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Placement Years

Adding a placement year to your course is a great way to develop your employability skills and enrich your learning with real-world experience. Placement years are also frequently known as a sandwich year, work placement, industrial placement or year in industry and are completed between your penultimate and final year of study. As part of your degree, you work in an organisation for an agreed amount of time (usually a minimum of 30 weeks, though most opportunities are a full year). You'll gain valuable skills and insight into a particular sector, industry, company, or job role which will help you define your career goals.

Completing a placement year extends your course from three years to four - if you're unsure whether a placement year is the right option for you, there are opportunities to switch onto the placement pathway during your second year, so you don't need to decide right away. You can talk to our Careers, Employability and Enterprise team or your course tutor who will help you decide. 

International students studying on courses which include a placement option may choose this pathway - our International Advice team can help with any visa queries. 

A student walking down the stairs

Benefits of Doing a Placement Year

  • You'll gain confidence and relevant experience

  • Most Placement Year opportunities are paid

  • Apply the academic knowledge you've learnt in your first two years to the workplace

  • Boost skills and competencies sought after by employers

  • Improved marks in your final year (evidence shows that often those who have done placement years see a boost to their grades)

  • Clarification of your career goals - decide what you like (or dislike)

  • Stand out from the crowd and improve your job prospects after graduating

  • Networking opportunities

  • Some placement year students are offered graduate positions with the company they completed their placement year with.

"My placement year with Leicester City Council and Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is giving me a really good idea of the options open to me when I graduate. I’m keeping a diary so I can record what was involved with the different projects I’ve worked on which will be really useful to look back on when it comes to applying for graduate positions in my final year."

Abbey, Placement Year student on the BSc Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Science course

More Information

Whilst it is your responsibility to find and secure a position for your placement year, you will be supported throughout by our friendly placement advisers. 

  • How to approach your placement search
  • CV and Cover Letter support and review
  • Preparing you for interviews and other selection techniques
  • We'll also share details of great placement opportunities related to your chosen studies and areas of interest
  • Encouraging new local organisations to consider offering placements to our students every year
  • Placement preparation events - where you'll be able to connect with our Work Integrated Learning Team and other students also planning to complete a placement year
  • As well as one-to-one support, we have a wealth of online resources to help you with the application process.

The search and application process also helps you build skills which will be essential when you look for graduate positions after you finish your course. 

If you've applied for a course without placement but there is a placement year pathway option for your chosen course of study, you can ask to switch course. 

The application process can start much earlier than you might expect. It's good to start getting application ready over the summer before you start your second year.  Placement Year support is offered by the Work Integrated Learning Consultants who are available all year round to support you with your placement search. 

Once you've received an offer, it's important to let the team know your good news so that we can make all the necessary preparations for you to go out on placement. 

During your placement, we'll stay in touch through regular check-in emails and meetings. And we're always on hand if you need to contact us. 

 

If you choose to complete a placement year, your tuition fees for the year will be approximately 20% of your usual tuition fee. This may be subject to change, so it's best to check with the team for up to date information. 

Many courses offer either optional or mandatory modules that include work experience. Work Integrated Learning Consultants can also support you with searching for and preparing for these work placements.