Work-integrated learning (WIL) lets you put the theory you're learning into practice. WIL activities can include:
- work placements
- internships
- clinical or field placements and practicums
- service learning
- work-related projects and competitions
- entrepreneurship and student-led enterprise.
Work-integrated learning can be paid or unpaid and be face-to-face or online.
Benefits
Some of the benefits you can get through work-integrated learning include:
- real-world learning
- practical, hands-on and relevant work experiences
- opportunities that are applicable to your career and professional development goals
- experiences that increase your areas of knowledge
- exposure to professional people, organisations and cultures
- opportunities to develop your professional identity and competencies
- experiences that increase your graduate opportunities.
WIL at Massey:
- provides flexible and wide-reaching teaching and learning opportunities
- is informed by world-leading research
- is conducted in partnership with community and industry.
Watch our practical experiences at Massey video.
Opportunities at Massey
Work-integrated learning (WIL) can be part of a course or qualification. On completion it will be assessed against the course learning outcomes or qualification requirements. It can also give you an opportunity to gain work experience.
Business
Accountancy work experience
The Massey School of Accountancy in partnership with Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD) gives free financial advice to non-profit community groups in Auckland. Massey accounting students can gain work experience by working as volunteers.
Contact person: Geoff Andrews (ANCAD) at geoff@ancad.org.nz
Analytics work placement
The Master of Analytics aims to give students experience solving real-world business problems. As part of their study, students complete a four-month work placement (November to February).
Contact person: Esther Jaspers
Aviation management internship
The Bachelor of Aviation Management industry internship allows high-achieving undergraduate students to combine their university studies with work experience in any area of the aviation industry. The work experience helps students build the knowledge, analytical and research skills that set them up for success, and a long and successful career in this diverse and essential industry.
Students complete a 12-week internship with an aviation industry organisation.
Contact person: Anke Smith
Business administration research project
As part of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) students are required to produce an applied business research report. MBA students often conduct this research with their own employer. The research can also be done with another organisation or in a different sector.
Contact person: Connie Hii
Business internship courses
115388 Internship in Business
The 115388 Internship in Business is a double-semester course which gives students practical experience in business. It allows students to integrate their theoretical knowledge with real-world practice and is supported by mentoring and supervision by business professionals. The internship in business is available to high-achieving undergraduate business students in their final year.
Students will complete 180 hours in the workplace over two semesters. The timing is negotiated between the student and organisation.
Contact people:
Auckland: Kaye Thorn
Manawatū: Kaz Kobayashi
115389 Business Internship
The 115389 Business Internship is a single-semester course which gives students practical experience in business. Students complete a set project in a business which allows them to link theory to practice. The business internship is available to high-achieving undergraduate business students in their final year.
Students will complete approximately 100 hours in the workplace over a single semester. The timing is negotiated between the student and organisation.
Contact person: Sarah Leberman
Communication internship
The communication internship is available to high-achieving Bachelor of Communication students in their third year. The internship gives our students great real-world experience. Internships consist of 100 to 120 hours working on projects, or a collection of communication and/or marketing-related activities, that support the work of the host organisation.
Contact person: Claudia Silva
Management professional practice course
The Master of Management has a professional practice course as a capstone course in a students' final semester. 'Capstone courses' are courses where students get the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gathered throughout their study. Students undertake an investigation broadly within the area of their major.
The course is completed through either an:
- internship or practicum
- applied case study
- enterprise planning practice.
Students prepare a professional consulting-style report and present their findings at the end of the course.
Contact person: James Lockhart
Retail and business management internships
Completing three internship courses (290100, 290201 and 290301) is compulsory for Bachelor of Retail and Business Management students. These courses are also available to selected students interested in retail and the broader service sector.
As part of the internships, students are expected to complete the following number of hours within an organisation (in-store, retail support office or allied service role):
- 45 hours for 290100
- 90 hours for 290201
- 180 hours for 290301.
Students are expected to critically reflect on their internship experiences and their host organisation’s product offerings and the markets they serve, as well as producing operational and strategic analyses in the form of consultancy reports.
Contact person: Andrew Murphy
Sport management practicums
Bachelor of Sport Management students complete two practicums:
- a 30-hour sport management mini-practicum (second year)
- a 180-hour sport management capstone practicum (third year).
In 'capstone practicums' students are given the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gathered throughout their study. The practicums help students gain hands-on experience and develop the specialised sport management knowledge and skills they will need when they join the workforce.
Contact person: Trish Bradbury
Creative Arts
College of Creative Arts opportunities
The College of Creative Arts (CoCA) provides many different opportunities for multi-disciplinary work-integrated learning throughout all of its majors.
At honours and master's levels, students work with external stakeholders on real-world briefs, developing both commercially and socially-driven work.
