CSA3986: Faculty of Arts and Humanities Placement Year

• Students must successfully complete Level 2 of their existing programme so as to be eligible to progress to Level 3 of that programme. They must have secured an approved placement year opportunity equivalent to 40 weeks full time work experience. Students must have attended a pre-placement briefing or meeting with their department/Faculty Placement Manager.

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• The aim of this module is to enable students to develop transferable and subject level skills in the workplace, which will contribute to broader practical and applied knowledge of their subject and career planning. Students will be responsible for securing approved Placement Year opportunities equivalent to 40 weeks full time work experience.
• The module aims to:
• Enable students to gain experience and skills in researching, applying for and successfully obtaining a suitable placement opportunity;
• Enable students to gain a sustained period of work experience which supports their practical and applied knowledge of their subject and future career aspirations;
• Support students to make more informed decisions with regards to their own career planning;
• Enhance students understanding of their academic knowledge, skills and learning can be applied in the workplace;
• Ensure students can reflect on their actions and develop a sense of agency when working with others; and
• Develop a range of transferable skills which can be utilised in an academic context as well as in the work place.

• Students will complete an approved placement opportunity equivalent to 40 weeks full time work experience.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

Subject-specific Skills:

Key Skills:

• By the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Prepare and effectively apply to a placement opportunity, demonstrating an effective CV and/or application relevant to the placement experience;
• Understand a work environment; how it functions and their contribution to it;
• Reflect on key skills by undertaking a skills audit at the beginning and completion of the placement and create identifiable objectives to help develop them;
• Gain an understanding of how their placement experience will help support career planning;
• Communicate with a range of audiences and be able to outline their placement experience to a non-specialist audience;
• Create a poster than conveys their placement experience (including key benefits and outcomes) to a non-specialist audience;
• Demonstrate their ability of how they have used their knowledge, skills and learning from academic work in a work-based learning environment; and
• Produce an evidence-based account of the acquisition of key professional skills and competencies attained during the professional placement.

• The placement year module is designed to provide a work-based learning opportunity where students will gain a range of transferable personal and professional skills which will support both their academic learning and employability
• The focus of the module is the minimum 40 week full time or equivalent professional level work experience which students will undertake as an additional year between their 2nd and 3rd year. Students will receive support prior to, during, and after their placement
• Pre-placement workshops will focus upon the identification of skills, the creation of CVs/applications, developing an online presence and securing a placement
• The pre-placement briefing will cover:
• - Managing risk on placement
• - Managing expectations
• - Using your degree knowledge, skills and experience on placement
• - Reflection to help students undertake a skills audit (which feed into the summative assessments)
• During placement all students will receive email correspondence from their Placement Tutor via email or telephone. A mid-placement visit will also be conducted to allow for formative feedback on the placement and to create a dialogue between the student, Placement Supervisor and Placement Tutor.
• Whilst on placement, students will be encouraged to undertake independent work and professional development opportunities in relation to their chosen placement
• Across the placement, students will critically reflect on their experience and create two reflective assignments as part of their summative assignments
• To support their reflection, students will be asked to complete a skills audit (or provide evidence and share the outcome if they have already completed a skills audit) at the beginning of their placement, this will then be reviewed mid-point and at the end of their placement
• When students return to Durham they will take part in a poster conference where they must present to their peers and department representative

Completion of a skills audit before and after the placement. At the start of the placement, the outcome of the audit will be shared with their Placement Supervisor and they will jointly create a set of objectives to focus their improvements on.

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