University of Essex

BE731-6-FY-CO:
Work-Based Placement

The details

Year: 2025/26

Department: Essex Business School

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Full Year

Level: Undergraduate: Level 6

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 02 October 2025

End date: Friday 26 June 2026

Credits: 120

Last updated: 02 September 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BSC N404 Accounting (Including Placement Year),
BSC N422 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
MACCN441 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN27 Accounting and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC NL44 Accounting with Economics (Including Placement Year),
BSC N392 Banking and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BBA N103 Business Administration (Including Placement Year),
BSC N204 Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N304 Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC N123 International Business and Entrepreneurship (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN2M Marketing Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N504 Marketing (Including Placement Year),
BSC N346 Finance and Management (Including Placement Year),
MMANNN36 Marketing Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N356 International Business and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC N112 Business Administration and Supply Chain Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N261 Business and Human Resource Management (including Placement Year),
BSC N131 Business and Analytics (including Placement Year)

Module description

This module offers undergraduate students the opportunity to seek a placement at an organisation of their choice for them to acquire essential work-based skills with which to augment their academic learning.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To provide the student with the opportunity to apply their academic learning through a placement in a work-related context.

To enable students to develop essential work-based learning skills throughout the placement.

To provide students with the opportunity to analyse their practical work from a theoretical perspective.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

An understanding of their role within the placement organization, the industry sector in which the organisation operates and the wider socio-economic context of their placement.

A capacity for critical, reflexive evaluation of their own contribution and development while undertaking a work-based placement, including counter-factual or alternate possibilities.

An ability to draw on theoretical concepts and ideas, and relevant academic knowledge, to make sense of, analyse and evaluate work-based practices, experiences and learning.

In meeting each of the above, students should be able to demonstrate appropriate communication skills including the ability to present information together with analysis, argument and commentary in a form appropriate to the needs and interests of different audiences.

Students should also demonstrate, through the successful completion of a placement review, an ability to locate, extract and analyse data from multiple sources, including the acknowledgement and referencing of appropriate academic sources.

Module information

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. An understanding of their role within the organization, sector and wider socio-economic context in which they are employed;
2. A capacity for critical, reflexive evaluation of their own contribution and development whilst undertaking a work-based placement;
3. An ability to draw on theoretical concepts and ideas, and relevant academic knowledge, to analyse and evaluate work-based practices, experiences and learning.
4. In meeting each of the above, students should be able to demonstrate appropriate communication skills including the ability to present information together with analysis, argument and commentary in a form appropriate to the needs and interests of different audiences.
5. Students should also demonstrate, through the successful completion of a placement review, an ability to locate, extract and analyse data from multiple sources, including the acknowledgement and referencing of appropriate academic sources.

Learning and teaching methods

There is no taught component on this module as such, although students will be offered preparatory sessions during their first and second year organised by the EBS Placements Manager in conjunction with the Employability and Careers Centre.

These will consist of a series of workshops focusing on CV preparation; making placement applications; interview technique; induction, appraisal and development; as well as a briefing on the assessment component of the placement.

In addition to at least one placement visit by an appointed Academic Placement Tutor / Placements Manager, students will also be offered a de-brief session on completion of their placement, consisting of a tutorial meeting with the appointed Tutor who will provide guidance on the preparation of the final component of the placement review.

Bibliography

Carter, J. (2021) Work Placements, Internships & Applied Social Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Cunningham, I., Bennett, B. and Dawes, G. (2016) The handbook of work based learning. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4435803.
Helyer, R. (2015b) The work-based learning student handbook. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4763378.
Raelin, J.A. (2008) Work-based learning: bridging knowledge and action in the workplace. New and rev. ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=331626.
Okolie, U.C. et al. (2023) ‘Work Placement Supervisor Support and Students’ Proactive Career Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Proactivity’, Journal of Career Development, 50(1), pp. 168–184. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211073913.
Inceoglu, I. et al. (2019) ‘(How) Do work placements work? Scrutinizing the quantitative evidence for a theory-driven future research agenda’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110, pp. 317–337. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.09.002.
Major, D. (2016) ‘Models of work-based learning, examples and reflections’, Journal of Work-Applied Management, 8(1), pp. 17–28. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-03-2016-0003.
Mühlemann, S. (2016) ‘The Cost and Benefits of Work-based Learning’. Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-cost-and-benefits-of-work-based-learning_5jlpl4s6g0zv-en.
Helyer, R. (2015a) ‘Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based learning (WBL)’, Journal of Work-Applied Management, 7(1), pp. 15–27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-10-2015-003.
Lester, S. and Costley, C. (2010) ‘Work-based learning at higher education level: value, practice and critique’, Studies in Higher Education, 35(5), pp. 561–575. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903216635.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting

Additional coursework information

Part One: To provide background material on the role, organisation, sector/setting and broader context of the placement. Part One should be approximately 1,500 words in length, appropriately referenced, and submitted through Faser by the last Friday of January in the placement year. Part One of the Placement Review should be submitted along with any appraisal documentation prior to the placement visit, and should be used as the basis for discussion of the student’s work role and context, as well as his or her contribution and progress during the placement to date.
Part Two: To provide a detailed and reflexive account of the student’s contribution and development during the placement to date, including an evaluative account of 2-3 examples of work tasks undertaken. Part Two should be approximately 1,500 words in length, appropriately referenced, through Faser by the last Friday of April in the placement year.
Part Three: To provide an in-depth analysis of work-based practices, experiences and learning, drawing on relevant academic research, including concepts and theories studied in Level One and Two. Part Three of the Review should be approximately 3,000 words in length, appropriately referenced, and submitted through Faser by the last Friday of August in the placement year.
The assessment of work-based placements will be subject to the normal School procedures in respect of moderation and external examining. The placement review will be assessed as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, and will not be awarded a specific numerical grade (as per other undergraduate modules), although reviews in which all three parts are deemed to be of an equivalent standard to undergraduate work that would normally be awarded a mark of 70+ will be awarded a ‘Distinction’ for the placement year, and this will be noted on the student’s transcript.

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Module is either passed or marked as not completed.

Reassessment

Module is either passed or marked as not completed.

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Jay Mitra, email: jmitra@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Prof. Jay Mitra

Contact details: jmitra@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: No

Available to Outside Option: No

Available to Audit: No

Work based/related learning eligible for travel expenses: Travel costs for UK - based unpaid, approved work placements and live projects which are an integral part of a module may be covered by your department. (NB this will usually exclude field trips and site visits). Please check with your module supervisor to ensure that the activity is eligible.

External examiner

Name: Dr Natalia Slutskaya

Institution: University of Sussex

Academic role: Senior Lecturer

Name: Dr Idlan Rabihah Zakaria

Institution:

Academic role:

Name: Dr Pingli Li

Institution: University of Southampton

Academic role: Associate Professor

Name: Dr Hf Guo

Institution: University of Durham

Academic role: Assistant Professor in Finance

Name: Dr Muhammad Asif Khan

Name: Dr MARGARITA NYFOUDI

Institution: University of Birmingham

Academic role: Associate Professor of Human Resource Management & Organisational Behaviour

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: No lecture recording information available for this module.

Further information

Department website: Essex Business School

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Module Directory

BE731-6-FY-CO:Work-Based Placement