Software Engineering BSc(Hons): Sandwich year placements

You can apply to do a one-year industrial placement as part of this degree, meaning the course takes four years instead of three. This is known as a 'sandwich year'. You undertake the placement in your third year (between years two and three of your degree studies).

A placement year bears no resemblance to the kind of work experience you might have done at school. For a start, it lasts for about a year, and it certainly won't revolve around photocopying and tea making!

You'll be doing a proper job with a proper company – and earning a salary. It doesn't even necessarily have to be in the Kingston area. Many of our students work in or around central London, and some have even been sent to represent their companies at conferences around the world.

Why take a placement?

A placement provides relevant work experience so that you can:

• improve your chances of graduating with a higher grade degree – 81% of our placement students (compared to 34% of our non-placement students) got a first or 2.1*;
• enhance your CV with relevant work experience to help you get a good graduate job – many employers even have a graduate programme to fast track their placement students to a graduate job; and
• earn a year's salary whilst studying (most placements are paid) – in 2011/12 salaries were typically between £13,000 and £20,000.

100% of our placement students recommend doing a placement*.

[*Faculty of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics, now part of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, 2008.]

Where might I take my placement?

You might choose a placement in an area that complements your course, or in a general working environment which will add to your all-round career development. Placements can be with large multinational companies, international companies, local companies or small start-ups.

Recent examples include IT data analyst at AXA and technical project manager at 7dots (a start up SME).

How will you help me find a placement?

Getting a placement and passing the placement year are ultimately your responsibility. However, we offer lots of support for students looking to secure a placement, such as help with writing CVs.

Name: Bhavit Shah
Course: BSc(Hons) Software Engineering
Placement company: Merrill Lynch

"I spent my sandwich placement at Merrill Lynch, working as an analyst developer for 15 months. I delivered a web-based application for the private banking sector of the firm, which automated several processes.

"I'm still in touch with my colleagues and it's great to know that the application I developed is still being used in more than 16 offices across Europe and the Middle East. I achieved a prestigious 'Spotlight Award' for my contribution to the company.

"The placement office at Kingston provided outstanding support when I was preparing for the placement. I still remember knocking on the office door several times a day, either to get my CV checked or to get updates on my job applications!

"Mock interviews also helped me to develop my interview skills. The staff's relentless efforts meant that I secured job offers from companies such as Microsoft as well as Merrill Lynch.

"The placement completely changed my views and learning style. Once I returned to Kingston for my final year, I started thinking about the practical implementation of each subject. My final year project was done for Merrill Lynch, which provided excellent project management skills."

Read more about what Bhavit is doing now in the After you graduate section and his experiences at Kingston in the What our students say section (where you can also read about fellow student Jeyaram Deivachandran's sandwich placement).