Work Attachment (WA) / Internships

The current tracks that are available to students include the following:

Core WA

• Local WA / Internships
• Overseas WA / Internships (OWA / OI)

Alternative WA

• Community-Engaged WA (CE-WA)
• Entrepreneurial WA (E-WA)
• Interdisciplinary WA (I-WA)

You may download the Student WA Guidelines here for more information.

About WA

For students who are enrolled in a full-time programme at SUSS, you are required to complete a mandatory WA as part of the graduation requirement.

The WA helps students to make connections between their academic studies and the realities, and requirements of the working world through a supervised work placement with a Host Organisation (HO) in Singapore or overseas. 

Students are advised to apply 6 to 9 months ahead of your planned start date of the WA. The duration of the WA should be at least 24 weeks (you may use the WA Calculator). 

Students who wish to fulfil their Overseas Experience requirement, can choose to carry out their WA overseas, more details can be found here. 

Students who wish to work on their community engagement project at the same time, more details can be found here.

Application for WA can be completed with:

• SUSS' approved corporate partners (through InPlace@SUSS).
  Companies are independently sourced by students, provided that the job description and company are approved by SUSS (local companies must be registered with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and companies abroad must be a business entity that has been registered with the relevant equivalent local authority).

• Students' performance during the work attachment will be evaluated. The evaluation will be based on the feedback from the direct supervisor in the HO and from the WA Mentor, as well as on the submission and quality of the WA assignments. 

More information can be found in the document "WA Guidelines for Students", in InPlace@SUSS, under "Shared Documents".

Internships

Unlike the WA, Internships are not a graduation requirement. Internships are full-time, part-time or temporary work that students can choose to do to gather work experience, acquire work-related skills, earn pocket money, and build contacts.

Many employers these days consider not only educational qualifications but also professional background (i.e. work), during hiring. Therefore, students should have the appropriate educational background as well as relevant work experience. Students are strongly encouraged to do internships to strengthen their professional profiles.

Local SUSS students on Internships and Work Attachment are exempted from making CPF contributions and SDL.

Internships are done locally (local internships) and are managed entirely on by the students. While CDO may advise on the resume and cover letter, students will need to source for the internships themselves and start working when they are available.

For Full-time students who have decided to work with Social Service Organizations / Social Enterprises and want to fulfil Community Engagement (CE) requirements at the same time, may submit his / her CE Proposal (download from Canvas) to the Office of Service-Learning and Community Engagement.