Year in industry

Information for placement providers

Biology at York

The University of York has an outstanding reputation for teaching and research. The Department of Biology is recognised as one of the leading biological sciences departments in the UK and is ranked consistently amongst the top 5 universities for teaching, research and student satisfaction. Our Year-Away scheme attracts the career scientists of the future so we want them to gain valuable research experience to help them make choices and realise their potential.

Background

The sandwich degree courses in Biology/Biochemistry are four-year courses, consisting of three years at York following one of the standard Biology, Biochemistry or Biology Specialist programmes and one year gaining research experience in the laboratories of an industrial or research institute employer. The research placements provide an opportunity to acquire first-hand experience of what it is like to undertake biological research in an applied setting. At the same time they allow students to gain an insight into how research is conducted, planned, financed and undertaken, often in major research organisations. Students become part of an operational research laboratory, and carry out their own research project.

The sandwich year is taken between the second and fourth years of the degree course. Ideally, research placements are for a full 12-month period and during the year-away, students are paid by the employing institution. The salary for the student is set by the placement provider, and we would usually suggest a salary for a graduate technical post (around £12-15K). Students return to York in the Autumn Term to complete their final (fourth) year, which is the same as the third year of the standard degree course.

Research Year-Away Assessment

The Research Year-Away scheme counts as 10% towards a student’s finals mark. This mark has two components:

A write-up of the student’s placement work produced during the year at the company in the style of a scientific article. This project is marked by two academics at York and by the industrial supervisor (80%).
An assessment by the industrial supervisor of the student’s performance (20%).

Both of these assessments are available to appropriate External Examiners visiting York to moderate Finals.

Year away support

A member of the year away team will guide you through the process of providing a placement, and you will receive support from the team during the placement period.

If you are interested in finding out more about our scheme, please contact lorna.warnock@york.ac.uk

Department of Biology

Year in industry

Information for placement providers

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