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. Use the month and year the student started their master’s course to find the deadline for their placement offer and when they can join your organisation.
| Student's course intake | Placement offer must be received by | Student available to start placement | Return to university for blocks 5 and 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 1 November 2026 | January 2027 | January 2028 |
| July 2026 | 1 January 2027 | March 2027 | March 2028 |
| September 2026 | 1 March 2027 | May 2027 | May 2028 |
| November 2026 | 1 May 2027 | July 2027 | July 2028 |
| January 2027 | 1 July 2027 | September 2027 | September 2028 |
| March 2027 | 1 September 2027 | November 2027 | November 2028 |
The offer deadlines and placement start dates are fixed. For every intake, the latest a student can start is the Monday of the third teaching week of their third semester. Please ensure the proposed placement dates allow the student to return to university in the month shown. Once the student receives an offer, they should contact the Careers and Experience Team promptly so the University can begin its approval checks.
How to engage?
Coventry University’s careers team can provide free advice and guidance to organisations looking to recruit Extended Master’s students; this can include:
- 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
