PP3PPY: Professional Placement Year

Module code: PP3PPY

Module provider: Philosophy; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 120

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Michela Bariselli, email: michela.bariselli@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: 2 October 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. 

1. To gain experience of the job application process through securing a self-organised placement 

2. To familiarise students with the professional work environment, provide opportunity for students to acquire new skills and to develop awareness of the sector/industry they are working in 

3. To increase employability through being able to demonstrate dedicated experience. 

4. To enhance ‘soft-skills’ such as team-work, communication, time-management and planning. 

5. To provide the student with the opportunity to contextualise and apply knowledge and the skills gained in the first two years of their undergraduate degree. 

6. To 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. 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. Prepare a written report of 2,000-3,000 words analysing and evaluating their role within the organisation, their own performance and development, explaining the rules of governance and other procedures affecting the role, and the skills, tools and methodologies employed. The report will provide an opportunity to research and critically evaluate alternative approaches, which should be of value to the employer and the placement student. 

Deliver a 15-minute presentation providing an overview of the organisation, how the student’s area of work fits into the organisation, detail the knowledge and skills learnt from the placement, and assess its value in terms of career development. 

1. Understand and take part in the job application process (CV, cover letter, assessment centre interview). 

2. Understanding of the internal and external factors impacting on the running of an organisation. 

3. Understand and build the key attributes and skills required of a graduate level role. 

4. Identification of future career path(s). 

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 co-ordinator, 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 request 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 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

This module is a placement or study abroad module and therefore the teaching and learning activities will predominantly, or entirely, take place away from the University of Reading. Your host organisation will normally advise you of the associated hours of your placement or year abroad. If the module includes any in-person activities at the University of Reading, these will be confirmed to you 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

This module is marked on a pass/fail basis. Students must pass each item of assessment to pass the 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