Full Placement Year
Check eligibility - If you are eligible to take a placement you may be able to undertake a full placement year.
Where can I work?
You can do a full work placement year either home or abroad as long as you meet the necessary visa requirements of that country.
What are the requirements
To fulfil university requirements, your placement must be:
- 9-12 months (minimum of 36 weeks) is the standard requirement. For students going out on placement in 2020/21, the minimum number of weeks has been reduced to 30 weeks.
- Full-time hours (minimum of 35 hours per week). Please note: The minimum of 36 weeks is over ruled if your individual school programme specification requires that you must do more/less than 36 weeks.
Finding a placement
Click here for the four steps you should take to find a work placement.
6 months study/ 6 months work abroad
You may be eligible to do to do a split placement where you study abroad for 6 months and work for 6 months.
N.B: If you are on a Tier 4 study visa, remember to check whether a work placement will affect your visa - for guidance, contact the Student Immigration Team (Advice) via email: sitadvice@herts.ac.uk or by telephone: 01707 284800. This includes checking any restricted work placements.
International students (non-EU) can work full-time hours if they are undertaking a UH approved placement year as part of their studies. Outside of this, you can usually only work up to twenty hours per week – check your BRP card for how many hours you can work in term-time. You can undertake most types of work/work placement but you must NOT engage in business or self-employment which includes being a shareholder or owning a business. Self-employment can also include selling your own products or regular Ebay selling. You cannot take a placement as a professional sportsperson/sports coach. Professional sportsperson includes playing or coaching, paid or unpaid, at all levels in any capacity. This includes being registered with a national/youth/state/professional/semi-professional team. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you are involved with any type of sporting activity or coaching, please seek advice from the International Student Support team.
You also cannot be employed as an entertainer (including modelling) or doctor in training, and cannot fill a permanent full-time vacancy. UH international students are also not eligible to undertake a placement which involves solely being based from home.
If you are a University of Hertfordshire student, you will be able to work a maximum of 15 hours per week during term-time, regardless of whether you are a home or international student.