The Engineering accrediting body Engineers Australia, states that 'exposure to professional engineering practice is a key element in differentiating a professional engineering degree from an applied science degree' and requires engineering graduates to have exposure to professional practice.

Who is required to complete Engineering Professional Practice?

All UQ Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Master of Engineering and Master of Engineering students.

What am I required to complete to graduate?

  1. Complete 450 hours of professional practice approved by the Faculty, and;
  2. Satisfactorily complete five (5) reflections from your Engineering Professional Practice experiences, referring to the Engineers Australia competencies. See more information here: Reflection Assessment Writing guidelines;

The 450 hours of professional practice can be broken into two parts as outlined below:

Visit the activity table

450 hours of professional practice

Type A hours
Type B hours

A minimum of 225 hours in an engineering environment under a degree qualified engineer to be claimed for Type A hours

Remaining hours can be made up of a range of allowable professional practice activities.

*you can claim all 450 hours (type A hours) in an engineering environment under the supervision of a Degree Qualified Engineer. 225 hours is the minimum amount of Type A hours you must attain.

Examples of what you can claim

  • Up to 75 hours of paid work outside of an engineering environment may be claimed– i.e. working at Kmart or McDonalds. (Category 3)
  • Significant industry exposure through pre-approved UQ Courses (Category 5)
  • Up to 75 hours of tutoring at UQ may be claimed, including tutoring in a non-engineering course (category 4)
  • Up to 75 hours of engineering-related site visits may be claimed, approved site visits (category 6)
  • Up to 160 hours may be claimed through an approved study tour (category 9)

And much more!! 

*A professional engineer is someone who is degree qualified in engineering. Supervisors that do not hold an engineering qualification but hold an equivalent or related qualification may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Faculty. Email your request for approval to employability@eait.uq.edu.au

When completing hours in an engineering environment, students can undertake any type of engineering practice – i.e. the engineering work does not need to be in the same engineering discipline that you are studying. Engineering practice may be undertaken in Australia or overseas.

You cannot be supervised by a near relative or close associate as this would be a conflict of interest. Examples of near relatives are parents, partners and siblings. Examples of close associates are friends and neighbours.

Students who have undertaken industry placements or work experience as part of previous engineering degree or diploma studies may be able to claim these hours. 

Students submitting official documentation in a language other than English to support an EPP claim in any category - need to submit the original document AND the English translated version (exact translation, not an extract). The translated document needs to be translated by a registered NAATI qualified translator and the translated version needs to have the NAATI stamp imprinted on the translated document. You can find a NAATI qualified translator here.

2. Submission deadlines​

2023 submission deadlines​

Semester 2, 2023 Graduation:

  • Professional Practice hours claims (Type A & B) must be submitted in the EPP system by 5pm Friday 22 September 2023.
  • Reflections must be submitted through Blackboard by 5pm Friday 22 September 2023. Reflections submitted by the deadline will be marked in time for graduation checks.
  • If you have missed the deadline, you will need to follow these instructions to seek an extension from the Associate Dean, Academic. 

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