Most of our undergraduate courses offer professional placements, which help you gain vital work experience and skills.
To make sure you're in the best place to take full advantage of your placement, our Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences placements team offer lots of different sessions and tools to help you.
We work to ensure that you're supported from the moment you start at Bath through to the point you leave the University.
Due to our strong connections with many companies, we regularly host events with potential employers. During these, you can speak to professionals from various companies and find out more about the opportunities and requirements open to you.
Here are the sessions and support we provide.
During Year 1, you'll have timetabled PDP sessions that cover placement preparation. These are taught by our placements team.
During these, you will learn what is expected of you during your professional placement. You'll also find out about the key considerations surrounding your placement search, such as:
In Year 2, you'll also be required to attend five PDPs, but the sessions will be focused more on finding your placement and the specific skills you'll need for roles you've identified.
Throughout these sessions, you'll find out how to create CVs and cover letters that stands out to employers.
You'll work with your Placement Officer during Year 1 to find out more about the skills and experience that relevant employers are looking for. This will help you when you come to apply for your placement during your second year.
You will use this feedback to write an example CV and cover letter, which you'll present to your Placement Officer for feedback.
By the end of Year 1, you should have the skills to tailor your CV and cover letters to a range of employers ahead of your placement search when you return to the University to start Year 2.
You will also learn how to use Bath resources, such as MyFuture, and social media platforms like LinkedIn to discover opportunities, expand your network, and showcase your skills as a young professional.
Throughout Year 2, you can visit your Placement Officer for one-to-one appointments and attend our drop-in sessions (which we host twice each week).
During these, you'll receive bespoke support and feedback for your placement applications, and have the chance to talk about your CV and cover letter writing, interviews, and competency tests. You can also book a session to run through a mock interview.
If you're struggling to decide on what type of placement might suit you, your Placement Officer can give advice and provide recommendations by matching your interests and strengths with different sectors and employers.
During your placement, you will have regular check-ins with a dedicated visiting tutor from Bath, who will also be your primary point of contact for all placement questions. This could be a member of our placements team or an academic from within your Department.
You will complete regular check-in surveys, in which you can notify us of any problems you may be encountering during your placement. There are also self-reflective assignments, which are important for tracking your progress on placement. Your visiting tutor will go through them with you to ensure that you are progressing and meeting your placement goals, and discuss whether you feel supported.
Where possible, we will visit you on-site during your placement.
While you're on your placement, the University's services are all still available to you.
When you join us, you will find all of the information you need on Moodle such as guides, recorded lectures, and details on the University's placement policies. These will remain available to you while you're on placement.
You'll also be able to access the following services throughout your time as a Bath student.
There are lots of reasons to do a placement during your undergraduate degree
Find out more about placementsIf you have any questions about doing a placement with us, just ask. You can also follow us on Instagram to see what our students are doing on their placements.