Bachelor of Arts (HUMA2000)

This option allows you to tailor your placement to fit your career plans and interests. Is there a business or an organisation which you’d like to work for in the future? If so, you can reach out to them and ask if they are interested in hosting you as a placement student.

It’s a good idea to start a few months prior to your targeted placement start date, and you’re welcome to run your ideas past the HUMA2000 course coordinator. Also, keep in mind that you’re not confined to our local area. Depending on your circumstances, undertaking a placement in Sydney, the Central Coast or the Upper Hunter is entirely possible. If you’re a BA Online student, you could try to find a placement closer to where you live, or complete a virtual placement.

Once you’ve found your placement host, you should enrol in the course in the right teaching term. This will give you access to our online placement system SONIA, where you can fill the details of your placement in the Placement Agreement form.

More information will be available in the Course Outline and on Canvas.

To support our students, we’ve negotiated a range of placement opportunities at businesses and organisations in our region.

Among our current hosts you’ll find the following:

• Newcastle Museum
• Maitland Regional Art Gallery
• Puncher & Wattmann (local literary publisher)
• The University Gallery
• Alliance Française de Newcastle
• GLAMx / Special Collections in the University Library
• Newcastle Writers Festival
• Hunter Writers Centre / Lighthouse Arts

Please don’t contact these organisations independently. To apply for one of the roles, you need to enrol in HUMA2000 in the correct term and take part in a Preferencing Event that will run 1-2 months before the start of the terms. Information will be provided via email and on the BA Canvas site.

Once the Preferencing Event opens, you’ll have a few weeks to log in to SONIA, indicate your top-5 preferences, complete the application form and upload your brief CV. When the Preferencing Event closes, the HUMA2000 Course Coordinator and the BA Program Convenor will liaise with the placement hosts and allocate students to placements.

The preferencing process requires that you complete a brief application form and upload your CV. Please take extra care with this as your application may be shared with our external placement hosts.

If you want to organise your own placement, you just need to reach out to your ideal placement host and ask them if they’re interested in taking you on as a placement student for the equivalent of four weeks.

Try to indicate why you’ve chosen to contact them and make sure to attach your up-to-date CV. We find that many organisations in our local community are willing to help, however, you may have to contact a number of organisations before you find a placement.

Once you have organised a placement, it’s time to complete the Placement Agreement form in SONIA. This requires that you’re enrolled in the course. If you experience difficulties with either the enrolment or the form please contact the Professional Experience team at chsfwil@newcastle.edu.au.

Students must cover the course cost of HUMA2000 (10 units), but placements are usually free of additional expenses.

Should additional costs be involved, students must meet costs incurred for their experience including payment to an external provider, institution or company if applicable.

Students experiencing financial hardship may be able to access Student Placement Grants to meet certain expenses.

Yes. You need to complete an induction workshop and, after completing the placement, a 1,500 word reflective report. Your placement host also needs to complete an assessment form.

First of all, the placement must provide a genuine workplace experience. It must also be relevant to your BA studies, and it’s important that the host is able to provide ongoing supervision and support.

If you are unsure about whether a particular placement opportunity is suitable, please contact the HUMA2000 course coordinator or the Bachelor of Arts convenor for clarification at Elizabeth.roberts-pedersen@newcastle.edu.au.