle.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
Units | EFTSL |
---|---|
6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2025 | $4680 |
- International fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2025 | $6720 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1470 | 01 Jan 2025 | 24 Jan 2025 | 24 Jan 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | In Person | View |
Winter Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6504 | 01 Jul 2025 | 01 Jul 2025 | 25 Jul 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 | In Person | N/A |