80068 Professional Studies: Industry Placement and Independent Practice
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 80067 Photography Guest Lecture Program AND 80035 Photography and the Body
Description
Consistent with the UTS model of global practice-oriented learning, this subject introduces students to the institutional and industry contexts relevant to creative practice in an expanded photographic framework. In this subject, students can choose to undertake a supervised professional practice program with a host organisation relevant to contemporary image-based practices or an independent self-guided project in consultation with their tutor. The subject equips students with information on professional conduct and addresses issues relevant to industry experience and includes a number of studio and gallery visits. In this manner the subject enables the guided development of student relationships with creative businesses, industry and professionals, as well as information to establish an independent practice. The subject integrates learning with real-world professional experience.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Justify your decisions taken in a professional context |
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| 2. | Develop professional relationships relevant to your area of practice |
| 3. | Create a professional portfolio |
| 4. | Communicate ideas effectively through oral, written and visual forms |
| 5. | Expand knowledge of image-based practices in professional and industry contexts |
| 6. | Develop ability to seek and respond to critical feedback on your research in a collaborative environment |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to take autonomous responsibility for actions and decisions (A.1)
- Ability to constructively engage with subject learning activities (A.3)
- Ability to work cooperatively and professionally as part of a team, initiate partnerships with others, take a leadership role when required, and constructively contribute to peer learning (C.1)
- Ability to communicate ideas effectively in a variety of ways, including oral, written and visual (C.2)
- Ability to recognise and engage in a diverse range of technical and practical contexts (P.1)
- Ability to develop technical skills in photography and situated media (P.3)
- Ability to demonstrate knowledge of current image-based practice (P.4)
- Ability to source, evaluate and utilise appropriate academic and professional references (R.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is delivered through a series of interactive lecture sessions and tutorials, as well as an opportunity to undertake a supervised industry placement related to expanded photographic practices, or an independent self-guided project which is developed in consultation with their tutor.
It includes learning strategies based on self-directed research and problem-based learning that involves students researching and developing their own solutions to professional problems. The subject is practice oriented, integrating individual and collaborative learning, as well as real-world professional industry experience.
The subject combines one (1 hour) interactive lecture session and one (2 hour) studio tutorial each week. In the second part of the course, students will undertake a (40 hour) placement in a commercial, industry related or institutional context related to photographic practices, or an independent self-guided project in consultation with their tutor that reflects an equivalent workload (40 hours).
In the interactive lecture sessions, students will be introduced to a range of professional and industry contexts, and provided with relevant OHS training. This will prepare them with relevant information and resources for their industry placement or independent project.
The tutorials will give students the opportunity to discuss questions and key ideas from the lecture, and will enable them to work towards their placement project in consultation with their tutor. Prior to each tutorial, students will be required to review relevant online material and prepare questions relating to the professional placement program. These tutorials will also allow students to prepare for their assessment tasks through work-in-progress presentations and feedback sessions.
The industry placement and independent project will give students the opportunity to gain creative and practical experience. Students are expected to undertake research prior to commencing their placement or project via a proposal and will produce a report on the related experience.
Content (topics)
The subject comprises:
- contextualising interactive lecture sessions that address professional conduct and issues relevant to industry and institutional experience (lectures)
- guided research that allows students to initiate and maintain independent understanding of industry contexts (research)
- supervised work placements that initiate the development of professional networks, vocational experience and work integrated learning
- reflective writing and presentation tasks whose outcomes are assessed in a collaborative environment.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Biography, Resumé, Folio
| Intent: | This assessment requires students write their own biography, resume and to compile a short folio to form a professional package to be shared with industry. For this task, you will write your own biography, resume and select images or key bodies of work that best demonstrate your capacity and practice to be combined in a professional pdf package. This assessment encourages you to strategically consider the professional orientation for the short term, identifying your own career goals and aspirations, as well as offering a reflection on the work generated over the degree and its agency. Whilst it is acknowledged that you are in the early stages of your career, you should also demonstrate clearly what specialist knowledge you possess and be able to clearly articulate what the objectives of your practice. The folio component of this assessment also requires you to implement archival records systems for your bodies of work and to demonstrate this in your image descriptions. See assessment task sheet for specifications. |
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, C.2, P.1 and P.4 |
| Type: | Portfolio |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: |
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Assessment task 2: Final Report: Longform insight
| Intent: | This assessment requires you to undertake an industry placement or independent project and then write a 2000-word article (in the house style of Medium). In this article you will discuss what your placement revealed about what it means to be a photographic professional in the twenty-first century. Increasingly, it is a requirement for employees of leading professional organisations to frequently publish professional insight on sites like Medium as a way of situating themselves as articulate experts in their given field. It is with this outlook that you should approach this task as someone who has been developing a specialist skillset in photography for three years, who can bring new insight to what it’s like to be starting out in the photographic industries today. When writing this, you will need to identify a particular angle or subject that you will address, as opposed to an overall report. Please look through the medium archives to familiarise yourself with this format. Unless otherwise negotiated, your placement should take place during the Stu Vac week. The article must not simply describe and log your activities, but critically reflect on the professional context with reference to quality sources detailing vocational information related to their chosen industry. This will involve identifying trends or new practices, enduring systems and skillsets, seeing particular aspects that may be disappearing and speculating upon where these industries are headed in the next 5-10 years. See assessment task sheet for specifications. |
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, A.3, C.1, C.2, P.3 and R.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 60% |
| Length: | 1. Completion of a professional placement program with a host organisation or independent project (40 hours). |
Minimum requirements
To pass this subject 80% attendance in all academic activities (interactive lecture sessions and tutorials) is expected. In addition to this, students must meet the requirement of 40 hours of professional activities agreed upon by their tutor. All listed assessment tasks should be submitted on the due date/time. The combined project grades should equal a pass grade or above.
Assessment is criterion referenced where a student’s level of performance is judged in terms of how well the objectives of the subject have been achieved as evidenced in submitted work. Assessment criteria relate to the learning objectives listed in this document. See briefs for specific details of assessment criteria for each project. To pass a project, work submitted should show satisfactory achievement in all learning objectives.