If you opt for a four-year course, the third ‘sandwich’ or ‘placement’ year enables you to gain work experience. Placements usually last twelve months, but sometimes two six-month placements are arranged. An academic member of staff oversees the placement process; he or she works with the placements secretary to identify suitable placements and to assist you in making your application.
Large numbers of placement opportunities are advertised in various ways by our Placements Secretary. The application and interview process provides excellent preparation for your applications for other jobs in the future.
While on placement you will be visited twice by a member of academic staff to check on your progress, and to deal with any problems you might be experiencing. On successful completion of the placement and submission of a report you will be awarded a Diploma in Professional Studies.
By the end of the placement year, you will have gained valuable work experience relevant to your subsequent career, developed a range of transferable work skills, acquired a diploma to verify your experience, and probably bolstered your bank balance after a period of salaried employment.
The placement work done by students is extremely varied, and is undertaken with multinational companies, consultants, local councils, wildlife trusts, research institutes and many other types of organisations.
The range of experience offered by a work placement within any of our courses is usually supplemented by access to training courses, conferences and seminars run by the employers for placement students in post. These activities can lead to professional qualifications which will be of use in the job market when you graduate. Even more importantly, you will probably have access to a reputable reference relating to your work which will be invaluable when you start to apply for jobs.
There is no doubt that the experience of the placement year can be of positive benefit. It increases your appreciation of the relevance of your academic studies to practical work, helps you to choose your final-year options and future academic direction. It enables you to see the relevance of your studies, giving you increased motivation (and, on average, better achievement) in your final year. It gives you increased confidence and maturity, and makes it that much easier for you to obtain that all-important first job after graduation. It also offers you a break from your studies, and keeps you in touch with the real world. Moreover, the salaried nature of most of the placements makes a real difference to your standard of living for your final year.