As part of a course of study at the Faculty of Arts, students on the 3rd semester of their Master's degree programme can do a project placement (formerly work placement). A project placement is a learning process that gives students an opportunity to work professionally in a job-like situation and to apply the theories and methods they have worked with during their studies in practice.
A project placement is a mutual collaboration that adds value and is profitable for both students and the company/organisation. Students participate in the daily life of the company or organisation and contribute to work processes and perform tasks. This allows students to test their skills in practice, creating a link between their education and their future working life. A project placement also helps students to identify and express their academic and personal competences, making them aware of what they can contribute to a job as students at the Faculty of Arts.
The Student Counsellors' Office at Arts helps Master’s degree students get started with planning their project placement. The Student Counsellors' Office helps new Master’s degree students gain an overview of the opportunities available on their degree programme when they start in September. Moreover, the Student Counsellors' Office organises an online information meeting in October, at which students are given more information about the choices they have to make during their studies. The Student Counsellors' Office also holds a local information meeting about project placement for Master’s degree students on their 2nd semester. At the meeting, students receive information about the rules and framework for project placement, and they can ask questions about the process. The meeting is attended by the academic student counsellor on the degree programme, who can provide local insight into processes and opportunities. A student who has completed a project placement also participates in the meeting to share experiences from project placement.
Before starting their project placement, the students must complete and submit a project placement agreement in collaboration with their project placement host in the company/organisation and their academic student counsellor at AU. The agreement contains the specific objectives and the framework for the placement as well as a preliminary supervision plan. This means that the agreement contains a balancing of expectations between the students and the host organisation in terms of activities and conditions during the placement. The students are responsible for making sure that the agreement is completed and signed by all parties. The student counsellors confirm by their signatures that the placement has academic relevance and can be completed within the prescribed period of study.
During the placement, the students receive ongoing academic guidance and sparring from their counsellors at AU – both in relation to the process in the company/organisation and the exam.
The project placement is evaluated in writing at the end of the placement by the student and the project placement host. The evaluations focus on the framework for, and relevance of, the placement and are processed by the degree programme board and the board of studies.
