Research in Practice Placements

 Finding a placement requires preparation. Before you begin searching for opportunities, we recommend completing the following activities.

What to do

Attend a WGSSS Research in Practice information session.

These online sessions are delivered each semester and advertised through the WGSSS monthly newsletter and Teams channel. Sessions provide an overview of the scheme and an opportunity to ask questions.

Sessions are advertised monthly in the WGSSS newsletter, or email esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk to request a one to one meeting.

Discuss placement timing with your supervisor(s)

Before applying for a placement, discuss your plans with your supervisor(s).

Consider:

• Your research schedule and key milestones
• Progression review requirements
• When a placement will have the least impact on your PhD research

Review your Development Needs Analysis (DNA). Your placement should support your professional development and long-term career goals.

Consider:

• What skills you want to develop
• Areas where you would benefit from additional experience
• How a placement can contribute to your future career plans

Update your CV and application materials

Update your CV and refresh your application and interview skills. Your university’s Careers and Employability Service can provide support and guidance.

Key points

• Placements cannot be completed within the first 3 months of your PhD
• If you are applying in your final year, you must have at least six months remaining on your funding period at the start of the placement.
• Placements cannot be undertaken during your Master’s year.
• Focus on the skills and experience you want to gain, not just placements related to your research topic.

Timescale: Allow up to 6 months for planning, or longer when considering external schemes such as UKRI Policy Internships

Next Steps

• Read the placement guidance documents (top of this page)
• Complete the Expression of Interest form (bottom of this page)

You can secure a placement in one of three ways:

WGSSS-Advertised Placements

Apply directly to opportunities advertised on the Placement Opportunities Page.

WGSSS works with host organisations across the public, private and academic sectors to develop placement opportunities which are advertised through the WGSSS website and Research in Practice Teams channel.

Each opportunity includes:

• A placement description
• Proposed activities and objectives
• Skills development
• Expected outcomes
• Application instructions

Researchers apply directly to the host organisation.

When submitting your application, please copy (cc) the inbox: esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk

The host organisation manages recruitment and makes the final selection of successful candidates.

We encourage researchers to consider opportunities beyond their immediate research area and focus instead on the skills and experience they wish to develop.

If you accept a placement, please email esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk

Please note: You may not be successful with your first application, so allow sufficient time for planning and applying.

External Placement Schemes

You may apply for opportunities through external placement programmes, such as

• UKRI Policy Internships
• Other doctoral placement or internship schemes

External placements must meet WGSSS and ESRC placement requirements, including duration and funding eligibility criteria.

If you are unsure whether an opportunity is eligible, contact esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk before applying.

Self-Organised Placements

You may arrange your own placement by approaching a suitable organisation directly and develop a placement that meets both your development needs and host requirements.

Key points

When developing a self-organised placement:

• Share the WGSSS Host Guidelines with the organisation
• Discuss potential activities and outcomes
• Ensure the placement supports your development needs
• Ensure the placement meets WGSSS requirements
• Consider affordability and travel commitments

Your supervisor may also be able to introduce you to contacts within their professional network. Once a placement has been agreed in principle, please email esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk so we can issue the Placement Application form for review and approval.

Timescale: Up to 6-9 months depending on recruitment timelines.

Placement eligibility at a glance

• Must meet ESRC/WGSSS placement requirements. See Guidance document
• Must support your skills and professional development
• Can be public, private, third sector or academic
• Can be in-person, remote or hybrid
• Must be approved by WGSSS before it begins

Placement Format

Placements may be:

• In-person
• Remote
• Hybrid

Researchers should, where possible, seek placements within reasonable commuting distance unless remote working is available or travel costs are covered

Once you have secured a placement offer, apply for WGSSS approval before the placement begins. The Research in Practice Placement is a mandatory component of a WGSSS studentship and all placements must be approved to ensure they meet ESRC requirements and support your development needs

You will need to:

• Complete the WGSSS Placement Application Form.
• Obtain input from your host organisation and supervisor.
• Apply for placement funding (if required).
• Complete any host onboarding requirements.
• Complete any university approval processes (WGSSS can advise and co-ordinate).

Key points

• Submit your application at least 12 weeks before the placement start date.
• Applications received less than 8 weeks before the start date may delay commencement.
• A signed placement agreement and required approvals must be in place before you start.

Timescale: Minimum 8-12 weeks.

During your placement you remain a registered doctoral researcher at your home university.

Your responsibilities
• Maintain contact with your supervisor(s).
• Engage fully in placement activities.
• Complete any visa monitoring requirements where applicable.
• Raise any concerns with your host organisation, university, or WGSSS as soon as possible.

Student Visa Holders
• Researchers holding a Student Visa must continue to meet all university monitoring and reporting requirements to remain compliant with UKVI regulations.

Timescale: 13 weeks full time placement or 26 weeks part time placement

  At the end of your placement, submit the required reporting and evaluation documents.
You will need to:

• Submit your End of Placement Report.
• Complete the placement feedback survey.
• Reflect on skills and experience gained
• Share outcomes and impact where appropriate

We recommend that students arrange a meeting with their Academic Supervisor to discuss their return to doctoral studies to ensure a smooth transition back to their PhD project.

Timescale: Within 1 month of completion

Placement opportunities are advertised on our Placement Opportunities page. Whenever a new placement opportunity is added to the webpage, it is announced through the WGSSS Research in Practice Placements Teams channel to make students aware of the opportunity. Placement opportunities are also highlighted in the monthly WGSSS newsletter and other email communications. Students are encouraged to enable notifications for the Teams channel and regularly check the Placement Opportunities page throughout the year, as new opportunities are added on a rolling basis.

