Connected Degrees®

Optional work placements are periods of time spent in employment with organisations in the private, public or voluntary sectors. Optional placements differ from mandatory placements which are a compulsory element of the learning experience within professional courses e.g. teaching, nursing and social work.

Placements taken between your second and final year are often referred to as ‘sandwich placements’, as employment is sandwiched between two academic years. Sandwich placements typically last from 9-12 months. It's important for students to be aware that many placement roles are aimed specifically at students in their penultimate year of study. So, students are strongly advised to seek early advice from the placement team to avoid missing opportunities that might only be available as a sandwich placement. 

Connected Degrees give students the choice to take an optional work placement either as a traditional sandwich year or, if they prefer, after their course. For UK students, when the placement option is taken after the final year, work placements can be three, six, or nine months in duration, depending on the student and their placement provider. For international students, due to current UKVI legislation, placements must be twelve months duration and be completed by the course end date.

They have a number of potential benefits, including:

• Alignment with recruitment practices of many graduate recruiters, who actively seek placement students as a part of their hiring strategies
• The potential for placement students to be invited back after graduation, for a graduate role
• The opportunity for placement students to bring technical and subject knowledge into their final year
• Improved academic performance, with sandwich placements on average improving final degree classifications by up to half a degree classification
• Improved job prospects, with placement students 15% more likely to gain professional employment than other students
• Enhanced salary on graduation
• The opportunity for placement students to use their final year to apply for jobs, with an enhanced CV

Taking an optional work placement at the end of your degree course has a number of potential benefits, including:

• Valuable work experience
• Extra time for students to evaluate their options
• The possibility of being offered ongoing employment after an optional work placement, and to progress straight into a job
• The opportunity to graduate with your undergraduate classmates, before starting your optional work placement
• An opportunity to put into practice three or four years of learning
• The opportunity for graduates to try out an employer or sector without a long-term commitment

Whether you choose to pursue an optional work placement as a sandwich option, or at the end of your course, optional work placements are not guaranteed. It is the responsibility of students to apply for and secure optional work placements, with support from the University.

All optional work placements remain subject to approval by the University using its standard process and in line with the University’s Optional Placement Policy.

Each year, around 20-30 Home Students choose to undertake a Self-Employed Placement during their course, in which they are supported to start their own business. Students opting for a Self-Employed Placement (or SEP) are given advice and support throughout their placement year, including access to office space on campus from which to operate. This option is not available to students as a Connected Degree after graduation, although UK graduates can still access ongoing advice and support to start businesses.

International students are not permitted to undertake Self-Employed Placements either during or after their course, as their Student Visa, or Home Office legislation, do not allow them to engage in business activities including starting a business. 
 

Every home and international undergraduate student starting an undergraduate course from September 2024 is able to undertake an optional work placement at the end of their course, with specific rules for international students under Home Office legislation. The option for is not available to postgraduate students. 

Home students who choose to take an optional work placement after their course will graduate with their cohort at the end of their final year of study. Depending on when their optional work placement commences, their graduation ceremony may be during or before their placement. 

Due to Home Office regulations, international students who secure an optional work placement after their course, will graduate after completing their placement, and after completing their placement assessment. This will be a year after their undergraduate course finishes.

Students can choose to work or study abroad as a sandwich year and then take a post-study work placement.

However, students cannot take a study abroad year at the end of their course, and they cannot take two work placements.

Find out more about study abroad options

Optional work placements, during or after your course, can have a lot of benefits. However, not every student can, or will want to, do a work placement and so there are lots of other opportunities at the University, within and outside of our courses, for students to gain valuable work or voluntary experience. 

These include opportunities available through the Students' Union, such as being a Course Rep or taking on a leadership role in one of our many clubs and societies, and volunteering with a local organisation through the Careers and Employability Service. Students gaining additional experiences like these can gain recognition through our Portsmouth Award, which can be added to your CV or LinkedIn profile. 

If you want to increase your work experience, but an optional work placement isn't for you, visit our Careers and Employability Service for advice. 

Whether you choose to do your optional work placement during or after your undergraduate course, you will get support with:

• Searching and applying for suitable roles
• Writing applications and preparing for interviews
• Navigating competitive recruitment processes
• Deciding the right time for them to do a placement
• Access to ongoing support from the University during the placement

Students choosing an optional sandwich placement will also benefit from placement preparation sessions embedded into our taught courses.

Home students will pay a reduced tuition fee to undertake a sandwich placement, currently set at 15% of the full tuition fee for each year. There is currently no fee for home students to undertake an optional work placement after their course. 

International students will pay 15% of their tuition fee for their placement year, regardless of whether this is taken as a sandwich placement or after their course.

Home students choosing an optional work placement as a sandwich year may be eligible for a tuition fee and reduced maintenance loan. They should contact the University’s Student Finance Team for detailed individual advice but, in broad terms, the maintenance loan for the placement year is based on the placement location, salary, and residence (i.e. whether living at home or elsewhere). 

Optional work placements taken after our undergraduate degree courses are not eligible for Student Finance support under current rules.

Students who plan to take their placement as a sandwich must communicate notice of the accepted placement offer by 31 July in their second year of study (L5). 

Students who plan to take their placement at the end of their degree, must communicate notice of the accepted placement offer by mid-February in the final year of their studies.

If you're not sure when to take your placement, don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to settle into your studies and explore your options before making your choice. However, please do start thinking about this during your first year, as some placement opportunities may only be available to you during your course.

Decisions to take a placement are usually made early in your second or third year – depending on when you choose to take your placement. Careers and Employability can help you decide before you start looking for opportunities.

Once you've decided, our Careers and Employability Team will support you through the recruitment process as you search and apply for placements.

All students undertaking a sandwich placement will be required to undertake a pass/fail assessment before progressing into the final year of their course. Details of this assessment, including submission deadlines, will be communicated to students before starting their placement. 

Home students will not be required to complete an assessment if their placement is after their undergraduate course. Due to their visa requirements, international students choosing a placement after their course will need to complete a pass/fail assessment.