A placement is a period of work experience which is an integrated and assessed part of a student's degree, so they're different to an internship, which is extra-curricular. Placements require students to apply their learning from the course in the workplace and apply learning from the workplace in the course.
Did you know there are different types of placements? If not, we have a handy summary below to guide you through.
Placement Year or Year in industry
The majority of undergraduate degree programmes offer students the opportunity to complete a Placement Year with an industry partner.
Students can join the university on a degree programme where a placement is already featured or they can add in a placement Yyar once they have commenced studies.
The central Careers and Employability Service and specialist Placement Teams in Academic Departments provide in-depth support to students to assist them in securing opportunities and making the most of the placement year experience.
Over 500 students per year undertake a placement year with organisations across the UK and Internationally. There are a number of programmes to explore:
- Optional Placement Year
- Engineering
- Nottingham University Business School
- Biosciences
- Computer Science
Other Academic Departments that offer degree programmes with a Placement Year include (but are not limited to): Pharmaceutical Science, Chemistry, Maths, Cancer Science and Neuroscience.
Clinical or Practice placements
A wide range of degree programmes at the University of Nottingham offer placement opportunities that lead to a licence to practice. Examples include:
- Clinical Placements in the School of Medicine
- Practice Placements in the School of Health Sciences
- Veterinary Medicine Placements
- Placements in the School of Pharmacy
Other areas where placements are a fully integrated element of the degree programme include:
- School of Education
- MA Social Work degree in the School of Sociology and Social Policy
- BA Social Work degree in the School of Sociology and Social Policy
In the above examples, students will be supported by specialist teams across the University to access and undertake placements during their degree programme with a wide range of established partners and placement hosts.
Shorter term placements, internships and work experience
Students also have the opportunity to access a wide range of shorter-term placement, internship and work experience initiatives managed by the University whilst at Nottingham.
These opportunities can form part of an accredited academic module, they can be optional and recognised by the University’s Nottingham Advantage Award or they can be an extra-curricular experience.
Examples of Placements that can form part of an accredited academic module can be found in our Faculty of Social Science Placement Programme and our Faculty of Arts Placement Programme.
Extra-curricular initiatives
Extra-curricular initiatives offer students the opportunity to build their work experience alongside their studies and during vacation periods. Schemes including the Nottingham Internship Scheme, the Researcher Academy Placements Programme, the Digital Marketing Academy and Nottingham Consultancy Challenge can connect students from all degree disciplines and any level of study with work experience during their time at Nottingham.
These opportunities connect students from all degree disciplines and any level of study with work experience during their time at Nottingham.
I secured a placement with Proctor and Gamble, where I worked on improving their production equipment. The services provided by the Placement Team really helped, every time I applied for a role, I could have my CV checked to get the very most of each opportunity, I went to mock assessment centres and interviews that really helped in my preparation. MEng Product Design and Manufacture with Industrial Year.
Jamila Hamzayeva
Student of MEng Product Design and Manufacture with Industrial Year
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