Degrees with Employment Experience & other work experience opportunities

Degrees with Employment Experience (DEE)

A Degree with Employment Experience offers you the opportunity to further develop their knowledge, skills and understanding within an employment context by undertaking a one year work placement as part of your degree programme.

How does this work?

For most of our degrees, you can opt to apply for a year's employment placement, usually between the second and third year of your course. You work for a year, full time with an external organization in an area relevant to your degree. (It may sometimes be possible to work with two different organizations for six months each.) You are employed (and paid) by the external organization, but you remain registered for your degree at the University, with access to University services, and you will have ongoing contact with your academic tutors. Assessment for the year consists of a journal you keep during year, and a short critical piece of writing about one aspect of your work, the assessment does not affect your final degree mark, but you have to pass the assessment for the year in employment to be formally added to your degree qualification.

At the end of the year you return to the final year of your academic studies. When you graduate the year's employment experience is recognized in the official title of your degree, e.g. a Zoology degree would become 'Zoology with Employment Experience'.

You do not apply for a Degree with Employment Experience when you make your degree application. It is a option you can explore after you start your degree.

• Find out more about Degrees with Employment Experience

The links on the right give an idea of the range of employers with whom recent APS students have taken placements.

Other work experience opportunities

Work skills and experience can be gained in a number of ways in addition to the Degree with Employment Experience option.

There are a a variety of schemes and facilities in the University which are designed to facilitate you in finding work (voluntary or paid) which you can do alongside your degree (either part time or in vacations). There are also schemes to promote internships (usually summer vacation work placements in companies), provide opportunities for job shadowing, or insight courses, with commercial organizations.

There are also training and support services for work related skills development, ranging from simple things like advice on CV writing and interviews, through to workshops and courses on enterprise skills. The skills your acquire from work experience can also be formally recognized if you take the 'Sheffield Skills for Work' certificate.

Both the Department and the University Careers service provide support for you in thinking about and developing your career plans and employment-related skills and experience throughout the entire course of your degree.

• See the Careers Service work experience web pages for more information