Types of work experience

There are many different ways of gaining valuable work experience whilst studying.

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Placements

Year-long placements

Most undergraduate courses now have the opportunity to add an optional placement year as part of your degree programme.

Your course may already incorporate an Industrial Placement Year. These are typically part of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science. There are also placements incorporated in courses in the Faculty of Health.

Short-term placement

Some programmes provide an opportunity for students to undertake a shorter placement (less than a year) as part of the course.  These are already embedded in courses, often as part of a particular module and are usually assessed.

If you would like to know if your course offers these types of opportunities, please contact your department.

Industrial Placement Year

Some undergraduate courses are designed with an incorporated placement year. For students starting in the academic year 2023/24 onwards, these are known as courses with “Industrial Placement Year” (previously called “Year in Industry”). These are generally found in the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science. Unlike a Placement Year, which can be in any role of your choice, a Degree with an Industrial Placement Year is aligned with the content of your degree programme.

Internships

Internships are extracurricular work opportunities that can be completed alongside your study programme. They usually run in the summer months but are advertised throughout the year.

An internship can help you:

  • try out a role for a short period of time to see if it is for you;
  • develop your professional network by meeting new people;
  • gain experience and insights into the industry;
  • grow more confident in your abilities;
  • develop transferable skills that can be applied to other areas of work.

An increasing number of employers are offering virtual or remote internships. Virtual internships offer all the benefits of an in-person opportunity, but there are some differences to consider:

  • introductions to the organisation and to colleagues are done through webinars, virtual meetings and online training;
  • you might never meet your co-workers in person and will need to work harder to keep in touch with colleagues and ask for help when it is needed;
  • it can take longer to get decisions made or receive a response to emails as colleagues may be working in different time zones, have busy schedules or be working flexible hours;
  • you can often be given more responsibility and ownership of your work, enabling you to demonstrate your capabilities.
  • virtual or remote internships can offer global opportunities and enable you to gain experience in locations or areas that may be inaccessible to you in person.

More information about the opportunities available can be found on our internships (students only) webpage.

Virtual work experience programmes

Virtual work experience programmes are flexible programmes that have been developed by top graduate employers to mirror real-life work within their organisation.

A virtual work experience programme differs from a virtual internship or remote working, as you are not employed by the organisation and can complete the programmes in your own time and at your own pace.

Virtual work experience programmes are a great way to:

  • gain a real understanding of different roles and sectors;
  • discover career paths that you may not have previously considered;
  • feel assured that you can try new things out without commitment;
  • begin to discover what sorts of tasks you enjoy to focus on future work experience searches.

More in-depth information can be found about the virtual work experience programmes available.

Volunteering

Volunteering and voluntary work is unpaid and is likely to be for a charity, voluntary organisation, or statutory body. See our volunteering webpage for more information.

Part-time work

Part-time work may be undertaken during term time and allows you to gain experience alongside your studies. Students and graduates can use Career Connect to search for vacancies. Find out more about part-time work (students only).