Science industry experience that helps you stand out
Studying at university is about more than learning new concepts — it's about building the skills and experience that prepare you for a successful science career. At UTS Science, we believe the best way to do that is to bring real-world industry experience directly into your studies. That's why every UTS Science degree includes work-integrated learning opportunities, from science internships to field trips and everything in between.
What is work-integrated learning?
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is where study and industry experience meet. It embeds real-world, professional experiences into your university education, giving you hands-on exposure to the kinds of challenges you'll face in your future science career. WIL also helps you build a professional network that can open doors: through guest lectures, science internships, and industry research projects, you'll connect with influential professionals who could shape your career trajectory.
The type of work-integrated learning you'll experience depends on your chosen degree. Below are just some of the industry experience opportunities available at UTS Science.
Science internships
A UTS Science internship is a professional placement in either a science-related business or a UTS laboratory. Over several weeks or months, you'll work in a real professional environment, applying your university learning to genuine scientific problems. In most cases, you can use an elective subject to complete your internship placement and earn academic credit toward your UTS Science degree. Science internships are available across most UTS Science degrees.
"Don’t be scared to put your hand up for any internship or placement opportunities. These experiences become the window of opportunity to trial and learn what you want to do with science."
Alicia Felix
Bachelor of Medical Science, Bachelor of Business student
Examples of placement options
Guest lectures
Gain direct insights into your future science career with guest lectures from leading industry professionals. Professional guest presentations are a regular feature of all UTS Science degrees, exposing you to the full breadth of the science industry — from laboratory scientists and researchers to entrepreneurs and big-picture visionaries. These sessions introduce you to the real-world challenges and emerging opportunities shaping the contemporary science profession, helping you think beyond the classroom from day one.
Field Trips and Hands-On Environmental Science Experience
If you're studying Environment and Marine Science at UTS, our Environmental Science courses take learning beyond the lecture theatre with immersive field trips into the ecosystems you've been studying in class. You'll gain practical, hands-on experience in the natural environment — from conducting stream and lake assessments and collecting field data, to investigating wildlife ecology and examining environmental management issues firsthand. It's real-world environmental science experience that deepens your understanding and strengthens your graduate employability.
Field trip locations include:
- Blue Mountains National Park
- Great Barrier Reef
- Herron Island
- La Perouse
- Manly Dam
- Royal National Park
- Stroud
Industry-Led Science Degrees Built for the Real World
At the UTS Faculty of Science in Sydney, our degrees are shaped by the people and organisations driving science forward. Our industry network spans science leaders, biotech innovators, health institutions, and science-aligned organisations across Australia — all with a shared goal: making sure your education reflects what the sector actually needs.
These industry partners co-design our course content and real-world projects, and deliver science business workshops with entrepreneurship at their core — giving you the practical skills and professional networks to graduate career-ready.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
- Seer Pharma brings direct industry insights into our Bachelor of Molecular Biotechnology, connecting students with current trends in pharmaceutical science and drug development.
- NSW Health has supported the design of core subjects in our Bachelor of Medical Science (Laboratory Medicine Professional major), ensuring graduates meet real clinical and laboratory standards.
- Inventia Life Science, a leading Australian biotech company, is partnering with the UTS Faculty of Science from 2025 to pilot cutting-edge bioprinting technology in our medical biotechnology subjects — giving students hands-on experience with emerging biotech innovation.
This is work-integrated learning at its best: industry partnerships that go beyond guest lectures to genuinely shape how, and what, you learn.
Research opportunities
Get industry experience right here on campus with research opportunities in our world-class labs. You could work on an in-class research project or pursue a research internship in one of our leading scientific facilities, all under the guidance of leading science thinkers.
Explore a variety of research placement options we offer in these labs:
- AFTER body donation facility (Forensic Science)
- Biologics Innovation Facility (Molecular Biotechnology and Medical Science)
- Chemical Technologies Research Facility (Chemistry)
- Environmental Research Facility (Environmental Science)
- Future Reefs Lab (Environmental Science)
- Proteomics Core Facility (Molecular Biotechnology)
- Surgical and Anatomical Science Facility (Pre-Medicine)
Extracurricular programs
A science degree isn’t just about the study of all things science. It’s also an opportunity to build complementary skills that can prepare you for a truly dynamic career. If you’ve got a ground-breaking science business idea, bring it to life with UTS Startups, one of Australia’s leading entrepreneurship hubs. Got the travel bug? Apply for the New Colombo Plan Scholarship Program and take your studies to one of more than 40 overseas countries.
Science work experience that gets you where you’re going
UTS is among the world’s top 100 for graduate employment outcomes, proof that our students stand out in the market.
Piper Cole thinks maths is beautiful. UTS showed her why.
From passionate teachers to real-world opportunities — Piper found community and opportunities that make UTS unlike anywhere else.
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Dr Emma Camp shares the skills, challenges and rewards of studying life in the ocean.
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Piper Cole thinks maths is beautiful. UTS showed her why.
From passionate teachers to real-world opportunities — Piper found community and opportunities that make UTS unlike anywhere else.
What it’s really like to be a marine biologist
Dr Emma Camp shares the skills, challenges and rewards of studying life in the ocean.
Life finds a way
Forensic scientist and PhD student Bridget Thurn is untangling the mysteries of life, death and what it means to be human.