How long is a placement?

The university’s minimum duration for the placement year is 1125 working hours, equivalent to working 9am – 5.30pm, 5 days a week for a 30 week period.

This does not include any time offer for annual leave, so this will need to be factored in for the overall placement duration.

Whilst 1125 hours is set as a minimum, it should be noted that the employment arrangements stipulated by the placement provider take precedence. Many employers offer 12 month full-time contracts, therefore in practice many students will be required to work for longer than the minimum 1125 hours in order to satisfy both their contractual obligations as well as the requirements of the University of Surrey Professional Training programme. Failure to abide by the employment dates stated in a contract of employment and/or the Placement Agreement can result in failure of Level P.

Some students may wish or need to complete multiple shorter placements to meet the minimum requirements of the year. Whether you undertake one long placement or two to three shorter ones, 1125 total hours remains the minimum requirement.

Student visa holders: Please note that due to sponsorship requirements, there are additional restrictions that you may need to factor in for the timings and duration of your placement year.

As a student visa holder is that you cannot have a gap of more than 60 days for the placement duration in order to meet with visa sponsorship requirements.

This means that the latest a placement could start would be 60 days after the start of Semester 1 and the earliest it could end would be 60 days before the end of Semester 2. There also cannot be a gap of more than 60 days in the middle of the placement. You can raise an enquiry with the My Surrey Hive team selecting "Placements" as your enquiry topic via Surrey Support if you need any further guidance.