The academic work you need to complete during your placement is set by either your course team or your module team, depending on what type of placement you are on; you will find the details of any assignments, research or development logs on your Placement Blackboard site.
Short placements (in a work experience module)
Your module team will set work for you to complete to pass the module; this will be specific to the module you are studying and usually requires you to apply learning from the module or the course to develop knowledge and understanding on a specific topic (e.g. an industry, sector, role etc.), and to develop your professional behaviours in a workplace. You may also be asked to conduct a piece of research to present your findings after the placement.
Your module could be worth between 20-60 credits toward your degree, so make sure you fully understand your intended learning outcomes for the placement and use the resources available to you.
You can find your intended learning outcomes in your module guide, along with other resources and any deadlines and submission details on your Module Blackboard site. Contact your module tutor if you need help.
Undergraduate sandwich placements (and the Applied Professional Diploma)
Similar to short placements, you will find the details on your Placement Blackboard site.
Undergraduate sandwich placements are not part of a module but they are an integrated part of all our sandwich degree courses and they are assessed by your course team for you to graduate with the full sandwich degree.
Some courses have final year modules which directly relate to the placement and some have modules which are enriched by having a placement experience to reflect upon and apply your real-world knowledge gained on placement.
During your sandwich placement, you should be working toward achieving the Applied Professional Diploma. To do this, you will need to successfully complete your placement year and work with your line manager and Placement Academic Adviser (or equivalent) to set goals and objectives and reflect on your learning throughout the placement.
You will complete a Synoptic Portfolio which will encourage you to combine elements of learning from your course together with the placement to show your accumulated knowledge and understanding of the subject area. This will enable you to demonstrate your ability to integrate and apply your skills, knowledge and understanding along with the breadth and depth of the subject.
This is tailored to every course to ensure it is relevant to your degree and graduate employment. Find out more on your Placement Blackboard site along with your Department’s submission deadline and submission point.
Postgraduate work experience placements
Each of our postgraduate courses has different requirements for the placement element of the course.
Your placement will usually be after your first year of study, and during your time on placement you should either continue working on your dissertation, or gaining experience for you to include in your dissertation upon return from placement.
Some of our postgraduate placements also include the opportunity for you to work toward achieving the Applied Professional Diploma. If your course includes this, you will find details on your Placement Blackboard site, or speak to your Course Leader.
If your course does include the Applied Professional Diploma, like our undergraduate sandwich placements, you will be required to demonstrate your ability to integrate and apply your skills, knowledge and understanding along with the breadth and depth of the subject. However, you will be expected to demonstrate this at a postgraduate level by applying skills, knowledge and understanding from your postgraduate course.
