Placement year
Every year hundreds of Nottingham students are successful in securing a placement year in a wide variety of industries.
If you want to immerse yourself in a the world of work to gain an insight into a career area, a specific company or industry, a placement year will be right for you.
Placement years help students develop a wide range of professional competencies, learn about sectors, job roles and increase your chances of securing employment after university.
I spent my year working with a brilliant team to learn how to be a buyer. I communicated with suppliers, had responsibilities for my own brands and built clothing ranges using trends, data and instinct. I learned so many new skills and met people who have moulded me into a person who is ready to face the world after university.
What is a placement year?
Sometimes known as a sandwich year or year in industry, a placement year is a period of work experience that can last between 9 and 13 months.
Placement years are typically taken by students after their penultimate year of study. Students can undertake placements aligned to their field of study or in an unrelated field that is linked to an area of career interest.
Students can join the university on a degree where this is an ‘integrated’ part of a four or five year course (e.g. BSc Management with Placement Year). These degrees are advertised via UCAS. Examples can be found in; Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Nottingham University Business School.
Options exist within these schools for students to transfer on to or off the degree with the placement year. Alternatively, students from other programmes can ‘add in’ a placement year once they have commenced their degree. For example, a student can start a 3 year BA English degree and in year 2 after successfully securing a placement transfer to a 4 year BA English with Placement Year degree.
This initiative is called the Optional Placement Year. Students are responsible for applying to and securing their own placement year.
Searching and applying for a placement year
The Careers Service can support you at all stages of your placement year search whether you have no ideas or a plan in mind.
Book an appointment and speak to an adviser
Search placement year vacancies on MyCareer
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university's control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.