Professional Placement Year (Type B) (C8901)

120 credits, Level 5

Autumn and spring teaching

This module augments and amplifies the overall BPS-accredited Psychology degree objectives. It is designed to improve your employability by facilitating unpaid work placements in the third year of your (four-year) degree in Psychology.

The aim is to:

  • provide you with the opportunity to experience the practical aspects of psychological work
  • be able to apply what you have learned during the first two years of your degree
  • receive further training in the skills associated with your specific work placement.

For instance, among the professional placement opportunities coordinated through the School are clinical placements with the Sussex Partnership Trust. These clinical placements offer opportunities for those accepted to gain first-hand experience working with professional psychologists in select clinical areas. This includes areas such as:

  • learning disabilities
  • ageing and dementia
  • substance abuse.

Note that unpaid (rather than paid) placements are only appropriate in non-profit organisations such as the NHS or charities – such placements are not appropriate for the private sector.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 1200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 8 hours of contact time and about 1192 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.