AR2PHY: Professional Placement Half-Year

Module code: AR2PHY

Module provider: Archaeology; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 60

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1, Semester 2, Summer and Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Duncan Garrow, email: d.j.garrow@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Rob Hosfield, email: r.hosfield@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Mini placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide you with the opportunity to explore a placement half-year within a professional environment of your choice. The placement half-year will give you the opportunity to build on and develop your transferable skills and personal and professional portfolio which is essential to securing graduate employment. If you are enrolled on or interested in the professional placement half-year you will be provided with specialist training and dedicated support to assist you in securing your own placement through a competitive process. The aims of this module are for you to:

1. gain experience of the job application process through securing a self-organised placement
2. become familiar with the professional work environment, and have the opportunity to acquire new skills and to develop awareness of the sector/industry you are working in
3. increase employability through being able to demonstrate dedicated experience.
4. enhance ‘soft-skills’ such as team-work, communication, time-management and planning.
5. have the opportunity to contextualise and apply knowledge and the skills gained in the first two years of your undergraduate degree.
6. enhance personal self-awareness and reflection, self-efficacy, adaptability, resilience.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand the professional environment including the employment opportunities (career paths) and requirements within the sector/industry.
2. Think critically and analytically about the work carried out on the placement and how it has contributed to the activity of the placement provider.
3. Reflect on your personal growth and professional performance in the work place; demonstrating industry-specific and transferrable skills, including communication and synthesis of information.
4. Demonstrate awareness of health and safety regulations relevant to the field in which you have been employed.

Module content

You are expected to secure and organise your own placement; each placement must be approved by the module convenor, with all necessary legal, health and safety documents completed before commencement.

The placement should be of a minimum of 4.5 months (20 weeks) with the content of the placement determined by the placement provider.

The placement must provide you with the opportunity to expand your knowledge and understanding of the working environment, and will provide you with situations to develop your ‘soft-skills’ (such as working on own initiative, flexibility, problem-solving and time-management). You will receive advice and support on securing a placement from the placement coordinator, the module convenor and the wider Careers team.

During the placement you must abide by the rules and regulations of the placement provider and respond to requests from the University.

Costs associated with undertaking a placement, in addition to the reduced tuition fee (15%), will vary according to each student and will be the responsibility of the individual to cover. These costs may include travel, visa, living expenses and in some cases clothing and equipment. UK students may be eligible to receive maintenance loans/grants from their Student Finance Authority to help with the cost of study. There is a limited placement bursary available from the University for home/EU students with a household income of £42,000 or less.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The onus of this module is on independent working, including work experience, learning by observation, training and doing.

Study hours

At least 7 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve all of the following to pass this module:

1. A mark of 40% in the written report 
2. A mark of 40% in the presentation
3. Satisfactory completion of the placement, which is determined by your progress throughout the year. Successful completion of a placement does not contribute to your final degree classification.
4. An overall module mark of 40%

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs