Work Placements

Work placements

A key feature of all undergraduate courses is the opportunity to spend a year in industry through our work placement scheme. A year in industry is optional, though strongly encouraged, and takes place in the third year of a four-year course.
The placement should be of a suitable level of responsibility to add value to a degree.
The placement must be full time (a minimum of 37.5 hours per week) and must be for a minimum of 40 weeks.
The salary must be commensurate with the placement role and not less than the minimum wage for the country in which the placement is taking place.
You must get your placement approved by contacting the Work and Voluntary Experience Services (WAVES) team at waves@brookes.ac.uk before you accept an offer. This guarantees it will count towards your programme of study and ensures you are assigned a placement tutor.
For more information about work placements please contact the Work and Voluntary Experience Services (WAVES) team at: waves@brookes.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1865 534800

Placement awards

A recognition and celebration of student achievement during the placement year.

Benefits of doing a placement year

A year's worth of paid, full-time work experience in a graduate level job before you have graduated. This is a great addition to your CV and helps you to stand out from the crowd when you look for a graduate job.
A possible graduate job offer with your work placement employer – many of our students do each year.
An opportunity to enhance your analytical and communication skills, which all employers seek.
Valuable experience within an industry or job role that supports your future career choice and in an area that interests you.
A chance to develop your confidence by working within a competitive and fast paced environment.
Above all, placements will enhance your skills to help you achieve a better degree and therefore increase your chances of getting an appropriate graduate role in your chosen career.

Hybrid placements

Hybrid working is the new norm with many companies successfully changing the way employees work and collaborate.

Oxford Brookes Business School students talk about their experience working on a hybrid work placement and the balancing act of combining studying with obtaining important employability skills.

“Something that I really appreciate and I am so grateful for was this work/life balance that I got, that I'm not necessarily sure I would have if I went into the office everyday.”

How we can support you

During the second year of your degree you will take the Skills for Placement Module. On this module, you will receive support with your search for a work placement role and develop techniques and skills useful at interviews and assessment centres. Additional support is also available from a dedicated placements team who are located within the Business School. During your work placement year, you will receive regular support from the Business School with your own Placement Tutor.

For further placement details, contact waves@brookes.ac.uk.

What our employers say...

Joseph Knott, Final Year Marketing Management student

“In such a small team with a huge output, Joe was exactly the person we needed to take on a lot of tasks that have a big impact on the global business.”

Employer feedback from Gemma Redgrave, Marketing Director at AKQA

Oxford Brookes University BA Marketing Management student, Joseph Knott decided to take a work placement at AKQA, a digital design and creative agency, and was the winner of the 'Best Team Member' award at the Oxford Brookes Business School Placement Awards.

Oxford Brookes Business School students are supported by the WAVES placement team who have a wealth of industry contacts across a wide range of sectors that include Accounting, Finance and Economics, Business and Management, Hospitality, Tourism and Events and Marketing.

Marketing Director, Gemma Redgrave shares her feedback on the impact Joseph has made at AKQA...

Joe is a member of the AKQA Global PR and Marketing team. The team has a remit to cover all 29 of AKQA studios from the London HQ providing PR and Marketing across multiple work streams including: new work launches, award entries, updating and maintaining the company website, monitoring the inbound new business leads, delivering and reporting on the client survey and delivering internal corporate communications.

Joe truly is an invaluable team member. He has enhanced team performance by helping to build case studies to showcase and celebrate AKQA’s work working closely with the Content Manager. He has learnt how to use a CMS system and is now so proficient that we can delegate case study pages and news pages directly to Joe knowing they will be finished to a high standard. His contribution towards building projects has resulted in a greater number of pages on AKQA.com going live and has also freed up other team members' much needed time.

In such a small team with a huge output, Joe was exactly the person we needed to take on a lot of tasks that have a big impact on the global business.

Joe has single handedly been working the inbox to liaise with new clients and hold screening calls and perform due diligence before working with local studios to place the inbound with the right team. He has also carried out training to others on this role and maintains the entire inbound data tracking that is reported each quarter. He has also been a true asset in the award season uploading no less than 120 applications for our global teams, this work resulted in multiple wins at The Webbys, Cannes Lions and Clio awards for our team, a feat that would not have been achieved had Joe not been involved in the incredibly long and complex process, often working beyond what has been required to support the teams in their applications.

Joe brings a quiet confidence, positive disposition, and can-do attitude to everything he does. He naturally takes control, is proactive and is often a step ahead of other people. Joe is always happy to help and is efficient, adaptable and eager to learn. Every time we ask him to support the team, he delivers – no task is too big or too small. He handles things calmly and maturely without a hint of arrogance.