Additionally, CoCA has two independent, externally-focused centres:
- Open Lab – a student-led design agency, working with external clients on design projects including print, web and interactive, game, and event-based projects
- Toi Āria – a university research centre delivering positive social change through effective community engagement projects.
Contact person: Faith Kane
Health
Dietetic professional practice
Work-integrated learning experiences form an integral part of the Nutrition and Dietetics endorsement in the Master of Science. Students are immersed in a range of workplace settings which reflect the core practice areas for the profession which are:
- medical nutrition therapy
- food service management
- public health nutrition.
Partner organisations include:
- district health boards
- large scale food and catering companies
- primary health organisations
- non-governmental organisations
- charities.
Contact person: Reena Soniassy Unkovich
Health science professional practice
Professional practice is embedded in many of the Bachelor of Health Science (BHlthSc) majoring courses including:
- environmental health
- health sciences navigation
- integrated human health.
The BHlthSc has one specific work-integrated learning course, 250320 Work-Integrated Learning in Health Science. This is an elective finishing course, intended to be taken in the final semester of study. Entry into the course is by application, as there are a limited number of placement opportunities in each discipline.
Contact person: Wyatt Page
Nursing
Bachelor of Nursing
The Bachelor of Nursing qualification provides more than 1,100 hours of experience-based learning in various practice settings and contexts. Practice areas are selected to make sure the type of learning opportunities offered by the health care provider match the theoretical focus of the course.
The practicum experience gives student nurses the opportunity to observe and work alongside registered nurses to develop professional insights and put theory into practice.
Contact person: Claire Minton
Master of Clinical Practice (Nursing)
Clinical placements are where theory and simulated practice come together. In the Master of Clinicial Practice (Nursing) students complete more than 1,100 hours of experiential learning in a broad range of clinical placements. The placements align with the learning outcomes of each clinical course, and establish a wide foundational knowledge base for professional practice.
Contact person: Rhonda McKelvie
Nutrition and dietetic work experience
The Nutrition and Dietetic Centre provides sound, personalised and practical nutritional advice for people of all ages. Consultations are carried out by Master of Science dietetic students under the guidance of highly experienced New Zealand registered dietitians. The clinic is located on the Auckland campus in Albany.
Contact person: Reena Soniassy Unkovich
Public health praxis course
The public health praxis (practice) course within the Master of Public Health is a capstone course where students have opportunities to apply their skills and learning in an area of interest within the public health field.
The praxis involves supervised and team-based work on defined and contemporary public health issues. Students complete 300 hours of supervised public health practice with specified goals and objectives.
Contact people: Chrissy Severinsen or Gretchen Good
Social work placements
Social work placements provide students with the opportunity to integrate theory with real-world experiences. Students undertake two placements in different organisations, completing a minimum of 120 days in their qualification. Placements may be in government, non-government, iwi or Maori organisations.
Contact people: Lynsey Ellis or Kathryn Hay
Sport and exercise practicums
Sport and exercise practicums give students multi-disciplinary work-integrated learning experiences in the areas of:
- sport management
- sport development
- physical education
- exercise prescription.
Contact people: Lynette Hodges or Andy Martin
Humanities and Social Sciences
Counselling professional development
Our Master of Counselling Studies student graduate with advanced professional counselling knowledge and capabilities. As part of this qualification competency is developed through supervised clinical field work. Students will be asked to complete 100 hours of counselling during the first year and another 100 hours during the second year.
Contact: David Coomber
Developmental studies practicum course
The development practicum course gives students an opportunity to gain first-hand experience of being a beginning development practitioner.
For those who already have practice experience, it provides a way to gain first-hand experience in a different development setting.
Students will complete 260 hours of professional work in an approved development organisation. As an important part of the course, students will reflect on how this work can be understood in relation to current literature on development theory and practice.
Contact person: Rochelle Stewart-Withers
Educational and developmental psychology internship
The Postgraduate Diploma in Educational and Developmental Psychology is a one-year internship which provides a framework for supervised professional practice.
To qualify for the diploma, students need to complete supervised full-time practical work for a period of one academic year. The work needs to meet the requirements of the courses included in the diploma.
Contact: Roseanna Bourke
Postgraduate Diploma in Educational and Developmental Psychology
Learning and teaching professional experience
The Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching includes a total of 16 weeks of professional experience in education settings. It gives students an opportunity to develop and refine their professional skills alongside our supportive teachers and mentors.
The professional experience involves two seven-week blocks of practicum in different education settings as well as 10 days of targeted professional experience that supports individual professional growth.
Contact: Judith Donaldson
Speech language therapy clinical experience
The Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy with Honours combines academic coursework with supervised clinical experience. In years two to four of your qualification you have the opportunity to work alongside practising speech-language therapists to gain clinical hours in a wide range of settings.
