Internships provide an opportunity to gain graduate level work experience, typically during the summer vacation or during term-time.
Many large companies target their internships at undergraduate students in their second, or penultimate, year of study. About a third of their graduate positions are filled by students who have completed an internship or placement year with them. Some internships are also open to graduates.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) also offer internships, although these are not always advertised.
The Careers Service organises a range of internships, both on campus and with SMEs in the North East. These are available during term-time and in the summer.
Benefits of doing an internship
Internships can help you to:
gain hands-on experience and develop industry knowledge, providing useful evidence for your skills and motivation when you apply for graduate jobs
decide where your future career interests lie
gain an insight into UK business culture
make contacts within the sector; some students secure graduate jobs with their internship provider
gain positive feedback and references, useful for future applications
Many internships are paid or provide a bursary; the Careers Service doesn’t advertise unpaid internships. You can find advice on our website about funding for unpaid work experience.
When to apply
Applications for large companies start to open in September, the year before the internship will take place. They start to close between November and February. This is usually to allow for quite a lengthy application process.
Internships organised by the Careers Service will be advertised on MyCareer throughout the academic year, with term-time internships advertised from October and summer internships from March.
Some companies recruit all year round, particularly SMEs, but it is best to start looking as early as possible.
Recruitment fairs are not just for graduate jobs. Most employers at our events also offer internships, so go along and find out more about their opportunities.
At our employer presentations, you can hear about their internship schemes, build your network and ask questions.
We also list events from external organisations. These can include opportunities to find out about work experience.
Guides and advice
To find out more about the internships and placements undertaken by Newcastle University students, including case studies and top tips, visit the Experience Newcastle blog.
The following resources also include advice, case studies and employer profiles:
The two most common ways of finding internships are applying for advertised opportunities, and seeking out hidden ones by networking and applying speculatively.
The Careers Service advertises internships on MyCareer. Log in to search for internships during vacations or term-time and sign up for personalised email alerts.
The Careers Service organise paid internships on campus and with local businesses during term-time. These are in a range of occupational areas, from marketing to IT. They run in both semester 1 and 2, and are designed to be flexible around your timetable.
Our term-time NCL Internships offer the chance to undertake internships with local businesses, as well as UK-wide virtual projects. Internships run from 50 hours upwards and offer a bursary depending on the project length. For example, for a 50 hour project, you would receive a bursary of £500, and £1000 for 100 hours.
To search for these opportunities, go to MyCareer, click on 'search' in the top menu and then select 'search work experience’. In the side bar menu, type 'NCL Internship', and select 'term-time internship' under vacancy type.
Internships on campus
These projects can be based in a range of departments and schools across campus. Projects often include research, but also cover occupational areas such as marketing and IT. Project lengths can vary, and you will be paid an hourly rate. To find out more, see JobsOC Internships.
To search for these opportunities, go to MyCareer, click on ‘search’ in the top menu and then select ‘vacancies’. In the side bar menu, type ‘Newcastle University’ in the organisation search box, then select ‘term-time internship’ under vacancy type.
Use the resources below to look for paid advertised summer internships, in a range of occupational areas. You can also arrange term-time internships by making speculative applications.
NCL Internships
Our summer NCL Internships offer the chance to undertake internships with local businesses, as well as UK wide virtual projects, in a range of occupational areas.
Internships run from 50 hour micro internships up to full time opportunities. Students receive a bursary of up to £4000 for a 10 week full time internship over the summer.
To search for these opportunities, go to MyCareer. Click on ‘search’ in the top menu and then select ‘search work experience’. In the side bar menu, type ‘NCL internship’ in the quick search box, and select ‘vacation internship’ under vacancy type.
Internships on campus
For information about summer internships on campus, see JobsOC internships.
You can find them on MyCareer by clicking on ‘search work experience’ in the top menu. In the side bar menu, type ‘Newcastle University’ in the organisation search box, and select ‘vacation internship’ under vacancy type.
Internships around the UK
Use the following resources to find advertised vacation internships around the UK:
MyCareer - select 'vacation internships' under 'vacancy type'
Prospects – select ‘work experience’ under ‘types of jobs’
10,000 Black Interns - paid summer internships for students or recent graduates who are Black African, Black Caribbean and/or Black British. Applications open in August and close in October
TheJobCrowd – select ‘work experience’ or ‘internship’ under ‘job type’
Finding work experience in a specific sector is often arranged through speculative applications, however, you can also find resources targeting specific industries, for example; Inside Careers offers internships in finance, insurance and patents.
Many large companies target their internships at second or penultimate year students, but they can also offer insight programmes for first year students. If they don’t specify which year groups can apply, you could contact them to clarify whether you are eligible, or just apply anyway.
The Careers Service runs a work shadowing scheme for first year students during the Easter vacation, which includes a day’s shadowing with a local graduate employer. Applications for these will open in Semester 2.
To find opportunities, in addition to using other resources on this page, you could try:
Student Ladder – work placements for first year students in a range of sectors
Rate My Placement – insight programmes for first year students, mostly in finance and law
Most internships are aimed at current students, but there are also opportunities for graduates interested in gaining experience. If a company doesn’t explicitly state that they only recruit students, you could contact them to check if you are eligible, or just apply anyway.
The Careers Service organises internships for graduates with local and regional employers. These are advertised on MyCareer throughout the year.
To find graduate opportunities, in addition to using other resources on this page, you could try:
STEP – UK wide project based work placements for students and graduates
Not all internships are advertised. In fact, many people create opportunities through networking and making contacts, or by developing their own business ideas.
If you have identified a company you would like to work for, you could try approaching them directly about possible opportunities. Send them a tailored CV and covering letter, expressing your enthusiasm for the sector and showing that you have researched the company.
Where possible, identify a contact name to address your covering letter to. Call or email to find out who is responsible for recruitment within the organisation or a key contact in the department you want to work in.
It’s useful to follow up a speculative application with a phone call a few days afterwards to show you are serious and motivated.
TARGETjobs have a useful guide about making a speculative application to find hidden internships.
Finding companies
Find organisations on MyCareer - click on ‘search organisations’ under the Vacancies tab
Researching employers – contains sources of company profiles and a list of business directories and databases
LinkedIn – an online networking tool allowing users to connect with professionals across all industries
LinkedIn's Find Alumni tool can help you find organisations Newcastle graduates are working in
Other ways to find internships
Other ways to find internships
Academic schools sometimes offer internships, for example through research scholarships. There are also opportunities through externally-funded vacation studentship schemes, eg through research institutes and charities. For science-related scholarships, see our Life Science and Physical Science sector pages. Ask your school if they run similar schemes or have contacts you could approach.
Some student competitions, such as TARGETjobs’ Undergraduate of the Year, offer a paid internship as a prize.
Forage is an Australian resource offering virtual internships. These are online programs built and endorsed by leading companies, such as KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and Unilever. They contain a series of resources and tasks designed to simulate the real-world experience of starting a career.
