BU is currently in the top three in Great Britain for the most undergraduate students on work placement * - and that’s not just students on four year sandwich or NHS courses.
If a placement isn’t already integrated with your degree course you can still benefit from opting to take a 30-week placement in industry after your second year, extending your course by a year.
Placement policy update (optional placements)
If you plan to opt in to undertake a placement from the 2017/18 academic year, you need to be aware of an important change to the BU Placements Policy (as per paragraph 6.2.1 of 4K Placements Policy and Procedure).
The policy now states that you need to have secured and authorised placement by 31 August, otherwise you will proceed into level 6 of your programme (previously you only had to advise us that you wanted to take a placement year by August and have it secured by December).
Your placement year will usually be no less than 30 weeks, although your faculty will advise you of any requirements specific to your course.
You can find the Student Agreement and all BU policies in the Important Information section of the BU website.
Organising your optional placement
There’s loads of support to help you find the right placement. We’ve got great links with local, national and international employers aligned to all of our subject areas, and our Placement Coordinators are ready to help you find the perfect match. Our Placement Opportunity Fund can also help some students with more practical things like expenses for interviews, essential tools, as well as Standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
The first thing to do is tell your placement team that you are interested in taking a placement year, as soon as possible. It's good to give yourself time to research and prepare for your placement and there's some guidance in the Careers section of our website and on MyCareerHub to get to you started.
Once you have found a potential placement opportunity, we’ll need to check that it’s suitable for your learning needs, and our huge range of careers resources and advice will help you with job applications, CV skills, interview technique and more.
You'll need to arrange and have your placement confirmed before the 31 August, so the sooner you get started, the better. If you miss that deadline, you can continue straight on to your final year.
Finances and placement advice
If you do opt to take a placement year, make sure you have considered the financial implications for any money borrowed from Student England Finance loans if you do not secure a placement by the deadlines set.
#MyPlacementStory
Taking a placement year is a great way of gaining practical experience in the work place before you graduate, and employers tell us the practical experience BU students bring with them is a key reason they like to employ BU graduates. Our #MyPlacementStory has some great examples of how you can be making a difference in the work place.
So, what are you waiting for?
Check out placement opportunities in MyCareerHub and talk to your placement team now… the sooner you do, the sooner you can run through all your options!
*According to the DLHE Survey 2015/16 published by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 2017