Contact: Mershen Pillay
Sustainable development goals practicum course
As part of the Master of the Sustainable Development Goals students complete the 131810 Sustainable Development Goals Practicum course. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a practical experience in the application of the sustainable development goals (SDG). Students will complete 320 hours of professional work in an approved agency.
As an important part of the course, students will research how this work can be understood in relation to current literature on the SDG and sustainable development.
Contact person: Samantha Gardyne
Sciences
Agribusiness and agricultural science work experience
You must complete 26 weeks of industry experience in the primary industry sector if you are a student in the:
- Bachelor of Agribusiness
- Bachelor of Agricultural Science.
Students need to complete two reports covering 13 weeks of work each as part of the 119150 Practicum I and 119250 Practicum II courses.
Students who have worked in a family business like a farm before enrolling at Massey can be given credit for 13 weeks of industry experience after completing a 119150 report.
Contact person: James Millner
Construction work experience
218110 Construction Industry Work Experience I
In the 218110 course students need to complete 300 hours of construction industry work experience.
Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:
- demonstrate professionalism in work placement
- meet the employer’s requirements of a trainee in the workplace
- demonstrate appropriate health and safety behaviour in the workplace.
Contact person: Mikael Boulic
218110 Construction Industry Work Experience I
218210 Construction Industry Work Experience I
In the 218210 course students need to complete 300 hours of construction industry work experience related to their major (Construction Management or Quantity Surveying).
Contact person: Wajiha Shahzad
Engineering work experience
As part of the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours, all students need to complete a minimum of 800 hours of approved practical work experience.
Students need to complete two reports as part of the 228210 Practicum I and 228310 Practicum II courses.
Contact person: Xiang Gui
View more information about the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours practical work experience
Food technology work experience
As part of the Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours, all students need to complete a minimum of 800 hours of approved practical work experience.
Students need to complete two reports as part of the 228210 Practicum I and 228310 Practicum II courses.
Contact person: Xiang Gui
View more information about the Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours practical work experience
Horticultural science industry work experience
All students in the Bachelor of Horticultural Science must complete 26 weeks of industry experience in the primary industry sector.
Students need to complete two reports covering 13 weeks of work each as part of the 119150 Practicum I and 119250 Practicum II courses.
Students who have worked in a family business like an orchard before enrolling at Massey can be given credit for 13 weeks of industry experience after completing a 119150 report.
Contact person: James Millner
Veterinary science practical work experience
Bachelor of Veterinary Science students need to complete a period of 21 weeks or more of approved practical work experience and associated reports. This includes the following three courses:
- 227110 Farm Practical Training (1 week)
- 227310 Farm Practical Work (14 weeks)
- 227410 Vet Practical Work (6 weeks)
Contact person: Sue Gribbin
Enterprise opportunities
Extracurricular Student Enterprise program
The Extracurricular Student Enterprise program is delivered through the ecentre Ltd and is designed to:
- inspire and support student start-up entrepreneurs
- embed enterprise thinking into WIL in all disciplines and professions.
Contact person: Nicola Stone
What our students say
“The practical aspects are numerous and thrilling, and the lecturing staff are supportive world-class experts. I gained a wealth of knowledge with well-supported experiences to apply that knowledge.”
“The experience made me a more confident and well-rounded graduate. I've been able to take skills from my internship year and apply them in a completely different industry four years later.”
“I would strongly recommend the WIL programme to current students. You will be able to put what you have learned in practice in real life settings, have the opportunities to observe the experts in their field in action and learn from them.”
Become a host organisation
Work-integrated learning involves a three way partnership between:
- students
- workplace organisations
- the university.
We partner with small and large organisations in New Zealand and all over the world.
WIL provides workplace organisations with the opportunity to:
- gain the latest knowledge, research, technology innovations, and skills for their workforce
- develop or create new programmes or projects
- offer meaningful learning opportunities to future graduates
- support student development of personal and professional competencies
- establish a cooperative working relationship with a university.
Contact us to enquire about hosting students at your organisation.
Research and awards in WIL
Our staff carry out world-leading research in work-integrated learning in many areas of study. Some of the staff and areas include:
- Andy Martin – sport and exercise
- Kathryn Hay – social work.
- Lynette Hodges– sport and exercise
Awards
Professor Andy Martin was named a principal fellow of the prestigious Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom in 2021. The award was in recognition of his teaching, scholarship and leadership in the field of work-integrated learning, specifically related to the development and coordination of the sport practicum at Massey University.
Associate Professor Kathryn Hay was presented with the Australia New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research Field Placement Recognition Award in 2019. The award was for her significant contribution to field work learning, including introducing innovations to field work placements.
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