School of Business and Law Placement Years

Your experience

Whether you are a postgraduate or undergraduate student, completing a placement year will mean you’ll be graduating with a year’s relevant work experience – giving you a distinct advantage over others when applying for jobs and starting your career. 

Add to your CV 

Work experience can be a significant part of your education and career development, alongside the academic study of the degree course. A placement year also significantly adds to your CV and many students have received firm job offers, or direct access to graduate schemes. 

Doing a placement year also helps you to build industry contacts that will be invaluable when you graduate.

Support from us  

The Placements and Internships Team support you through the process of finding, applying for and completing your placement.

Helping at every stage; from CV and cover letter writing to applications, online testing, recorded interviews and mock interviews and techniques, they will also provide ongoing support and guidance, including regular meetings to ensure that everything is going well.

How it works

One of the benefits of studying at the University of Brighton is the structure of our undergraduate courses to include an optional placement year between your second and final year.

This helps you put your learning into practice and develops a number of personal and professional skills including communication, problem-solving, confidence building, research and report writing.

Placement years are designed to give you the experience of working in an area associated with your degree. You’ll take part in an interview process for a placement position, and are usually employed on a temporary or fixed term contract for the duration of your placement.

Your Placement Year Project 

As part of your placement year you must complete a work-based project that replaces your final year dissertation and contributes directly to your final degree mark. This will be how your placement year is assessed.

The aims of the placement year  

By the end of the placement year you should: 

• have a thorough understanding of the working environment and ethos
• have developed time management skills and completed specific tasks within set parameters
• be able to manage business relationships and integrate into a team environment
• have contributed positively to the company or department
• have built upon your interpersonal skills and confidence
• have a strong idea of your future career. 

Courses with placements 

The following School of Business and Law courses offer placement years as a part of their syllabuses: 

• Accounting and Finance BSc(Hons)
• Finance and Investment BSc(Hons)
• Economics BSc(Hons)
• Business Management BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Economics BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Entrepreneurship BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Events BSC(Hons)
• Business Management with Finance BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Human Resources Management BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Law BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Marketing BSc(Hons)
• Business Management with Tourism BSC(Hons)
• International Business Management BSc(Hons)
• Law LLB(Hons)
• Law with Criminology LLB(Hons)
• Law with Business LLB(Hons)
• Marketing Management BSc(Hons)

How to find a placement year 

We recommend that undergraduate students should start thinking about placement year in Semester 2 of their first year as applications for national companies open as early as late August/early September of their second year. Whilst a placement year isn’t guaranteed, our dedicated Placements and Internships Team will support all students throughout the process of finding, applying for and completing their placement year.

Whilst the team will assist you in finding a suitable placement year, giving you support and access to placement opportunities and recruitment fairs, you are responsible for applying for as many positions as possible to help your chances of successfully getting a placement.

Careers Connect 

As a School of Business and Law student you will have access to Careers Connect, an online placements system presenting placement options in the UK and Europe. It gathers together all the job opportunities, events and resources you need to help you with your professional development. It's worth remembering, there are several other websites to look for your subject area, do not just limit yourself to Careers Connect, the Placements & Internships Team have several links to help with your search.

Placement and Internship fairs 

A large Placements & Internships Fair is held in October each year  involving companies from well-known names such as Enterprise-Rent-a-Car, Nike, BMW and IBM, through to smaller and more local businesses.

How it works 

Postgraduate courses with an integrated placement year are available to full-time applicants who start their course in September. 

You will apply to roles and hopefully take part in an interview process for a placement year position with an organisation, and if you are successful, you are usually employed on a temporary or fixed term contract for the duration of your placement. 

Whilst your masters with placement will take two years, the placement year gives you the chance to apply your learning to real-life situations and challenges, to meet and network with potential employers, and have opportunities to get work experience in your area of expertise before you graduate – something that employers value highly. 

During your placement year you will also complete a business project. This project is assessed as part of your masters and, depending on the topic that is agreed between you and your employer, could also provide a valuable piece of insight for your placement employer. 

Sone of our placement partners include BMW, Bosch, Disney, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HSBC, IBM, Ipsos, L’Oréal, Nike, Metropolitan Police and The Pensions Regulator. 

Your Placement Year Project

As part of your placement year you will complete a work-based project that replaces your final year project and contributes directly to your final masters degree mark. This is how your placement year is assessed, and is worth 40 credits. 

Courses with placement year 

The placement option is only available to full-time students who start in September on the following courses: 

• Accounting (ACCA) MSc
• Brighton MBA
• Economics and Finance MSc
• Finance and Accounting MSc
• Finance and Banking MSc
• Finance and Investment MSc
• Finance and Risk Management MSc
• International Management MSc
• Management MSc
• Management (Human Resources) MSc
• Management (Entrepreneurship) MSc
• Marketing MSc
• Marketing (International Marketing) MSc
• Marketing (Digital Marketing) MSc
• Marketing (Branding and Communication) MSc

The majority of our postgraduate courses offer the option of a placement year. The following courses do not offer a placement due to the structure of the course, or accrediting body requirements.

• Diploma in Professional Studies in Accounting (ACCA) 
• International Law and Social Justice LLM
• Law Conversion LLM

International students

Our two-year masters are available to UK, EU and international students. If you are an international student, you will not require a work visa because the placement year is part of your studies.

Please contact us for more information about our two-year international study visa route for our masters with placement year courses.

How to find a placement year 

We offer the same placement year support to all our students, and recommend that masters students book a discussion with a member of our Placement and Internship Team in their first semester.

Placement years are not automatically guaranteed and it is a competitive process similar to making job applications.

