Work Placements
The Faculty of Biological Sciences
Institute of Life Science Education
The University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT , UK.
Dear Employer,
The University of Leeds, Faculty of Biological Sciences, is one of the largest in the country. We have some 600 undergraduate students in each year of study covering a wide spectrum of biological subjects. We actively help and encourage students to consider a placement year between their second and final years of study. Both our industry placement and study year abroad schemes are optional for students. Students are selected partly on the basis of their academic records. Consequently our students who opt for these schemes are academically able, self-motivated and enthusiastic.
We expect our students to be challenged while in placement and to be engaged in activities relevant to their areas of study.
Students will actively begin seeking placements at the start of their second year (from October) and continue through to Easter. It is the nature of the “university year” that students must generally commit to friends and landlords on accommodation agreements for their final years, around or before Easter of their second year. The “availability” of students for placements will therefore diminish significantly after Easter
Our Expectations
The Faculty of Biological Sciences promotes and supports students in work placements. Placements should generally run for a period of 10-12 months, between the students second and final year at University. Start and finish dates are negotiable but would generally run from July/August to August/September. We expect a work placement to be relevant to the student’s programme of study, and challenging. The main aim of any placement is that the student gains direct experience of practice in the workplace, and gains the opportunity to contribute to the process in that environment. The student must be protected by appropriate Health & Safety Guidelines. While in placement the student must be assigned a company supervisor(s), who would be responsible for monitoring and advising on their day to day work. Work placements are assessed; students are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis through the completion of a Work Profile and the submission of a written report and literature review. The company supervisor is expected to contribute to the assessment procedure, in working with the student to complete the Work Profile, and in providing a final general reference on the student. The student will also be assigned an academic supervisor who may be required to make a site visit. The Faculty will maintain regular contact with the student and their company supervisor. Wherever possible we would expect the placement to be salaried; a range of £9000-£15000 is not uncommon across the Bioscience sector. It is the student’s final decision as to whether they accept a placement that is not salaried or carries only minimal financial support.
If you feel you might have a placement opportunity suitable for one of students, please direct your enquiries in the first instance to:
David Forrest, Undergraduate Office, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT.
Tel: 0113 3433113. Email: FBSPlacement@leeds.ac.uk
Our Undergraduate Programmes
Each degree course has its own web section with detailed information including course content and structure, special features, careers, entry requirements and student profiles. Follow the links below to the relevant web section:
New Single Honours (2012 entry)
BSc Applied Biology
Single Honours : all offer industrial placement and year abroad opportunities
BSc Biochemistry
BSc Biological Sciences
BSc Biology
BSc Ecology and Environmental Biology
BSc Genetics
BSc Human Physiology
BSc Medical Biochemistry
BSc Medical Microbiology
BSc Medical Sciences
BSc Microbiology
BSc Microbiology with Immunology
BSc Microbiology with Virology
BSc Neuroscience
BSc Pharmacology
BSc Sport and Exercise Sciences
BSc Sports Science and Physiology
BSc Zoology