Placement Guide for Students

There are two main pathways you can use to find a suitable placement host organisation. You can apply for an advertised placement, or self-source your own placement that best supports your skills development. 

• Placement Agreement Form 
• ESRC Placement & Funding Permissions Form 

There are many different types of placements available including: 

• Non-academic organisations in the public, private or voluntary sector 

• Placements with an academic institution or research centre 

• Placement within an institution’s professional support services 

• Research Assistant internships, where students work on standalone projects with academics from across disciplines 

• Placements cannot take place during the Masters period, or the first few months of the PhD and must be completed at least six weeks before the student’s funding end date 

• Placements can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis 

• Placements cannot exceed three months (13 weeks) in total; however, this does not need to be taken in a single block, or be with the same host organisation 

• Placements can be in-person, remote, or hybrid and does not have to be the same format throughout 

• Placements must comprise a clear programme of activity or project, which will develop the students’ transferrable skills and ability to apply their research skills in different contexts 

• Placements should focus on a discrete project, challenge or research question, which will enable students to build on the skills being acquired through their doctoral studies 

• Placements should not be used as a substitute for temporary staff or to cover business as usual within a host organisation 

• Placements must be distinct from the student’s PhD and any outputs from the placement cannot be included in their PhD project 

• • As placements must be distinct from students’ PhD projects, students who complete a placement as part of their co-funded studentship may still be eligible to complete another placement of up to three months 

• Academic placements cannot be undertaken with the student’s supervisor and/or research team and must take place outside of their home department 

• Placements should normally be undertaken in the UK. Placements should be based overseas only in exceptional cases that provide an opportunity to develop skills that would not be available in the UK 

• Students will continue to receive their stipend for the duration of the placement and remain registered as a student 

• Students cannot receive payment for the placement 

• Accommodation and travel costs related to the placement are not covered 

• If a student experiences a minor illness during their placement, which requires only a short recovery period and the objectives of the placement can still be met, then an extension to the placement may not be necessary. However, the student needs to promptly contact their placement host and the UBEL DTP placements administrator (ubel-dtp@ucl.ac.uk) to advise them of their circumstances  

• If a student is ill for an extended period that significantly impacts their placement, then options can be explored to extend the placement. This would need to be in discussion with UBEL DTP, the PhD supervisor and the placement host organisation 

• Annual leave should ideally be taken outside the placement period. If a student has annual leave booked during their placement, they must advise the placement host of their leave when discussing working arrangements and ensure they complete a full three months (13 weeks) of placement activity 

As a student visa holder, you must abide by the rules of your visa regarding work placements. Contact the student visa team at your home institution if you have any questions about the rules regarding undertaking a placement on your visa 

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

• Professor Eva Krumhuber (e.krumhuber@ucl.ac.uk) – UBEL DTP Placements Lead 

• Alita Maharaj (a.maharaj@ucl.ac.uk) – UBEL DTP Placements Administrator