Placements

Increase your employability with a Placement Year

A Placement Year is an opportunity for you to spend a year gaining valuable work experience during your time at University.

It is a fantastic opportunity to apply yourself fully within an organisation, and could potentially result in a job offer. Extensive training is usually provided and the experience often mirrors the first year working in a graduate role. Placement years typically occur in between the penultimate and final year of your degree and last between 9 to 12 months; this is negotiated with your individual placement employer.

See which courses offer a Placement Year

Skeletons unearthed and student with clipboard

Unique opportunities for placements

Degree-with-Placement programmes in Archaeology at Durham offer the chance to build a 9-12 month paid professional placement into your degree. Placements can be arranged in varied employment sectors, but as a Department, we offer a unique chance annually for up to six students to work with our own commercial archaeology company.

Archaeological Services placements

Placements with our commercial archaeology company, Durham University Archaeological Services, provide a paid introduction to the commercial archaeology sector combined with training in a variety of professional skills. You will gain experience in the field excavating as well as working on lab and desk-based tasks, giving a broad knowledge of the work involved in working for a commercial archaeology unit. At the end of the placement, the skills you have developed will make it much easier to find work at higher levels within commercial archaeology.

Which degree programmes have a Placement Year?

Students in the following degree programmes will have the opportunity to apply for a Placement Year in their second year of study:

It is also usually possible to transfer to the placement year variant of our programmes from the equivalent programme without placement year.

Placements at Durham University

We offer a range of support for Durham University students wishing to undertake a placement year.
Work experience at Durham University

One of the most useful and beneficial ways of developing the skills employers are looking for is by gaining work experience.

Placements at Durham University

We offer a range of support for Durham University students wishing to undertake a placement year.

Work experience at Durham University

One of the most useful and beneficial ways of developing the skills employers are looking for is by gaining work experience.

Return to Undergraduate Study

Placement information

During your placement you will remain a student at Durham University but with reduced tuition fees (20% of what you'd usually pay).

You will have one main assignment and some progress reports to complete, and you will be supported by a placement tutor. Many larger organisations advertise placements on their website. It is always worth making a speculative application, particularly to smaller companies and third sector/charity or the voluntary sector. There may also be opportunities to work overseas or remotely on a relevant project.

Support for placement students