The internship is open to Master and Graduate Diploma students. Upon approval of your proposed placement, it allows you to spend four weeks full-time, or part-time equivalent, working in a relevant cultural research role in a public sector, business or non-governmental organization. Assessment revolves around writing about the experience in a journal and a report, and then writing a supervised long essay about a related theme in cultural studies after the placement has finished.

Students with an approved internship will enrol in the following two units, usually in consecutive semesters, but simultaneously is also possible:
– GCST5906 Cultural Studies Internship Placement
– GCST5907 Cultural Studies Internship Project

The Department employs an Internship Officer, Ann Deslandes, who works two days a week (Thursday and Friday) from office J4.04 (Main Quadrangle A14), tel. 9036 7501, ann.deslandes@usyd.edu.au. Ann can assist with general queries about the internship process. Some answers to frequently asked questions about internship can be found here.

As part of their degree, Master of Cultural Studies students may undertake an independent research project under the guidance of an academic supervisor from the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, resulting in a dissertation of 10-15,000 words. Completion of a dissertation to a good standard is a prerequisite for students who do not have a recent Australian honours degree or equivalent to proceed to a research degree after their masters.

Students enrol in the following two dissertation units (usually, but not necessarily, in consecutive semesters) after approval of a viable project proposed by the student has been made by the Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator:
– WMST6922 Dissertation I
– WMST6923 Dissertation II

Pathways are a strategy for organising a program of study directed towards a specific area of interest or future employment. Master of Cultural Studies students may elect to take one of those listed below by choosing relevant units of study. Pathways are not compulsory. Alternatively, students may select any desired combination of core and crosslisted electives available on the program.

Candidates may choose to structure their course of study along one of the following pathways:

1. Cultural Studies in Gender is designed for current and future researchers in gender and sexuality related fields, including those working in education, public service, health and media.

2. Media, Society and Culture units explore the intersections of media and culture. The pathway is designed to be of interest to teachers of social and cultural studies subjects at secondary and tertiary level.

3. Culture, Diversity and Difference is designed to cater for the interests of those undertaking current and future research into cultural groups, ethnicity and race within the academy, public service and corporations.

4. Cultural Debates assembles a range of units on key cultural issues and includes survey-style courses designed to put those current issues in a scholarly context.

5. Cultural Studies in Religion offers a program of units exploring spiritual experience, belief and consumption in the contemporary world with a focus on identity, gender, concepts of the body and cross-cultural relationships.

6. Asian Cultural Studies offers units specializing in the study of Asian cultures, globalisation and crosscultural issues.

Students meet the pathway requirements by choosing at least three units from one of the sets of options (or two units if taking a dissertation or an internship). This is regardless of what other units they may take to complete the program requirements.