USyd shouldn’t force students to pay to undertake internships

Fabian Robertson opines.

The prevalence of unpaid internships is an unfortunate consequence of a hypercompetitive job market. What were once genuine opportunities to gain industry experience have now, in many instances, become tools of exploitation. Entire businesses can be run by teams of slave-like interns undertaking menial and profit-oriented work for their ‘employer’. While this certainly isn’t true for every unpaid role, the potentially exploitative nature of internships is well-documented.

Until policy is introduced to protect unpaid interns from exploitation, this will continue to be the reality for many. At the very least, individuals seeking unpaid internships should do so of their own volition and be aware of the risks involved. 

In many USyd degrees, however, unpaid internships are not only compulsory but cost students money. In MECO4115 for example, Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) students are forced to pay $765 to complete an internship as part of their degree (2020 fee). MECO4115 is run by two members of staff, involves two hours of teaching and a single pass/fail reflection assignment across the whole semester. 

According to the Unit Coordinator, staff work “with each student according to their individual career ambitions, draw on an extensive range of contacts and ensure the workplace is suitable”.

While the experiences themselves can undoubtedly prove valuable, students should not be forced to undertake them, let alone be forced to pay. The reality of unpaid placements is that interns are often tasked with work geared towards profit-making. Compelling students to pay to make money for external companies is inherently exploitative, regardless of educational value.

Students being sent out en masse to undertake unpaid work also has the potential to reduce the total number of paid opportunities in the industry. For if companies can merely supervise students to complete work for free, they may be less willing to pay a university graduate a fair wage to undertake that same work.

In a media industry where paid work is scarce, USyd should not be contributing to the exploitative treatment of students.

With units like MECO4115 where students pay $765 for two hours of contact hours, a single pass/fail assignment and an unpaid internship, it’s difficult to see mandated work placements as anything other than strategic attempts by USyd to maximise profitability.

Image: Unpaid interns protesting at the United Nations in Geneva. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images.