Securing your talent pipeline: Master’s student placements

The College of Engineering, Environment and Science at Coventry University have added a ‘work placement’ option* to a range of master’s programmes. They provide industry with a fantastic opportunity to recruit a range of highly skilled postgraduate talent.

The Extended Master’s is designed to be an optional pathway which changes a 12-month master’s to a 24-month master’s.

Benefits

The majority of current employers we engage with highly value taking on master’s students on professional experience*. There are a range of benefits associated with this, including:

Additional resource to complete specialist projects and short-term objectives
Access to motivated students with specialist knowledge and ideas
A means of identifying potential future employees
A low-risk recruitment method for developing internal talent
An opportunity to develop closer links with Coventry University

What courses are eligible?

Visit the Extended Masters' Work Placement page to view eligible courses.

What are the key dates?

The below table provides an outline of the usual key timeframes for recruiting an Extended Master’s Student.

	September Cohort	January Cohort	May Cohort
Student work placement offer deadline	March	July	November
Student available to start work placement	May	September	January
Student to return to Coventry University to complete final semester	May (following year)	September (following year)	January (following year)

Please note that the timeframes outlined in the table above are subject to vary and change.

How to engage?

Coventry University’s Talent Team can provide free advice and guidance to organisations looking to recruit Extended Master’s students; this can include:

Contact the Talent Team

Help with creating effective job adverts
Advice on best timelines for attracting students from the most relevant courses, depending on your organisational needs
Guidance around average wages, dependent on course and work experience routes
Help with initial CV collation

Frequently asked questions

How long is a placement?

How many hours a week can a placement be?

Are these placements paid?

How do I know if my role is suitable for a master’s student?

Where can the placement be located?

How should a placement student be treated during their placement?

What documentation is required to confirm a placement?

Contract

Both the company and the student must sign a contract or offer letter on a company letter headed document. It must include:

The full name and address of the company
Start and end date of placement
Location of role
Hours of work

Job Description

This should be a summary of the required duties during the placement.

Master's Internship Agreement

The paperwork associated with taking on a professional placement student is not supposed to be onerous. The Talent Team will prepare a standardised Master’s Internship Agreement - a tripartite agreement between the organisation, student and Coventry University, which all parties should agree and sign before the professional placement starts. This includes health and safety assurances to approve the placement.

Student Route Visa holders Student Policy

Under the University’s Educational Sponsor License, UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) requires us to monitor our overseas students studying on Student Route Visas. This includes when out on professional placement with employers. If the student that you are taking on a professional placement falls into this category, the university is required to obtain updates of attendance from their line manager for each fortnight of the placement. The Talent Team will notify you prior to the start date of the professional placement and discuss this with you if you have any queries.