Project placement / Field study at Arts

Information about project placement on your degree programme

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General information

What do I gain from a project placement?

A project placement allows you to:

  • test theories and methods from your study programme in practice
  • acquire new knowledge based on practical experience
  • gain insight into your academic and professional competences
  • gain work experience and expand your labour-market network

A project placement gives you the opportunity to bring your academic competences into play in a company, institution or organisation and learn how to use your academic knowledge and skills to create results and value on the labour market.

You will also have the opportunity to design your own course of study, set specific academic objectives and find a relevant company, institution or organisation – a so-called project host.

On some study programmes, the project placement involves an actual academic study of practice – e.g. in the form of an organisational analysis and/or a field study. This will be stated in your academic regulations.

A project placement usually involves three parties: you, your supervisor and a project host. You are ultimately responsible for planning and completing the placement.

Placement period and duration

Just like the rest of your degree programme elements, the project placement is based on the ECTS system, which means that 30 ECTS credits are equivalent to approx. 820 working hours for you as a student, 20 ECTS credits are equivalent to approx. 547 hours, and 10 ECTS credits are equivalent to approx. 273 hours.

The hours cover all activities in connection with the project placement, such as:

  • Planning and preparation before the project placement begins – e.g. finding a company/organisation and describing a project
  • Supervision and, if relevant, participation in classes at the university – including any thesis preparation activities (only applies to project placements of 30 ECTS credits with integrated thesis preparation elements)
  • Exams
  • Period with the company/organisation or time set aside for fieldwork/field study

The specific requirements for the duration of the project placement/fieldwork are described in the academic regulations of your degree programme.

Rules regarding the date of completion of the project placement

The project placement/fieldwork must be completed before the end of the semester to ensure that the Master’s thesis period can commence on time. The requirements stated in the academic regulations concerning the duration of the project placement must also be met by the exam date.

It is not possible to postpone the commencement of the Master’s thesis due to a project placement/fieldwork.

Please note: Special deadlines may apply for your Master's degree programme - you will find more information on your programme-specific page.

Project placement abroad

It is possible to do a project placement abroad if it lives up to the requirements for the project placement set out in the academic regulations.

If you do a project placement abroad, you can apply for travel grants. Read more about studying abroad here.

If you are doing a project placement in a country where there is a requirement that project placements must be paid, you can read more under the item about salary in connection with project placements.

Project placement in your own business in collaboration with The Kitchen

If you want to start a business or have already started a business, you have the opportunity to do a project placement in your own business.

The project placement takes place at The Kitchen, which is Aarhus University’s entrepreneurship hub. Here you will participate in a tailored placement programme together with students from the entire university. You will spend your days at The Kitchen together with other entrepreneurs. In addition to the placement programme, you will have access to The Kitchens’ services, including meeting rooms, office space and a podcast studio as well as advice from lawyers and accountants.

As is the case with ordinary project placements, you must have a supervisor from your degree programme. Your project supervisor must approve that the project placement in your own business is academically relevant and will guide you during the programme and in connection with the exam described in your academic regulations.  

Find out more about the opportunity to do a project placement in your own business at The Kitchen

If you want to start a business or have already started a business, you have the opportunity to do a project placement in your own business.

The project placement takes place at The Kitchen, which is Aarhus University’s entrepreneurship hub. Here you will participate in a tailored placement programme together with students from the entire university. You will spend your days at The Kitchen together with other entrepreneurs. In addition to the placement programme, you will have access to The Kitchens’ services, including meeting rooms, office space and a podcast studio as well as advice from lawyers and accountants.

As is the case with ordinary project placements, you must have a supervisor from your degree programme. Your project supervisor must approve that the project placement in your own business is academically relevant and will guide you during the programme and in connection with the exam described in your academic regulations.  

Find out more about the opportunity to do a project placement in your own business at The Kitchen.

Work permit

Please note that if you are not a citizen of the countries in the European Economic Area, you must apply for a full time work permit for internships in order to be legally allowed to do an internship. You cannot begin your internship before the permission is given.

Work permit for internships: Please find more information and the application form (ST4)

Rules regarding salary in connection with a project placement

Please be aware that as a student, you may not receive a salary in connection with your project placement. If you enter into an agreement which includes a salary, your project placement cannot be approved.

Remunerations, considerations etc. that do not serve as a reimbursement of documented expenses, are also considered payment.

However, when you are in a project placement, you may receive a gratuity of up to DKK 3000 per month from your internship host organisation. It is voluntary for the internship site whether they want to give you a gratuity, and the gratuity must not be given as a pre-determined income that you can expect to receive, like salary.

If you do a project placement with the same company that you work for (two separate contracts, with the employment being independent of the project placement), you are entitled to receive student grants, provided that you meet the general terms and conditions. Terms and conditions can be found here.

Project placement abroad and salary

If the project placement is placed in another country, you are allowed to receive payment, if being paid for your work during the project placement is required in this country (it has to be state law that requires that interns are paid during the project placement).

Apart from that, the project placement must fulfill the same requirements as in Denmark.

Be aware that the university won’t be able to approve a project placement where you are considered an employee in the company since the project placement must have an academic content which must be approved by you, the company and your supervisor as described in the project placement agreement.