In addition to opportunities advertised by WGSSS, students can also identify and apply for placements independently. You may wish to explore opportunities through professional networks, employers, charities, public sector organisations, policy bodies, third-sector organisations, research institutes, and university careers services.

Students are not restricted to placements advertised by WGSSS. However, any self-sourced placement must meet the requirements of the Research in Practice scheme and receive the necessary approvals before it can proceed. Please refer to the “Find a Placement” section of the step-by-step guide above for further information.

If you are struggling to identify a suitable opportunity, you can contact the WGSSS Research in Practice co-ordinator for guidance and support.  

You should discuss the timing of your placement with your research supervisor(s) to identify a period that minimises disruption to your doctoral research. For most students, this is likely to be between months 12 and 30 of their PhD funding period (or the part-time equivalent), typically after completion of a progression review (or equivalent milestone).

However, placement timing is flexible, and placements may be undertaken at any point between months 3 and 30 months of the PhD funding period (or part-time equivalent)

We strongly encourage students to complete their placement by month 30 wherever possible. This allows sufficient time to focus on the final stages of the PhD, including completing research activities, writing the thesis, and preparing any publications. As securing a placement can take several months, particularly if working with government organisations where security clearance is required, you should begin planning well in advance of your intended start date.  

If you are funded through a Collaborative Awards studentship, you will normally undertake your placement with your collaborative partner organisation. If you wish to complete your placement with a different host organisation, you must first obtain agreement from both your principal research supervisor and your collaborative partner.

Regardless of the host organisation, the placement project must align with the aims of the Research in Practice scheme, support and develop the skills from your DNA, and be clearly distinct from your PhD research. The intended outcomes of the placement should be sufficiently differentiated from those of your doctoral project and should not simply be a continuation of your existing research. Any work undertaken as part of the placement must not form part of your PhD thesis.

Student can claim up to a maximum of £1000 for expenses for a placement. These expense are designed to cover exceptional costs that you would not have incurred if not undertaking the placement. Eligible costs include travel or accommodation.

If you are applying for a placement in person, you should make sure this is within a commutable distance

All request for expenses must be approved in advance of the placement commencing when you submit your application for placement approval. Please see the WGSSS Placement Expense guidance for further information.

If you become unwell or need to take medical leave during the placement, you should notify the host organisation on the first day of your absence.  You will then need to inform the host organisation and WGSSS when you are able to start working again.  If the period of medical leave exceeds one week, the placement end date may need to be extended to ensure the ESRC minimum placement duration of 13 weeks is met. Please refer to the medical leave procedures outlined in the WGSSS Student Handbook.   Should the placement end date require amendment, please notify WGSSS by email at esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk.

  Yes. Part time placements are available, however not all placements can be offered part-time if they are time-sensitive. The duration of a part time placement would be over 26 weeks.

As per the placement guidance, Part time students are expected to step back from their PhD to focus on the placement and can maintain other roles they were holding part time alongside their PhD, e.g., employment, caring responsibilities etc.

If you are a Part time student, you must be in your third, fourth, fifth or sixth year of part-time study (equivalent to second or third year full time) when you start the placement and must have more than six months left before your funding end date when you start the placements.

  WGSSS manages arrangements for the mandatory 13-week Research in Practice (RiP) placement, for which funding is already built into your ESRC studentship award. As your studentship already includes dedicated time for this placement, you would not receive a funded extension to your award to undertake an additional or longer placement.

If you wish to undertake a placement beyond the 13 weeks available through the RiP scheme, this would be a separate arrangement that you would need to pursue independently, with the agreement of your academic supervisor, host organisation and home institution. You would be required to suspend your studies for the additional period. Please note that any suspension would count towards the maximum 12 months of suspension permitted during your studentship.

During a period of suspension, your stipend payments would be paused. Funding (stipend) would need to be provided by the placement host for the relevant period beyond 3 months. Any payment or remuneration for the extended placement would need to be agreed directly between you and the host organisation, as WGSSS does not administer or fund placements beyond the mandatory 13-week RiP placement.

  As the ESRC funds research and training within the UK, placements are normally expected to take place with a UK-based organisation.

However, overseas placements may be considered in exceptional circumstances where they would provide access to skills, expertise or opportunities that could not reasonably be developed through a UK-based placement. In these cases, you would need to provide a clear and robust rationale demonstrating why the relevant skills and experience cannot be obtained with a UK based organisation.

Students proposing an overseas placement should discuss their plans with their research supervisor(s) and contact the WGSSS Research in Practice team at an early stage, as additional approvals will be required.

Please also note that funding available to support placement-related expenses is limited (£1,000) therefore you should carefully consider whether the placement is financially viable within the available funding allocation.

 No, the placement time is already included in your funded period. For example, +3.5 year awards provide three and a half years of funding, with three months of that ring-fenced for the Research in Practice placement. This means the extra time is built in from the start – you won’t lose time on your PhD.

 Yes. We actively encourage students to consider opportunities outside their specific PhD topic in order to gain broader skills and experiences.

Research in Practice placements are intended to support the development needs identified through your Development Needs Analysis (DNA). They provide an opportunity to apply your research and transferable skills in a new environment, develop professional experience, and increase awareness of the wide range of careers available to social science researchers.

Placements should be distinct from your PhD research and must not be a continuation of your doctoral project. Placement activities cannot be used to support your thesis, data collection, fieldwork, or any other research outputs that will form part of your PhD.

Many students find that undertaking a placement outside their immediate research area helps them build confidence, develop new skills, expand their professional networks, and explore potential career pathways.

You can read about the experiences and benefits reported by previous students here.

 Get in touch with the Research in Practice Placement co-ordinator – who is happy to help. Email esrcrip@bangor.ac.uk