Some programs at the university require an internship, generally those programs that are 21-month track. If you are in that track, you will be supported by the university in your efforts to locate a suitable internship. The internship allows you to gain a better understanding of the practical challenges facing today’s institutions, adding greater depth of knowledge and experience to an already robust degree.

Internship Requirements

1. The Internship must be full-time and total at least 400 hours for most programs, 280 hours for MISM Global.

2. The Internship must be professional and include work that is of importance to the organization

3. The Internship should be of significant educational value and should reflect your career interests

4. Your prospective internship employers are urged to view the guidelines so they're fully aware of their roles and responsibilities.

• Guidelines for Internship Supervisors  MSPPM
• Guidelines for Internship Supervisors  MSIT
• Guidelines for Internship Supervisors  MISM

5. Formal supervision during the internship should be provided so that your performance can be assessed

6. To fulfill the internship requirement, you must fill out the Internship Reporting Form and the Internship Evaluation Form Internship Evaluation Sheet

Students do not receive academic credit for their internship, but it will be reflected on their transcript as a course with a P/F grade.

If you're enrolled in a degree program that requires an internship, you will be responsible for securing a suitable internship. Career Services will assist you in your search through counselling, workshops, and internship opportunity listings in At CMU Portal.

Advantages of a Carnegie Mellon Internship

The inclusion of internship into your program provides you with a range of advantages which can enhance your career opportunities and allow you to develop the practical skills you need to advance your career.

As an Intern you will:

• Apply management and technical skills learned during the first year of your program
• Gain valuable industry knowledge
• Build a network of contacts within your career field or industry
• Accumulate evidence of your abilities and skills allowing you to list real world experiences on your résumé
• Build confidence, interpersonal, negotiating and communication skills
• Gain insights and feedback on what it takes to be successful in the field
• Achieve a competitive advantage in the interviewing process
• Be able to live and work in another city or country, gaining an international experience

Internship Placements and Partners

CMU-A students find internships in government agencies, private companies, international community development organisations, think tanks, consulting firms, and non-profit organisations. 

Internship Stories

One of our MSIT students, Jai Girdhar, has just completed his internship with the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) in the Cyber Security and Risk Assurance team. 

'Jai is a joy to work with. He is a diligent and dedicated worker who has shown great initiative and delivered on all tasks assigned to him on time, and to a high standard. Over the course of his time spent with us here in DPC, Jai has bonded well with all of our team and the dynamic of the group and he is considered a valuable asset and contributor.' 

    - Paula Oliver, Principle Adviser, Cyber Security & Risk Assurance, Office for ICT & Digital Transformation, DPC

Public Policy and Management student receives SA Health commendation for successful internship

Public policy graduate student, Jika Shaibu Mlewa, is an Australia Awards Scholar from Malawi.  Prior to joining CMU, she was working for the government as the principal auditor.  She is also a mother of three lovely children, two girls and a boy.

While searching for her postgraduate course, Jika was looking for a program that covers a range of subjects that would complement her accounting and auditing background and provides her with real work experience in an Australian organisation. 

“CMU in Australia provided everything I wanted, a program that combines finance, economics, public policy, anti-corruption, IT and an invaluable internship. I pressed the button and never regretted my choice,” said Jika.

Jika commented that internship was important to her postgraduate program because it gave her the opportunity to practise the skills of policy formulation she learned in class and apply them in a real world scenario.  During her recent internship at SA Health, she was involved in a project to develop a guideline on placement requirements for all health professionals.

“I did policy mapping to see if there were any gaps that needed to be addressed; stakeholder mapping to evaluate the roles and responsibility of all relevant stakeholders; as well as stakeholder engagement and these were the main components of policy development. The project involved a lot of research on placement requirements and integration of requirements not only within SA Health, but also with other SA government agencies such as Department for Education and Child Development (DECD), Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) and SA Aged and Extended Care sector.

It was amazing, I have gained a lot of confidence in myself and in my field of study with the guidance of my supervisor, Frances Graetz.  I have learned to be an effective team player because each time you were given a task, you were required to say how far you have gone with it at the group meetings which were held regularly.  Not only did this help me with the project, it also helped me improve my interpersonal skills.  Above all, the environment was welcoming and warm.”

In her letter to CMU, Ms Catherine Turnbull, Chief Allied and Science Health Advisor of SA Health, commended Jika for her contributions to the project.  “The development of a state-wide policy for pre-placement requirements for health student clinical placements has been an ongoing issue for South Australian placement administrators… The policy guideline that (Jika) developed will be extremely useful to numerous stakeholders in establishing clear processes and ensuring compliance. Ms Mlewa should be congratulated for completing this complex piece of work.”

Photo above: Jika Shaibu Mlewa, CMU public policy graduate student and Australia Awards Scholar.

Jika will be finishing her studies in September and her plans are to go back to Malawi to serve her people. 

“I am going back to Malawi, would have loved to stay but Malawi needs me.  I need to go back and contribute to the social and economic development of my country. The exposure, the education I have attained here coupled with my experience will help me make an effective contribution to the development of sustainable policies that aim at bringing dignity to the people as well as embracing the gender component.

Apart from ensuring compliance and accountability in the use and management of public resources through timely quality audits, I will also dedicate my time working with lobby groups on policies that favour girl’s education, maternal health, social inclusion and equal opportunities for women both in the workplace and community.

Australia Awards scholarship saved me personally and professionally and I want to give back.  I have set up a fund to offer secondary school scholarships to 5 girls who cannot afford school fees starting this September.  This one time scholarship will see the five girls through secondary school and I will mentor them and be their role model.  You never know, one of them might come to CMU under the scholarship one day.”