Project placement / Field study at Arts
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.
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 as well as work experience and expand your labour-market network
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.
In our step-by-step guide below you can find information about the procedure before, during and after a project placement.
1. Register in the course and exam registration period
You must register for project placement via the STADS self-service system in the registration period prior to the semester in which the academic internship is placed in your academic regulations.
- 1.-5. May, for project placement in the autumn
- 1.-5. November, for project placement in the spring
You must register to indicate that you want to take a project placement – even if you have not obtained a final agreement with a project host or signed a project 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. Read more in the FAQ.
2. Find out about requirements and rules for your project placement
Academic requirements and objectives
The academic objectives set out in the academic regulations form the point of departure for the internship. When planning your internship, you must therefore ensure that it is academically relevant and meets the academic objectives. You can use your academic supervisor to find out whether your project placement meets the academic requirements. 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.
Project framework
The total number of hours spent with your project host depends on how many ECTS the academic internship takes up in your academic regulations.
Unless otherwise stated in the academic regulations or on the Arts study portal, the project host can expect you to invest:
- 480-700 hours (3-4½ months of full-time work) on a 30 ECTS project placement
- 300-480 hours (2-3 months of full-time work) on a 20 ECTS project placement
- 160-300 hours (1-2 months of full-time work) on a 10 ECTS project placement.
Find the specific requirements for the scope of your project placement/fieldwork on your academic regulations or subject page about project placement (see the box at the top of the page).
The number of ECTS credits correspond to a student’s total number of working hours (incl.potential teaching, exam, preparation, supervision, hours spent in the host organisation, etc.) as follows: 10 ECTS ≈ 273 hours, 20 ECTS ≈ 547 hours, 30 ECTS ≈ 820 hours.
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.
3. 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 look for companies/organisations with advertised internship positions. 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. In that case, you must 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.
- In need of inspiration? Find examples and read about the experiences of other students on your programme-specific page about project placement (See the box at the top of the 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. You must follow the the same procedure as if you were to do a project placement in Denmark.
If you do a project placement abroad, you can apply for either an Arts Travel Grant or an Erasmus+ traineeship grant. You can also find practival information before departure and while you are away.
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 section "Salary in connection with a project placement" under the FAQ.
Project placement in your own business
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.
Learn more about the opportunity to do your project placement in your own business at The Kitchen
4. Find a supervisor for your project placement
In the search box above, you can find your study programme's site about project placement and read more on how to find a supervisor for your project placement.
5. The project agreement
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, you can find more information about who from your degree programme must sign the agreement (search via the box above).
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 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.
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)
6. Exam
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.
It is a good idea to take notes and keep a diary for use in the exam.
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.
7. Evaluation
You must evaluate the project placement via Brightspace in the same way as all other courses. You will receive an email with a link to the evaluation after completion of the project.
Your project host will also be asked to evaluate the project placement. In that case, the university will send an email to the project host by the end of your project placement with a link to the evaluation. This evaluation focuses on the framework for project placements as well as the collaboration with the university.
FAQ
Can I move my project placement to another semester?
Due to academical and practical reasons, you can only do your project placement in that specific semester, it has been placed in your academic regulations - for most students this will be on the 3rd semester.
If you follow an individual study plan due to parental leave or exceptional circumstances like sickness, you can apply for an exemption to move the project placement to another semester. Read more about exemptions and exceptional circumstances.
When must I have my project agreement in place?
To make sure that you have enough time to finish your project placement, you must have found a project host and made an agreement no later than a couple of weeks before the start of the semester.
Should you not succeed in getting a project agreement in place, you must register for an alternative course of study as soon as possible.
You find the deadlines under the section "What do I do if I fail to find a project host".
What do I do if I fail to find a project host?
Should you not succeed in getting a project agreement in place before the start of the semester, you must register for an alternative course of study as soon as possible.
The options will be stated in your academic regulations.
Please note that the range of courses on offer may be limited, as you will only be admitted to courses with vacant places.
Deadlines for registering for the alternative course of study:
- Project placement in the fall
If you fail to find a project host before the middle of August, you must register for an alternative course of study at STADS in the period 13.-17. August. - Project placement in the spring
If you fail to find a project host before 13. January, you must contact the Study Centre Arts.
Can I do my projct 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.
Can I do my project placement at my student job?
You are welcome to do your project placement in a company with which you also have a student job.
Since the project placement is an educational stay and must not be paid, it is a requirement that you have two independent contracts and that the contract for the project placement meets the formal and educational requirements described in your academic regulations and on this page.
May I receive salary or a reimbursement during my 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 monthly gratuity (maximum 3608 kr) 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.
Read more about gratuity and SU under a project placement. (In Danish)
Coverage of living expenses
You are allowed to receive a minor reimbursement from the host organisation to cover any documented increased costs of living.
Project placement abroad
A number of countries (e.g. France and Germany) have legislation that requires companies to disburse a salary to students when they work for the company as part of a project-based internship. Students can receive the salary constituted by law, if they participate in a project-based internship in one of the countries where salaries are required. However, it is important to emphasize that you cannot receive SU while you also receive a salary from the place of internship.
You must at all times be able to document that it is a legal requirement before you are allowed to receive salary in connection with a project-based internship.
Apart from that, the project placement must fulfill the same requirements as in Denmark.
What do I do if problems arise?
Reach out to your project host - ask colleagues for advice on what you don't understand.
Make it clear if you have too few or too many assignments, or if you do not feel that the project placement lives up to the agreements you have made.
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.
