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Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS)

Placement Partners

Are you interested in providing upper-year students with hands-on work experience? Join our roster of placement partners to work with a diverse group of motivated students and offer meaningful placement opportunities as a part of their course.  

Our placement courses are designed to give students discipline-specific, hands-on work experience directly related to their academic program. As these placements are integrated into for-credit courses, students must successfully complete placement to pass the course.

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Year in Review by the Numbers

The numbers represent the number of partners (placement), community partners (SOWK) and employers (co-ops).

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Placement Courses

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Social Work Practicum

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Co-op Program

Benefits

Work with motivated, upper-year students to mentor and grow their skills

Build a pool of potential future employees

Professional development for supervisors

Short-term support for on-going projects and programs

Requirements

Identify a Supervisor

Partners must identify a supervisor for the student (to assist with mentoring, onboarding, health & safety).

Identify Work

Students must complete work that is connected to the course learning outcomes.

Placement Agreement

Sign a placement agreement prior to onboarding the student.

Complete Evaluation

Complete mid-term and/or final evaluation for the Course Director.

FAQ - Supervisors

two students talking and studying

The students’ grade will be determined by evaluations completed by both the Course Director and the placement supervisor. The Course Director will check in with the placement supervisor either midway through the placement, at the end, or both, to assess the students’ performance. Evaluations will be sent by email. 

The number of required hours for placement roles vary depending on the course. However, placements are part-time and normally do not exceed 8 hours a week. The total number of hours required for undergraduate placement courses range from 50 to 150 hours over 4 to 8 months. The number of hours required for graduate placement courses are slightly higher, ranging from 120 to 300 hours. Please see Placement Course home page for a full list of placement courses.
 

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) provides Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage (or, in some instances, other insurance coverage) for Ontario Post-secondary students who are completing an unpaid placement as a part of their course/program. 

The partner organization must assign the student a supervisor. This supervisor is responsible for evaluating the student’s performance throughout the placement and must provide the Course Director with a midpoint and/or final evaluation, which will contribute to a portion of the student’s final grade. During orientation or the first day of placement, the supervisor must also complete a Health & Safety Checklist with the student (template provided by student). 

Placements are designed to help students develop competencies and skills learned in the classroom with hands-on work experience in an organizational setting. These placements focus on career exploration, employability, and professional skill development, with an emphasis on achieving specific course learning outcomes. Since placements are tied to a course, students earn academic credit and are completed on a part-time basis to ensure students can balance their coursework and other commitments.   

The placement agreement outlines key requirements for the placement organization and the University, covering important aspects such as term and termination, indemnification, facilities access, insurance, WSIB/Accident, illness, injury compensation, privacy and confidentiality and more. The placement agreement must be signed before students can begin their placement.  

Course Directors typically match students with organizations based on interest, suitability, and availability. However, organizations can still request resumes, cover letters, and conduct interviews before making a final selection.  

Students participating in placements will gain valuable hands-on experience through high-impact learning opportunities at your organization. Course Directors will work closely with you to define the scope of work appropriate for students. These placements emphasize career exploration, employability, and professional skill development, ensuring students achieve key course learning outcomes. We encourage students to take on roles that allow them to apply theories learned in the classroom to real-world situations.  

Placement agreements are sent out by the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Specialist from the Experiential Education (EE) Office. The agreement should be signed by the signing authority at the partner organization before being returned to the WIL Specialist. Once received, the Dean of the Faculty (Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will sign the agreement, completing the process. The WIL Specialist will then forward the finalized partnership agreement back to the partner.  

*Placement agreements are not required for departments, schools, units, etc., internal to York University. 

Interested in Learning More? 

Please reach out to eelaps@yorku.ca indicating that you’re interested in hosting a placement student. Our peak recruitment period for partners is during the Summer months (June – August) as most placements begin in the Fall term. If you already have a placement role description, feel free to include it in your email. We will do our best to match you with a relevant course! 

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