Add a postgraduate work placement to your course

You can choose to add an optional professional work placement year to many of the postgraduate courses at Kingston University. The placement year is an excellent way to gain valuable work experience and is an opportunity to develop the skills employers are looking for. The placement option is available for both home and international full-time students.

You must find and secure your own placement, but you can make use of the University's career support services to help you. The placement will be undertaken after the taught portion of your course.

Courses with professional placement

Take a look at the courses where you can add the optional professional work placement year:

Kingston School of Art courses

You can add an optional professional work placement year to the following courses in the Kingston School of Art:

Kingston Business School courses

You can add an optional professional work placement year to the following courses in the Kingston Business School:

Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing courses

You can add an optional professional work placement year to the following courses in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing:

Support, fees, application and programme structure

More information about the professional work placement year:

How we support you with your placement

You will need to find and secure your own work placement by the deadline date specified by your faculty in the programme structure, but we are here to support you:

Before your placement

  • Introductory session to the UK Placement market.
  • Additional workshops to support CV development, applications and interviews.
  • Access to online jobs boards to support your job search.
  • Face-to-face support with careers advisers via drop-ins and appointments.

During your placement

  • Check-ins with the University to see how you are getting on.
  • Access to University services including library, wellbeing and other support services.

After your placement

  • Post-placement event to meet other placement students.
  • Access to the Careers and Employability service once you have graduated.

Fees for the placement year

Invoicing on the placement courses is split into two stages:

Course fee

The standard course fee is payable at the start of Year 1. Please visit your course page for the course fee.

Placement fee

The placement fee is invoiced at the beginning of Year 2. The placement fee amount will only be charged to your account after you find a placement and are enrolled on the work placement module. You will not be charged this fee if you do not manage to secure a work placement.

Fees for the placement year are:

  • £1,420 – for courses starting in 2021–22 (placement starting in 2022–23)
  • £1,385 – for courses starting in 2020–21 (placement starting in 2021–22)

Health surcharge

International students applying for a Student Route visa will need to pay the £470 non-refundable immigration health surcharge up front for both years.

How to apply

To apply for a placement year, find the course you are interested, then select the two-year 'with professional placement' option on the 'apply for this course' screen of the course page.

You can request to change your course to the two-year 'with professional placement' option, if you have already applied for, and been made an offer for, the one-year standard course.

Programme structure – Kingston School of Art

General programme structure for courses with professional placement in Kingston School of Art:

September cohort

  • September 2022 to May 2023 – Taught modules
  • Depending on your course, you can choose whether you start your professional placement in May 2023 (before your final project) or in September 2023 (after your final project).
  • Deadlines will be confirmed once your placement timing is agreed

January cohort

  • A January intake is not offered in Kingston School of Art.

Programme structure – Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

General programme structure for courses with professional placement in the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences:

September cohort

  • September 2022 to May 2023 – Taught modules including dissertation/final project
  • September 2023 – Deadline to confirm placement (exact date to be confirmed by Schools)
  • September/October 2023 to September 2024 – Professional placement (maximum 12 months)

January cohort

  • January 2022 to February/March 2023 – Taught modules including dissertation/final project
  • January 2023 – Deadline to confirm placement (exact date to be confirmed by Schools)
  • February/March 2023 to December 2023 – Professional placement (maximum 10 months)

Programme structure – Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing

General programme structure for courses with professional placement in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing:

September cohort

You will do the placement at the end of the course:

  • September 2022 to September 2023 – Course duration
  • 10 August 2023 – Deadline to confirm placement
  • September/October 2023 to September 2024 – Placement

January cohort

You will do the placement at the end of the course.

  • January 2022 to January 2023 – Course duration
  • 1 December 2022 – Deadline to confirm placement
  • January/February 2023 to January 2024 – Placement

March cohort

You will do the placement at the end of the course.

  • March 2022 to March 2023 – Course duration
  • 1 February 2023 – Deadline to confirm placement
  • March/April 2023 to March 2024 – Placement

International students

The work placement is an assessed part of the course. If you are an international student, you will need a two-year visa to cover both the taught part and the work placement component of your course. 

Please get in touch with the visa and immigration team if you have any visa queries or need further support – we are here to help.

Visa requirements for the placement year

If you would like to add a placement component to your postgraduate course, you should meet the Home Office's requirements for a Student Route visa.

Please apply for/request the two-year 'with professional placement' option before your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is issued, so the 12-month placement can be included.

Can I switch to the two-year option?

If you choose to switch to the two-year 'with professional placement' course after you arrive in the UK, you can still take up the opportunity, but you will need to secure a placement before you can submit a new Student Route visa application from within the UK.

Take a look at the process chart (PDF) and the frequently asked questions (PDF) if you are considering switching to the two-year 'with professional placement' course.

What happens to my visa if I can't find a placement?

If you decide not to pursue the placement option, or if you do not manage to secure a placement by the deadline, you will be switched back to the usual one-year course and complete your degree in the standard 12 months (this will not affect your grade).

If you are an international student, then UK Visa and Immigration will be alerted about the course change.

Funding

Please note that courses including the work placement option are not eligible for US Federal funding.

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