FT2PPY: Professional Placement Year

Module code: FT2PPY

Module provider: Film, Theatre and TV; School of Arts and Comm Design

Credits: 120

ECTS credits: 60

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Dr Lucy Tyler, email: l.s.tyler@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Maxi placement

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 25 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module provides you with the opportunity to undertake a placement with an organisation relevant to your skills and knowledge within the broad remit of your degree programme within Film, Theatre & Television. Gaining hands-on experience of a work environment broadly related to the creative film, theatre and/or television industries, your confidence and self-reliance, maturity and sense of responsibility, team working, and communication skills will be enhanced. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity for critical reflection on the work of a relevant organisation and on your own career development. You will be encouraged to reflect on the transferable skills they have acquired in the course of their studies and to identify skills they plan to develop in relation to future employment. The module is available only to students on FTT undergraduate programmes, students will be admitted to the module at the discretion of the programme director and the module convenor and will be responsible for securing their own placement.

Aims:

The aims of the work placement are to enhance career development and employability by:

1. providing the student with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills gained in their academic studies;
2. extending knowledge and learning in their chosen discipline(s);
3. gaining knowledge, understanding and skills of working in a relevant work environment.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. demonstrating their developed knowledge and understanding of the relevant aspect of the creative industries, government, research, or other organisations relevant to film, theatre and television;
2. evaluating how the work that was carried out met the needs of the employing organization;
3. critically reflecting on the skills and competencies developed during the placement and how these are informed by and may inform their undergraduate studies;
4. analysing the relationship between the placement and the student’s intended career.

Module content

The area of work undertaken on the placement will be related to the students’ overall programme of study. The day-to-day content of the work will be set by the employing organisation and in agreement with the Placement Tutor. The work placement should provide the student with invaluable first-hand experience as well as providing opportunities for independent problem solving and working in a team.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The onus of this module is on independent working, including work experience, learning by observation, training, as well as applying these experiences specifically to an applied project. Training takes place in the workplace, usually including mentoring by a line manager. Actual contact hours will vary according to the placement and employer. Tutorial supervision will be given by a placement project tutor. 

• The Module Convenor must give approval for the placement activity that is planned and the project work that will arise out of it.
• The Module Convenor will discuss and agree with the student the level of commitment to the organisation required by the student.
• A Departmental Supervisor will be agreed, who may be someone other than the Module Convenor.
• All students will also be required to attend a placement-preparation session with the Careers Centre.

Study hours

This module is a placement or study abroad module and therefore the teaching and learning activities will predominantly, or entirely, take place away from the University of Reading. Your host organisation will normally advise you of the associated hours of your placement or year abroad. If the module includes any in-person activities at the University of Reading, these will be confirmed to you before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students receive mentoring and guidance from a local supervisor, and have contact with their personal tutor and the Department's Placement Tutor.

Reassessment

Additional costs