I am the lead on Placement-Based learning in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham. Since the UoB website can sometimes be a bit moody, I made this page to inform interested students and placement organisations.
You can download the detailed handbook (please be aware that dates will be posted on the Canvas pages).
The induction session for on-campus students will be on 30 September, 15-16h00 (location TBC). Distance learning students are encouraged to study the detailed handbook and the information below, and then come to one of my office hours or send an email to make an appointment.
The induction session for on-campus students will be on 30 September, 15-16h00 (location TBC). Distance learning students are encouraged to study the detailed handbook and the information below, and then come to one of my office hours or send an email to make an appointment.
This is a quick rundown of the basics for (prospective) Placement Organisations:
This is a quick rundown of the basics for (prospective) students:
- These Placements are for Postgraduate students
- Placements are either 80 or 160 hours
- During the placement, students should undertake tasks that are appropriate for a Postgraduate course
- A placement should not consist of only practical activities (e.g. planting trees or feeding animals). This could be a (minor) part to get practical experience in this area, but the majority of the placement should consist of theoretical or policy-related work
- Students are not allowed to engage in fundraising activities during the placement (exceptions can be granted after discussion with the academic lead)
- It could be a good idea to focus the Placement on a particular project which is interesting for the Placement Organisation as well as relevant in view of the Learning Objectives. In each case, it is recommended to make a plan for placement tasks/project before the start of the Placement.
- Requirements beyond the Placement itself and communication with the student:
- We know that you are busy people, so we keep other requirements to a minimum: the student is responsible for getting a signed placement agreement with you, there will be a couple of emails between the academic lead and you, but that's about it.
- The work undertaken during the Placement remains between you and the student. Student are assessed on the basis of the Placement report. You will be invited to contribute some summative feedback regarding the placement.
- Any questions, please contact me at w.peeters[at]bham.ac.uk
This is a quick rundown of the basics for (prospective) students:
- Placement-based learning happens at Postgraduate Level via the following 2 (mutually exclusive) routes:
- LM Global Ethics Placement:
- 20 credits, 80 hours placement
- Assessment: Placement Report of 4,000 words
- LM Practice-Based Dissertation:
- 60 credits, 160 hours of placement
- Assessment: Placement Report of 12,000 words
- LM Global Ethics Placement:
- These can be taken by students on the following programmes:
- Msc Global Ethics and Justice (on-campus and distance learning)
- MA International Law, Ethics and Politics
- Placements are undertaken with local, national or international organisations which work on themes related to global ethics
- We are quite flexible about this and are happy to interpret "global ethics" in a very broad way.
- Students are ultimately required to source their own placement. The detailed handbook above contains a list of organisations with which students did a placement in previous years as well as some tips and tricks.
- The assessment is a Placement Report, which is independent from any written work you have undertaken for the Placement and consists of (i) critical reflection on the organisation; (ii) critical reflection on your experience; and (iii) more standard, academic, theoretical work related to one of the themes of your Placement.
