Research and Work Experience
Information on gaining work or research experience over the summer, or in a year out.
There are various ways to gain experience during your degree. Lots of students will spend some time over the summer:
- working in a variety of sectors
- on an internship in a research lab or in industry
- conducting fieldwork
- volunteering
You can arrange these yourself or with help from the University's Careers Service.
The Careers Service will support you throughout your degree and for up to 2 years after graduation. MyCareerHub is a website run by the Careers Service exclusively for current students and recent graduates of the University of Edinburgh. Many opportunities are advertised on this site and there are lots of resources to help with applications, interviews and personal development too.
Year-long Placements
Employers seek a diverse range of skills and experience in the graduates they employ. Placements help you to develop valuable transferable skills that can be applied in numerous job sectors.
Some students can apply for a placement of up to 12 months between Years 3 and 4 of the degree. An industrial placement year can offer invaluable work experience, but it is independent of your studies and does not contribute towards the final degree classification. Each year we support a small number of students to find and apply for opportunities. More recently this has varied from an internship with a large pharmaceutical company to volunteering at a wildlife conservation centre in Africa.
If you apply for a placement, are successful at interview and wish to accept a 12 month placement, you would take what is known as an interruption of studies. You would then return to the University of Edinburgh to complete your studies after the placement year.
There are complexities involved in taking an interruption of studies for international students studying at the University on a Tier 4 visa. Visa advice for international students can be provided by the Student Immigration Service.