UK sandwich degree placement years: how they work and how to find one
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 03, 2026 • Career Planning, Study in Europe
A UK sandwich degree adds a paid placement year, usually between your second and final year, extending a three-year degree to four years. You find placements through your university's careers service or by applying directly to employers, and most placement years count as full employment.
⏱️ Placement years typically run 9-12 months, inserted between year 2 and the final year.
💶 Most placements are paid, and you count as an employee of the host company for that year.
🎓 The degree title often changes to include "with placement year" or "with professional experience."
📩 Apply to the placement-track version of a course early, since spaces can be limited.
What a sandwich degree is
A sandwich degree is a UK course that sandwiches a work placement between periods of full-time study. Instead of the standard three-year bachelor's, you spend one extra year working in industry, usually after your second year, before returning to complete your final year of study. The format is common in business, engineering, and computer science, though it exists across most disciplines at universities that offer it.
How placement years are structured
Most placement years sit between your second and final year and run for roughly nine to twelve months, matching a standard working year rather than an academic term. Your university treats the placement year as part of your registered course, so you keep your student status and access to some university services while working full time at the host company.
Some universities offer shorter placement options too, such as a summer internship of a few months that does not extend your degree length, alongside the full sandwich year. Check your course page carefully, since "placement" means different things depending on the university and department.
Finding a placement
Register your interest in the placement-track version of your course, either at application through UCAS or by switching internally during your first year, depending on your university's process.
Use your university's careers or placement office, which often holds a list of employers who recruit specifically from that university for placement years.
Apply directly to employers too, since many large graduate employers run separate placement or "industrial year" schemes advertised on their own careers pages.
Prepare for assessment centers and interviews the same way you would for a graduate job, since employers treat placement recruitment with similar rigor.
Confirm your offer with your university's placement office before accepting, since some courses require sign-off to make sure the role meets your degree's learning requirements.
Pay and your employment status
Placement years are normally paid, and you become an employee of the host company for the year, subject to UK employment law, tax, and National Insurance like any other staff member. Pay varies widely by sector and employer, from national minimum wage roles to salaries closer to graduate-level pay at large firms, so compare offers rather than assume a standard rate across the market.
Because you are an employee during the placement, your student loan and tuition arrangements usually change too. Many universities charge a reduced tuition fee for the placement year itself, separate from your normal annual fee, so confirm the exact figure with your student finance office before you commit.
Effect on your final degree
Universities differ on how the placement year affects your final degree classification. Some treat it as non-credit-bearing work experience that appears on your transcript and diploma supplement without contributing marks to your final grade, while others build assessed placement modules into the year that do count toward classification. Ask your course handbook or placement tutor directly, since this varies by university and even by department within the same university.
Regardless of how it counts academically, most students who complete a placement year graduate with practical, sector-specific experience and often an existing relationship with a potential graduate employer, which shortens your job search after graduation.
Search for placement-track courses and deadlines directly on UCAS .