Work experience opportunities
Your career starts now
More than ever, employers are seeking individuals with ‘work experience’ on their CV. Work experience can be gained from bite size, short experiences, or, spread out over an academic cycle. Examples include part-time work, volunteering, a placement-year, internships and extra-curricular activities, either as part of your degree programme or completely optional.
Typically, in a work setting you are developing ‘employability’ skills, perhaps without even realising it. For example, teamwork, communication, time keeping, working to deadlines, resilience, creativity and adaptability.
How can I get involved?
The University Careers Service and other departments, provide you with a number of opportunities to gain work experience and this page will walk you through the options available.
What are the benefits of work experience?
Part-time work
Working part-time is an excellent way to gain valuable work experience around your studies, whilst earning some money.
Part-time work can be in a setting relevant to your degree subject but often is more informal and flexible. Whilst part-time work, in many cases, is more casual, don’t underestimate its benefit to you and your CV.
If you are looking for a part-time job on campus or in the local area visit myCareer and visit our
looking for work page.
Internships
Internships offer a valuable opportunity to gain real-world experience, develop your skills, and enhance your CV while studying. Explore the different internship options available and find the experience that's right for you.
Micro-internships
Micro-internships are short, flexible, voluntary work experience opportunities designed exclusively for undergraduate students. Running across three cycles each year (Winter, Spring and Summer), these bite-size internships lasting between 3 and 10 days provide a valuable way to build your CV, develop key employability skills, and gain insight into the workplace before undertaking a placement year or entering the graduate job market.
You will work on a focused project with either a university department or external employer, with opportunities available in-person, remotely, or through a hybrid model.
Applications are made through myCareer, and you can apply for up to three roles each cycle. Successful applicants receive pre-placement training, ongoing support from a supervisor, opportunities to collaborate with professional teams, and practical experience that can help boost confidence and future career prospects.
Dates for 2026/27 are:
- Winter: 23rd November – 18th December 2026 (applications open 12th October to 1st November)
- Spring: 15th March 2027 – 2nd April 2027 (applications open 1st February to 21st February)
- Summer: 1st June – 13th August 2027 (applications open 1st February to 21st February)
Use the register your interest button at the top of the page, to receive updates about upcoming Micro-internship cycles and new opportunities as they become available.
Summer internships
Summer Internships (sometimes referred to as summer placements) are longer work experience opportunities that typically take place during the summer vacation and last between one and three months. They provide an excellent way to develop your skills, gain industry insight, and build valuable professional experience before you graduate.
A summer internship allows you to make a meaningful contribution to an organisation, build your professional network, and gain a deeper understanding of a particular role or sector. If a placement year is not the right option for you, summer internships offer a flexible way to gain substantial experience alongside your studies. Completing a summer internship each year of your studies could mean graduating with up to nine months of professional experience on your CV, helping you stand out to graduate employers. The Careers Service advertise summer internships via myCareer, so check this regularly for new opportunities.
You may also be considering using your Summer to gain experience abroad. The University's
Global Opportunities team can support you in exploring international work, study, and volunteering opportunities, helping you develop a global perspective and enhance your employability.
European Internship Agreements
Students undertaking internships in Europe, during vacation time or as part of an agreed work placement, may be asked by to provide or sign a three-way internship agreement between the student/intern, the University and the host organisation. The most common ones are:
- Convention de Stage (France)
- Convenio de Colaboracin (Spain)
- Accordo di Collaborazione (Italy)
Where a host will not permit an internship or placement to take place without one of the above agreements, the University can assist current University students who will be undertaking an internship outside of term time, so as not to interfere with the programmes of study, with such an agreement. Important points to note:
- The agreement is only for use for European internships where it is a mandatory requirement for the University to confirm the student’s status for the internship to go ahead.
- You must allow a minimum of 6 weeks to request, complete and obtain your signed agreement. Please contact us as soon as possible to get the process started. We can not guarantee that we will be able to support applications with less than 6 weeks’ notice.
- We cannot provide agreements for interrupting students. Students must be fully enrolled at UoP throughout the duration of their internship (the end date cannot be later than your UoP end date), as per the UoP academic calendar.
- Students can only undertake a full-time internship during vacation periods. This means that masters students cannot be issued a tripartite agreement as teaching is timetabled across the summer.
- If internship dates are within term time (i.e. you are going on a full-time internship as part of your course, such as a professional placement for undergraduates or a placement as part of a module for postgraduates) approval is required by your Tutor and Head of School.
- Companies will regularly try and recruit graduates and request an internship or placement agreement with the University. The University cannot enter into agreements with third parties relating to graduates as your formal relationship with the University has ended. Please clarify with your potential internship host whether this will be required before you apply for anything described as an internship.
