Work Placement Module

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Work Placements

The overriding aim of the Level 2 module ‘Work Placements: Applied History in the Workplace’ is to enable students to gain an understanding of the practical, ethical and technical issues involved in the collection and preservation of a range of primary material. Placements are not narrowly defined as a form of specific training for careers in museums or record offices, but can be part of a wider objective which enables students to apply to their placement a number of intellectual and practical skills which they have already acquired as part of their history degree. However, students can develop an appreciation of the value of history as a preparation for a wide range of careers, and for those considering a career in the museum or heritage fields, a positive outcome will be the experience gained through their work placement and its inclusion on their CV.

Each student is allocated a particular task, which is designed to benefit the work placement provider as much as the student. Over the past few years, for example, students have worked on such important and varied projects as recording medieval graffiti in Chichester Cathedral, researching the working conditions of Victorian gardeners at Arundel Castle, researching 18th-century tollhouses for displays at the Weald and Downland Museum, surveying visitors to the railway section of Amberley Working Museum, designing educational leaflets on the Iron Age for Butser Ancient Farm, researching an early 20th-century nurse (whose personal effects turned up in a car boot sale!) for Chichester and District Museum.

Recent Work Placements

Two History Work Placement students, Rachel Hilton and Judy Carbone have recently researched and put together innovative permanent displays for Tangmere Aviation Museum, on the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) respectively. The exhibitions were unveiled in May 2008, and the results can be seen by clicking on the following link: www.chichester.co.uk

The module is extremely popular and students often gain excellent grades for their assignments due to their enthusiasm for their tasks. Over the past couple of years, their comments have included:

Best module I've done so far done at Uni – a different experience to lectures, really enjoyed my time!

A great experience – made me appreciate how much thinking goes into even something as simple as writing museum labels.

Really useful for deciding on future employment avenues.