A professional placement year is an excellent way to add value to your degree. It lets you put your skills and knowledge into practice and gives you industry experience that can help your CV stand out in the competitive market for graduate jobs.
During your placement year, you will work for a company and be treated like a graduate trainee. Many companies also offer additional training, giving you experience of commercial software and business practices.
As a student, you will be responsible for finding your own placement, but the Department’s Professional Placement Tutor and the University's Careers Network will support you. They have contacts with a wide range of industrial and commercial organisations.
Many students work with IT companies or other large industries, while others choose smaller workplaces. You can look for placements based on your interests or preferred location.
Additional award
This course comes with the option to undertake a professional placement for a year, at the end of which you will gain a Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS). This is an additional award to the final qualification you will receive once you have successfully completed this course.
Featured placement year companies
Our students have been able to spend their placement year working with some amazing organisations, including IBM, Microsoft, CERN, Sony, Caterpillar, Disney, BAE Systems, Hewlett Packard, GSK, PepsiCo, HSBC, Accenture, Samsung, Nissan, GE Aviation, Deloitte, Triumph Motorcycles, UBS, Fisher Scientific, BBC, the National Grid and Renault F1.