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Work Study Degree Programme

caution

This article requires some updates as there have been changes to the programme. Please submit a pull request with the relevant changes if you find any information to be out of date.

Introduction​

The Work Study Degree Programme (WSDeg) is a programme offered by the Career and Attachments Office (CAO) to select degree programmes and it aims to give students real world experience and the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. It does this through Internships at partner companies over Summer and Winter breaks and an Industry Sponsored Final Year Project (ISFYP) in addition to the standard 20-week Professional Internship.

Requirements​

In order to be selected for the programme, you need to have at least a 3.5 GPA as well as go through a selection process by the school in which you would have to write a personal statement explaining why you are a good fit for the programme.

Application Process​

You will be invited by CAO to join the programme if they choose to continue supporting DSAI for the programme. You will then have to write in your personal statement as well as submit your resume to the school. Once you have made it through this stage, you can apply to companies on CAO's internship portal to partner companies or self-source your own internship companies subject to CAO's approval. Thereafter, you have to ensure that the company is willing to host you for the next portion of the programme at the end of every block.

Benefits​

The biggest benefits to the programme are:

  1. you gain actual work experience for a longer duration than your peers in the regular stream as they are not required to take up as many internships as those in the programme.
  2. There is a lump sum payment of $3000 upon completion of the programme as a reward for your work.
  3. It will be indicated on your degree transcript that you have attended this programme in full.
  4. Your FYP is also industry sponsored, meaning you are tackling real world issues at work and helping the company achieve its business goals, which differs from school based FYPs which are generally research or proof-of-concept based.
  5. The company that you have worked with might also offer you a conditional job offer, which means you are employed straight out of school and you will not have to do any job hunting once you graduate.
  6. 13 AUs of BDEs will be consumed for this programme and hence you will have more time during the semester than your peers.

Structure​

The entire timeline of the programme is split into 3 blocks as shown below.

WSDP Timeline

Block 1​

This is your first foray into the working world and probably the most difficult part of the whole process. Since most companies are looking for interns with experience and longer term commitments (at least 6 months), it might be difficult for you to secure your host company for the programme as you are just getting started with learning your skillset. While the number of options available to students has increased over time, the companies are under no obligation to hire you as an intern, which further increases the difficulty.

Typically, it is difficult to get jobs that are related to Machine Learning and AI as you have not learnt those topics in school, unless you have prior experience of your own. Hence, typically students will end up in Software Engineering roles, which is a module you would have covered by the time you start working. This block lasts 10 weeks over Summer and you are free to extend that if you want to maximise your time at the company.

Block 2​

This block is the one with the greater flexibility as you can choose to take your 20 week Professional Internship in either Y3S1 or Y3S2.

note

Certain modules are only available in certain semesters so do plan your semesters ahead of time.

You also have the choice of picking a new company to work with or staying with the company you chose in Block 1. Ideally, you would have discussed the programme and judged how willing the company is to sponsor you for the remainder of the WSDeg. If you feel like your Block 1 company cannot provide you with what you aim to achieve at the end of the day, you should take your PI in Y3S2 as with the rest of your peers and take Y3S1 + Winter to look for a new company to intern at that will meet your goals.

Block 3​

This is the final and longest block of the entire programme consisting of 2 work terms and 1 year-long FYP. The school will confirm with you the company that you will be completing this block with by Y3S2 Week 10. As mentioned in the image above, you can only work with a company that you have worked with previously. Do check in with your company before confirming with them as to the kind of projects that they can offer you as an intern. They need to have a scope of at least a year with a final product at the end.

As this portion will overlap with your coursework, you will have to commit a minimum of 1 day a week at your company working on your FYP. Do take note to balance this with your other academic and extra-curricular commitments. You will also have internal school submissions and presentations to complete for your FYP so do take note of that.

FYP and Work Term 4​

Students can take any FYP project of their choice at the company as long as the company is willing to support it, it meets the needs of the company and there is sufficient depth to the project for it to sustain you for the whole year. You should have a discussion about this with your manager and your supervising professor in school.

The module will be automatically registered on your behalf but you will have to submit a project proposal form with your manager's signature with a short write up of what are the end goals of the project as well as the deliverables. Once the project is accepted by the school, you will have to give your professor a detailed plan of your timelines and what you plan to achieve within those timelines.

As mentioned previously, you will have to dedicate at least one day to the project per week but the more you can dedicate the better. Take note that you cannot be paid an allowance during the FYP period as you are no longer on internship. There is also a Work Term 4 which is a full time internship block (clarification needed if you can be paid as earlier batches did not have this). For Work Term 4 you will most likely just be doing your FYP as for most projects, this is the time when you would have collected your data or done up some sort of preparatory work so that you can execute the deliverable for the project. For ML projects, this is the time when you will start training your models and documenting the training progress.

note

Do follow any timelines and instructions given by your manager or supervising professor. The professor will be more hands off as this is an industrial project and he might not understand the full requirements of the company. However, do refer back to him frequently on updates on your work as well as for submission requirements.

Conclusion​

Overall this programme does impart a lot of relevant knowledge to students and can be a great kickstart to your career. If you have the chance to take it, it is greatly recommended to.

FAQ​

  • What happens if I fail to secure a company for any of the blocks?

You will return back to the normal DSAI track and will not get any of the benefits listed above. Any AUs not used from your UE/BDEs will be returned to you.

  • Can I still do more BDEs on top of the 21 AUs alloted for it?

Of course! You can additionally use your S/U option to learn the knowledge but not have it affect your grade if you so desire.

  • Will I get paid for the work?

Yes! CAO sets a minimum amount that the company has to pay you but the company might have a different renumeration structure. The allowance ranges from $1.4k typically to $4k for big tech companies, the latter of which are pretty difficult to get into. However money is not the most important thing. Focus on what your career goals are and if that company can provide you the skills necessary to achieve those goals.

  • Will I get a return offer after working with the company for so long?

This is a topic you will have to discuss with your manager to see if he has the headcount (budget) for an additional person. Chances are that they are willing to have you on the team (if you have performed well enough) as it saves them the cost and effort of hiring a new person. Do note that their offers are not a guarantee and the situation may change anytime.