- The UoP will only sign the University drafted agreement. We will not accept agreements provided by the company or intern or any amendments to this agreement.
- The University's sole obligation under the terms of the agreement is to confirm that the Intern is a registered student of the University as at the date of the agreement. The University is not responsible to the intern or the host for the internship arrangements, is not supervising the intern or promising the suitability of the intern or placement and is not insuring or liable for any issues arising during the internship.
Process
Once you have been offered an internship, you will be asked by your internship host to provide a Convention de Stage (France)/Convenio de Colaboracin (Spain)/Accordo di Collaborazione (Italy) or Tripartite Agreement for other European countries. You will need to allow for around 6 weeks to complete the following process to obtain your document:
- Email internships@plymouth.ac.uk with information about the internship you have found and requesting the form. We will send this form to you, for completion. Please ensure you provide detailed and accurate information. If you would like support with this, you can book an internships advice appointment (Internships Advice Appointment).
- Once you have completed the form, you will need to send this to your internship host, to sign that they accept the Terms and Conditions. The University cannot sign until the internship host has.
Placement year
What is a placement year?
A placement-year (also known as a sandwich-year, work-placement or year-in-industry), gives you the opportunity to gain substantial professional experience as part of your degree, whether in the UK or overseas.
Undertaken after your second year, you will work for an organisation for 6 to 12 months (depending on your course) before returning to complete your studies. While optional for many programmes, placements are strongly encouraged and can be one of the most valuable experiences of your university journey.
Why choose a placement year?
A placement year is one of the best ways to develop important graduate skills, gain industry experience and improve your employability before you graduate. You’ll get to apply what you've learned in a real workplace, build confidence, expand your professional network and gain valuable insight into your chosen career sector. By the time you graduate, you'll have a year of relevant work experience on your CV alongside your degree – very appealing to graduate recruiters!
Benefits include:
- Enhanced graduate employment prospects
- Valuable industry experience
- Development of technical and transferable skills
- Increased confidence and workplace awareness
- Stronger CVs and interview examples
- Professional networking opportunities
- Potential graduate opportunities with your placement employer
During your second year, you'll have access to:
- Timetabled placement preparation workshops
- Subject-specific placement resources and guidance, including lists of placement providers
- Employer and returning placement student presentations
- Daily appointments for support with applications, interviews and placement searches
- The Careers Hub and a wide range of online resources
- One-to-one advice from experienced placement professionals
Placement year tuition fee
To complete a University recognised optional placement year there is a reduced tuition fee which will not exceed 20% of the standard annual University tuition fee for the academic year you complete your placement. For more detail on this and the services/resources available to you whilst on a placement, please go to our dedicated
tuition fees for optional placement years page.
Who can do a placement and what support is available?
Many degree programmes offer the option of a placement year but if unsure you could check your programme specification or speak with your personal tutor.
Our dedicated Placements Team are here to support you throughout the process.
Forage – virtual experience
Forage offers you the opportunity to develop real-world skills directly from leading organisations through their Virtual Experience Programmes. Enrol now using your student email address and explore a diverse range of project simulations designed by top graduate employers.
Immerse yourself in realistic, employer-created projects and build the skills that will give you a competitive edge in the job market. Take advantage of this chance to explore different career options and get a head start on your professional development.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a fun and flexible way to gain valuable experience, to develop your skillset whilst making a positive impact and giving back to the community. It also says a lot about you as an individual and can be an interesting talking point when in future job interviews. The University of Plymouth SU collaborates with charities and organisations so that you can be more than just your degree and develop so much more.
For information visit https://www.upsu.com/volunteer/
Top tips for finding work experience
- Make use of the Placements and Internships Team, by booking a placements and internships advice appointment.
- Make regular use of myCareer and set up vacancy and event alerts
- Other recommended platforms to begin your work experience search includes:
- Start researching opportunities as early as possible. Attend careers events, including Careers Fairs, to meet employers. More info can be found on our
what's on page. - Attend your timetabled pre-placement sessions and check your DLE page, for everything you need to know about the placement year.
- Remember to remain polite and efficient in your communication with an employer, first impressions are key.
- Keep a log of all the companies you have approached to stay on top of your search. Never assume it’s too late to start looking, companies advertise throughout the year.
I had great fun working with the Ocean Conservation Trust seagrass team and learning all about growing seagrass in an enclosed aquaculture system. I got the opportunity to plant seagrass, watch it being deployed and, most importantly, get covered in sand!
Isabella Allen, Ocean Conservation Trust – Seagrass Research Intern
Go the extra mile. Look for placements even if it’s voluntary or just for a few weeks, it will benefit you in the long term. The more things you can put on your CV the more you stand out.
Recent graduate
Keep in touch with your Careers Service
Monday to Thursday from 8:30–17:00 Friday 09:30–16:30