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NAT-30010 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

NAT-30010 - Work Placement Year
Coordinator: Alix Cage Tel: +44 1782 7 33177
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 0
Study Hours: 654
School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

Students may not register for both the International Year and the Work Placement Year.

Description for 2025/26

In a competitive job market, employers are increasingly prioritising candidates who exhibit more than just academic excellence. They seek individuals who possess a comprehensive understanding of professional workplace dynamics, alongside robust employability skills, in addition to their academic achievements.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences Work Placement Year provides undergraduate students across a range of programmes to undertake a placement within an industry of their choice between year 2 and 3 of your academic studies. The placement may be directly related to your degree, but this is not a requirement of the module. Our Work Placement module therefore offers you the opportunity to acquire valuable work experience, develop both professional and personal skills, and enhance your employability to work towards a successful future career.

Aims
The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to carry out a long-term work-based learning experience within an industry of their choice between Years 2 and 3 (Levels 5 and 6) of their degree programme. The module will be underpinned by reflective assessment, action planning and support from the Placements and Projects Manager and Academic Placements Link.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Self-evaluate areas for professional development, including knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours required for a specific career or sector  : 1
Communicate knowledge, skills and professional behaviours demonstrated and developed through engagement in the year long placement  : 2
Critically reflect on the broader personal and professional development throughout the placement experience  : 2
Formulate a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) action plan outlining potential future personal and professional development objectives  : 2

Study hours

The majority of hours will be dedicated to participating in the placement with the expectation of ongoing independent study and scheduled sessions. Typically, placement related activity hours will vary due to variations between provider expectations. The Work Placement Year mandates a minimum of 24 weeks in duration, ideally on a full-time basis, but no less than 21 hours per week, equating to 504 placement hours, but this may be higher (students who require a visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement depending upon the programme, and may have to undertake a placement of a longer duration of at least 30 weeks to meet UKVI and monitoring regulations). The placement can continue for up to 12 months, provided that the necessary assessments are submitted and passed for progression into final year (FHEQ Level 6).
Active learning and teaching (20 hours) include:
- Placement Preparation Sessions including placement options and identifying potential placements
- Application and interview preparation sessions
- Health and Safety Online Learning
- Approval processes
- Reflective writing
- Skills Audits and action plans
- Assessment information sessions
- Regular progress meetings with the Placement Officer (and placement provider where appropriate)
Independent study (130 hours):
- Preparation of the assessments on the module

School Rules

To undertake the Work Placement Year, it is normally required that students must have achieved an average of 50% across all modules in Semester 1 at Level 5. Places on the Work Placement Year are then conditional on achieving an average mark of 50% across all Level 5 modules.
Students with up to 15 credits of re-assessment who meet the 50% requirement may progress to the Work Placement Year.
Where no Semester 1 marks have been awarded performance in 1st year marks and ongoing 2nd year assessments are taken into account.

Description of Module Assessment

1: Portfolio weighted 30%
Skills Audit and Placement Plan  
Students will use their placement experience to carry out a skills audit, evaluating their existing knowledge, skills and professional behaviours, and critically comparing these against industry expected norms as identified in the workplace and sector, and as articulated in professional literature (including but not limited to labour market information). Students will then use their skills audit to formulate a placement plan of intended learning outcomes and planned activities, and justifying how their placement can support their personal & professional development.   Word count is 1,000 words and will be submitted in semester 1 of the Placement Year.

2: Options weighted 70%
Employability presentation
Students will deliver an oral reflective account of their placement experience, aimed at informing Level 4 and Level 5 students about their employability experience and demonstrating the development potential of a Work Placement Year. Students have a choice on how they deliver this account: it could be a video of a powerpoint presentation, a Youtube vlog, a podcast or a Sway that includes video discussion. The account should last 15 minutes, and include evidence of critical evaluation of peer-reviewed literature on experiential and work-based learning. Reference lists can be either produced as a powerpoint slide/s, as part of the sway or as part of the post or comment on a podcast/YouTube video. In the reflection account, students will critically reflect on: a) why they chose to undertake a Work Placement Year and why they chose that placement; b) the role and activities carried out during the placement; c) how their knowledge, skills and behaviours developed during the placement and how this relates to their Assessment 1 action plan and possible unintended learning outcomes; d) advice for students (top tips or 'things I wish I had known'); and e) a continuing professional development (CPD) action plan outlining potential future personal and professional development objectives.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025