Work placement
All Leeds University Business School undergraduate courses include the opportunity to apply for a year in industry, giving you the chance to put what you have learned into real-world business practice, adding valuable work experience to your degree and increasing your graduate employment prospects.
If you take this option, your degree will be extended to a four-year programme with the third year spent on placement.
If you are considering a joint honours course with business, please check the course page to find out if a year industry is available to you.
Year in industry
The year in industry allows you to take a paid, full-time work placement for 9-12 months within either a small, medium or large employer in the UK or overseas. This popular option will help you to develop practical workplace and life skills and gain valuable work experience, which may help you decide what kind of job and career path you might like when you graduate.
Taking a year in industry also gives you the chance to demonstrate to employers that you are independent, capable and confident of adapting to a working environment. It helps you to build links and networks with potential employers and possibly gain a job offer for when you graduate.
Our year in industry students typically return for their final year of study with greater confidence and increased focus, as well as an improved work ethic and a range of transferable skills which are sought after by graduate employers. Many students achieve greatly improved academic marks in their final year after returning from a work placement.
During the placement you will also study a year-long training in the workplace module, enabling you to reflect on your work goals, values and the skills you have gained on placement. You will also be supported by your placement tutor throughout the year.
I developed my working knowledge of corporate finance and private equity during my placements at PwC and Dymon Asia Capital working on real-world business projects.
Finding your work placement
We believe that applying for a professional work placement is a valuable part of the year in industry experience. You will develop important transferable skills that will help you to succeed when applying for, and working in, graduate jobs in the future. That’s why our students apply independently to employers and complete the training in the workplace module during their placement year too.
You decide if you want to undertake a year in industry. We help you by offering support, including the option to take a second-year module, from study to work, which develops your job-seeking skills. The module includes sessions on; where to look for placement opportunities, making applications and how to do well in psychometric testing, interviews and assessment centres.
Many of the sessions are delivered by top graduate employers such as IBM, Nestle, Pfizer and EY. Students who are currently on, or have recently returned from their placement are often involved too.
Potential employers
Below are just some of the organisations that our students have completed placements within recent years:
Accenture | Aldi | Amazon | Apple | Airbus | Aston Martin | Atos | Bank of England | BDO | BMW | British Chamber of Commerce | Deloitte | Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) | Dyson | EY | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) | First Direct | General Electric | Goldman Sachs | Grant Thornton | GSK | The Home Office | HM Treasury | IBM | KPMG | Jaguar Land Rover | Johnson & Johnson | Kantar | Mace | Marks & Spencer | Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains | Microsoft | Mondelez | Morgan Stanley | Nestlé | Network Rail | NHS | Nike UK Ltd | Nintendo | Pfizer | PwC | Rolls Royce | Samsung | Sony | HM Treasury | Toyota | The Walt Disney Company | TUI Travel | UBS | Unilever | Virgin Media | Volkswagen | Warner Brothers | Warner Media
How much will the year in industry cost?
Tuition fees are substantially reduced for work placement years. Visit the University of Leeds finance page for the latest information.
How do I apply for a year in industry?
You don't need to decide until the start of your second year whether you would like to apply for a work placement. It is advisable to achieve a minimum average mark of 60 or higher in the first and second year as employers will be looking for good grades, however this is not a placement requirement.
Upon successful completion of the training in the workplace module and meeting all other academic requirements, the word ‘Industrial’ will be added to your degree title.
If you have any specific questions about the year in industry please contact LUBSPlacements@leeds.ac.uk.
Please note: currently international students can apply for the year in industry in the UK, however, students will be required to extend their student visa. Further details can be found here.