Placements
Enhance your employability, learn new skills and apply what you’ve learned in a work environment.
About placements
What is a placement?
A placement year involves working full-time in a professional setting while still being enrolled as a student. During this time, all your learning takes place in the workplace. You will be assessed throughout the year while retaining access to University support.
For undergraduate students, placements begin after the second year of study. For postgraduate students, placements start after the first year of study.
Why should I do a placement?
Your placement will be assessed and officially recognised in your degree title. This signals to future employers that you have completed an accredited, practical experience as part of your degree.
Gaining placement experience can significantly increase your prospects of securing a graduate-level job. It enhances the skills and knowledge gained throughout your degree, allows you to gain experience working in a particular sector or role, and helps you to make more informed career decisions.
My Placement allowed me to understand what I did and didn’t want to do. I learnt how to talk to people in the workplace and question things in the right way. I improved procedures and did testing, which helped me develop interpersonal skills and get things done on time. It also helped me know what to look out for in my exams, improving my final year grades.
My Placement allowed me to understand what I did and didn’t want to do. I learnt how to talk to people in the workplace and question things in the right way. I improved procedures and did testing, which helped me develop interpersonal skills and get things done on time. It also helped me know what to look out for in my exams, improving my final year grades.
Where to find a placement
Placements can be based in a range of organisations, from global names to small and medium-sized enterprises. You can source your role from anywhere as long as it meets the criteria. We recommend searching on these job boards:
- My Career Hub – For opportunities exclusive to Manchester Met students
- Student Circus – For visa sponsored jobs
- Rate My Placement
- Gradcracker
- Prospects
- TARGETJobs
Not every placement is advertised so take advantage of networking opportunities and events. You can connect with professionals on LinkedIn or speak with your current employer about potential placements. Use our guide for sending speculative applications.
Support to find and apply for a placement
You must search and apply for placements independently, but we can support you to build the skills and experience for successful applications.
- We run events, employer fairs and skills sessions throughout the academic year to help you connect with employers, discover opportunities and get the support you need. Find out about upcoming careers events.
- Get Placed is a series of events running throughout semester one to help you succeed in securing a placement. To find out more and book your place visit Get Placed 2024.
- Access our tools and resources to support you with CVs, cover letters, interviews and more, visit Get help with applications.
- Find out how you can speak to a member of the team and get your CV reviewed, contact us.
When to secure a placement
You should begin preparing your applications and searching for placements early so that you’re more likely to secure your ideal role. Employers recruit throughout the academic year, but some placement schemes close during semester one.
Placements must be approved by the Placements Team to be accredited as part of your degree.
The final deadline for having your placement approved for the 2025/26 academic year will be Friday 29 August 2025. However, as the approval process can take at least 4 weeks or more, you will need to declare your placement by Friday 25 July 2025.
Approvals and eligibility criteria
Placements must meet the following criteria:
- Full-time (usually 35 - 40 hours of work per week)
- A minimum of 36 weeks and up to 1 year in duration
- A paid role (National Minimum Wage or above)
- Broadly related to your studies
- Office/site-based or hybrid (minimum 1 day per month on site)
Your placement must provide a high-quality experience with a reputable company. All placements will be subject to several checks on both the role and the host organisation and must be fully approved by the University’s Placements Team before commencement. You must be on track to pass your current academic year and have no outstanding fees.
You will need to allow at least four weeks for the approvals process to be completed, and any placements deemed unsuitable will be rejected. We may also need to undertake some additional checks where we do not have an existing relationship with a company.
Fees, finance and visas
During your year on placement, you will be enrolled as a student, receive support and have access to all Manchester Met services including the Careers Service. You will pay reduced tuition fees of £1850 while on placement year (2024/25 rate).
Some undergraduate students apply for loans to cover tuition and maintenance. Eligibility depends on personal circumstances; get guidance from the Student Financial Support Team.
If you’re an international student looking for a placement, you must ensure your Visa covers the duration of your placement year. We will report placements to UKVI within 10 working days of the placement start date. For more information, visit visas and immigration.