Adding or removing a year of study abroad or placement year

If you wish to add or remove a year of study abroad or a placement year you need to submit an online change of course request.

Placement availability

Please be aware that approval of the addition of a year abroad or a placement year to your course structure does not confirm nor guarantee whether a placement opportunity is available for you.

If you have not already done so, you are strongly advised to contact Essex Abroad or the Employability and Careers Centre directly for further advice.

Assessment requirements 

If you are an undergraduate you need to be aware that to be on a course including a year abroad students are required to achieve a year mark of 50.0 in their first year of study.

If a student is required to do reassessment in their first year, it is the notional uncapped mark that is used to determine whether they have met this requirement. This is considered by the Board of Examiners who confirm whether a student is eligible to enter the second year of the four-year course including a year abroad.

Please note that LLB Law (Including Placement Year) requires a stage mark of 60 in Stage One.

Change request deadline 

If you wish to add a year abroad to your studies you should request this by the end of the Autumn Term of your second year. For any request later than this please contact Essex Abroad in the first instance but be aware that it may not be possible to accommodate late requests.

Masters courses

If you are on a Masters course and wish to add or remove a placement year, you should discuss this with your department. There may be deadlines you need to meet in order to ensure you have completed all the necessary work to proceed to the next year, or to your dissertation.

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Need help?

If you need any further help and advice, please contact or visit the Student Services Hub who will be happy to assist you.