Whilst the team will assist you in finding a suitable placement year, giving you support and access to placement year opportunities and recruitment fairs, you are responsible for applying for as many positions as possible to help your chances of successfully getting a placement year.

Careers Connect

As a School of Business and Law student you will have access to Careers Connect, an online placements system presenting placement options in the UK and Europe. It gathers together all the job opportunities, events and resources you need to help you with your professional development.

Placement and Internship fairs

A large Placements & Internships Fair is held in October each year  involving companies from well-known names such as Enterprise-Rent-a-Car, Nike, BMW and IBM, through to smaller and more local businesses.

MJ

I chose to take a placement year at Brandwatch whilst studying a Marketing (Branding and Communications) MSc (PGCert PGDip) as I was intrigued with the brand and their social listening platform.

During the 12 months, I worked with the Growth Marketing Team, who really allowed me to dive in and be curious, ask questions, take on responsibility and grow.

I got to work with so many parts of the team and partner with the paid media team, email marketing team, account-based marketing teams, and global marketing teams. Whether it was working on a slide deck to present to my supervisor, or getting to create a webpage to send to an account or potential client!

My greatest achievement was getting to be a part of the team for our London masterclass event – I got to meet a bunch of employees from all over the world and many of our current clients. It gave me such great insight into the company and what’s in the future for Brandwatch, but also the opportunity to see many of the other roles within our marketing focus, and plan for my future.

My placement at Brandwatch was so beneficial for me, I’ve learned far more than I could’ve imagined and gained such valuable real life work experience. I’ve strengthened my time management skills, my collaborative skills, and my abilities as a marketer.

My placement was so successful I have been offered full time, permanent position at Brandwatch.

Gabriella Devlin

I applied for a placement year whilst studying Law LLB(Hons) because I wanted to have the ‘feel’ for what it was like to apply for jobs as well as interviews. I had only ever interviewed/applied for part-time jobs between the ages of 16-18 and so I did not feel experienced. I also wanted to have experience on my CV to state that I had worked in the legal profession and get the ‘head start’ on other people who would be in the same post-grad situation as me.

The university provides a lot of support and has a website similar to a jobseeker website, but tailored to placement year students. It was so helpful to have as the placements and internships team looked into each of the jobs to ensure that it would be beneficial to me.

For my placement at Acumen Law I had to submit my CV and a covering letter and I was invited to an ‘in-person’ interview at the firm. I was given a scenario to prepare for the interview which consisted of a short presentation about why I would be suitable for the role as well as the scenario detailing what I would do in specific situations and how I would respond to emails.

During my time on placement, I was able to experience many different projects across all legal departments and also experience the business world.

I worked on many legal research projects which broadened my understanding on how to conduct legal research. I also was able to work alongside solicitors to complete contract reviews, business sales, exchange and completion of conveyancing contracts, blogs and case bundles.

During my placement year, I was offered a part-time job at Acumen Law to carry on throughout the rest of my studies! Therefore, my placement year really helped for me to get a job post-graduation!

Being able to experience the ‘real’ sector has allowed me to prepare for future firms. I can demonstrate that I can complete legal research as well as other works.

Why do a placement year?

Students who complete a placement year increase their final degree grade, are more career focused, develop their in-depth and practical understanding, transition easier from an academic to a work environment, improve personal communication skills, problem solving and confidence building and are generally one step ahead when starting their career.

How much could I earn?

Salaries vary from employer to employer, depending upon the degree of responsibility involved in the job and the location where you will be working.

On your placement year you can expect to earn between £17,000 and £25,000, with the average salary somewhere around £20,000. MBA students who already have significant work experience may be able to achieve higher salaries.

Please remember that your focus and priority for your placement year is on the value of the learning experience as a key component of your course.

A successful placement year at a reputable company/organisation is an investment in your future and should be viewed by the value of the experience, skills, knowledge and potential openings that it may bring rather than a short-term high salary.

When can I start?

Some employers have a specific date on which they want you to start, usually between June - September. If they do not, then you need to negotiate a starting date with them. Please do not book holidays until you are sure you know your placement year starting date.

The company will also determine the finish date. It will usually be twelve months after you start, but you may be able to arrange an extension, or some may be a shorter time of 10 months. If another student is taking your place the company may ask you to stay on for at least a week or two, in order to hand-over to your replacement.

What support will I get during my placement year?

You will receive the support of the Placements and Internships Team throughout your placement year, should you need it at any time. You will also be allocated a personal academic supervisor who will support you in developing your placement year project.

Can I still use the library or My Studies?

As a registered student you can use all university facilities and some areas you will still be able to claim student rates for public transport.

Finance for placement years

Our 2024–25 fee for the professional placement year is £1,500 for home students and £2,280 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation, but these are the only fees that you will have to pay for this year apart from your usual living expenses.

This fee includes the support of the Placement and Internship Team throughout the placement year as well as an allocated personal academic supervisor to help develop your placement project and mark it as well as access to all the university facilities.

Student Loans

If you receive a tuition fee from Student Finance England then this will cover your placement year tuition fee. If you receive a maintenance loan from Student Finance England,  you will also receive about 20% of that loan throughout the placement year, depending on your individual financial circumstances.

Council tax

Council tax exemption is not guaranteed. It is at the discretion of the local authority. Most local authorities do give placement year students full exemption, but a very few will only give discounts and one or two give discounts to placement students living in university-approved accommodation only. It also depends on who you share accommodation with. If it is other full-time registered students, exemptions are the norm.

However, if you live with wage-earning graduates you may have to pay in full. You may wish to check with your local council.