Good advice

  • Make sure to obtain all relevant written material from the project host as well as any information about the company/organisation that you need in connection with exams, for example material regarding the company’s/organisation’s history, organisational structure, legal and financial basis etc.
  • Be proactive in relation to your project host – ask colleagues for advice if there is something you do not understand.

    Tell someone if you have too little or too much work, or if you feel that the placement does not live up to the agreements made.

  • Take notes and keep a diary for use in the exam.

FAQs

Can I do a placement as an upper secondary school teacher?

Yes – students on programmes that are relevant for teaching in upper secondary school can do a placement as upper secondary school teachers.

A placement at an upper secondary school is included in the teaching profile. See the pages about profile courses for more information.

What do I do if problems arise?

If problems arise during your placement or if your project host does not live up to the project agreement, you must contact your supervisor or the placement coordinator on your degree programme.

Step-by-step guide

1. Register in the course and exam registration period

Remember to register for the project placement/fieldwork in the course and exam registration period prior to the semester in question.

It is important that you register to indicate that you wish to do a project placement – even if you have not yet obtained a final agreement with a project host or signed a project agreement.

If you fail to obtain a project or fieldwork agreement

If, contrary to expectations, you fail to obtain a project or fieldwork agreement, you must apply for registration for the alternative course of study as soon as possible. The options will be stated in your academic regulations.

  • You must register for an alternative course of study between 13 and 17 August

Please note that the range of courses on offer may be limited, as you will only be admitted to courses with vacant places.

2. Find a relevant company/organisation (project host)

You are responsible for finding a company, organisation, institution or workplace to serve as the host of your project placement.

It is a good idea to start searching for a project host as early as possible, as it may take time to find a place and get an agreement in place.

When searching for a project host, you can apply for an advertised project placement or find a workplace yourself and help define a project and a work portfolio.

In both cases, it is important to take your academic objectives and wishes for the project placement as a starting point.

It could be that no project placement has been advertised which meets your academic objectives, or that the type of company or industry you want to work in does not advertise project placements, and you therefore need to formulate your own ideas and write an unsolicited application.

  • Find more information and good advice on finding a project host, writing applications etc. at Arts Karriere.
  • Find examples and read about the experiences of other students on your programme-specific page about project placement (search via the box above).

3. Find an academic supervisor

 

On your programme-specific page about project placement (search via the box above), you can read more about how to find an academic supervisor for your project placement.

4. Project placement agreement

Before starting your project placement, you must draw up and submit a project agreement in collaboration with your project host and your supervisor at AU:

Once the agreement is completed, it must be signed by you, your project host and your supervisor or the project coordinator for your programme. On your programme-specific page about project placement (search via the box above), you can find more information about who from your degree programme must sign the agreement.

The supervisor or project coordinator confirms by his or her signature that the placement has academic relevance and can be completed within the prescribed period of study.

It is your responsibility to make sure that the agreement is completed and signed by all parties.

How to upload the project agreement

Once your project agreement has been approved and signed, you must scan and upload it via the form ‘Preliminary approval for courses outside AU’ at mystudies.au.dk.

Instructions for the form:

  • At which university do you wish to enroll in a course? = Aarhus University
  • In which degree programme do you wish to enroll in a course? = The degree programme you are enrolled in
  • Which course do you wish to enroll in? = Project placement (or Field work)
  • To what course/group do you request preliminary approval (cf. your academic regulations)? = Projekt placement (or Field work)

How to complete the project agreement

The academic objectives set out in the academic regulations form the basis of the fieldwork/project placement, and before completing the project agreement, you must consider how you will meet the objectives during your placement, and what academic ambitions you have for your placement.

Specific objectives of your project placement

In collaboration with your supervisor at AU, you must describe 3-5 specific objectives, activities and tasks in your project placement which support the academic objectives stated in the academic regulations. The description must also be prepared in dialogue with your project host and in relation to your expected area of work.

You can adjust your focus and your objectives during the course of the project placement in collaboration with your supervisor and your project host.

If it is stated in your academic regulations that you must carry out an empirical study as part of the project placement, you must present a preliminary description of the study in the project agreement.

Terms and conditions

The conditions of the placement with the project host must be stated in the agreement. This could be a description of the place and the facilities made available to you, or a description of any expected travel and meeting activities.

Plan for supervision

The agreement must contain a supervision plan for the project placement prepared together with your supervisor. In addition, you must state any other obligations that you may have at the university during the semester in the project placement period. This includes thesis preparation activities, courses or any deadlines for submission of sub-assignments or the like.

5. Exams

You can find information about exams in connection with project placements in your academic regulations.

If your academic regulations contain requirements regarding the submission of an assignment or a portfolio or regarding participation in an oral exam, the exam date will be stated in the exam schedule for your degree programme.

Regardless of how the exam takes place, you should register for the project placement in the registration period from 1-5 May.

You register online at mit.au.dk (Self-service). Then, click on “Student Self-Service (STADS)”.

6. Evaluation

Project placements are evaluated via Brightspace (formerly Blackboard) in the same way as all other courses. You will receive an email with a link to the evaluation after completion of the project.