GV2PPY: Professional Placement Year

Module code: GV2PPY

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

Credits: 120

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Professor Nicholas Branch, email: n.p.branch@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

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

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Maxi placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore a placement year within a professional environment of their choice.  The placement year will give students the opportunity to build on and develop their transferable skills and personal and professional portfolio which is essential to securing graduate employment. Students enrolled on the professional placement year will be provided with specialist training and dedicated support to assist them in securing their own placement through a competitive process.

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Have an understanding and appreciation of 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 their personal growth and professional performance in the work place; demonstrating industry specific and transferrable skills.
4. Apply the skills and knowledge acquired in their taught courses to tasks in the work place whenever possible.
5. Be familiar with the health and safety regulations relevant to the field in which they have been employed

Module content

Students are expected to secure and organise their 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 9 months (40 weeks) with the content of the placement determined by the placement provider.

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

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

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The onus of this module is on independent working, including work experience, learning by observation, training and doing. As part of the learning, students will be expected to:

Maintain a weekly learning log during their period of employment.

Prepare a written report of up to 2500 words outlining the company and placement role; providing an account of the activities and tasks undertaken, and critically reflecting upon the placement experience.

Create an A3 poster providing an outline of the placement role & responsibilities, their experiences and benefits of the work placement. The poster will be presented by the student (oral presentation) at a networking event with those of other placement year and summer placement students. Other students, academic staff and placement providers will be invited to attend the event.

Study hours

At least 5 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 an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

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