Units / MPS5401
MPS5401 · Professional placement and research project
2026 Handbook24 credit pointsLevel 5Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
This unit builds on the professional and career skills and attributes developed in MPS5303 Career tools: bridging the gap. You will participate in an immersive placement in an industry or academic setting, where you will be able to apply a research perspective to workplace processes or conduct a research project. The placement will give you the opportunity to apply your scientific and professional skills in a workplace environment, refine your career goals and build a professional network.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Parkville | Second semester (extended) | Teaching mostly conducted outside of a classroom/campus environment and in a block (IMMERS-BLK) |
| Malaysia | Second semester (extended) | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scoping presentation: identification of a research or industry problem | Presentation | 5% | — |
| 2 | Thesis report proposal | Written | 10% | — |
| 3 | Thesis or report | Written | 50% | — |
| 4 | Final presentation: project outcomes | Presentation | 20% | — |
| 5 | Reflection: placement culture and context - lessons learned | Work integrated | 15% | — |
| 6 | Professional placement | Work integrated | — | Competency |
This unit contains one or more competency hurdle assessment tasks that you must successfully complete to be able to pass the unit. You have one attempt, plus an additional assessment, to demonstrate your competency in the competency hurdle assessment task. If you fail to meet the hurdle requirement, you will receive a fail grade for the unit regardless of the total marks you achieve.
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
prerequisite
- MPS5303 — Career tools: Bridging the gap
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate safe, effective and professional conduct in a workplace setting
- Identify and articulate knowledge gaps in your specific industry or research context, and design, justify and execute an experimental, data- or literature-based project to solve the identified problem
- Effectively and purposefully communicate data and project outcomes in written, verbal and visual form
- Critically assess scientific findings and make clear and logical conclusions based on data, defining the role and significance of your own work in the broader context of the field
- Reflect on your professional skills and experience in the workplace, and your understanding of the roles and contributions of others in your professional context.
Workload
• A minimum of 400 hours of professional experiential placements (full time - 5 days each week, 8 hours per day). • 4 hours of scheduled assessment activities. • 4 hours of scheduled workshops. • 60 hours of independent study (preparation of written reports and presentations).
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Workshops | 4 hours |
| Assessments | 4 hours |
Ask about MPS5401
Answered from the Handbook fields above — no AI, no guessing. Every answer links back to the source.
Community discussions about MPS5401
CommunityStudent experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.