Guidance for students

If your WRDTP studentship was funded from Autumn 2024 onwards, you are required to undertake the equivalent of 3 months of placement activity. The placement is an integral and assessed aspect of your studentship, and must be passed before you can submit your thesis and complete your viva.

The timing of your placement is flexible, but you cannot take it in the first 3 months or the last 3 months of your PhD funding period (or part-time equivalent). Ideally your placement should take place between months 12 and 24 of your PhD funding period (or part-time equivalent). Students on the 1+3.5 programme must complete their 1 year Masters programme before they are eligible to undertake their placement.

If your WRDTP studentship was funded before Autumn 2024 (which includes the 1+3 studentship funded from October 2023), you may undertake a placement, but it is not a compulsory funded aspect of your award. You will need to apply for additional funding through the Company Internship Scheme.

The Research in Practice (RinP) Placement Framework provides details of the standard parameters that we expect all placement activity to follow.

Some examples of the types of things that you might do are, but not limited to:

• Work in policy – produce a briefing paper, participate in a policy inquiry, or organise a policy event
• Answer a research question for an SME, think tank or charity
• Work in professional support services e.g. research services, quality assurance, finance, HR
• Business development or project management
• Process development or improvement
• Data collection, management and analysis
• Financial risk management
• Social media management

Some examples of previous hosts are:

• Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC)
• Samaritans
• Housing Quality Network
• Global Partners Governance
• Labour Behind the Label
• Good Food York
• International Trade Centre

In most circumstances, a UKRI policy internship will also count as your RinP placement, if you are successful in securing one. Information will be circulated by the WRDTP each year when applications for the scheme open.

If you are a WRDTP Collaborative Awards Scheme studentship holder, you will normally undertake your placement with your host partner organisation. If you wish to undertake a placement within a different organisation, you must do so with the agreement from your primary research supervisor and the host partner organisation.

Your placement is fully funded by your WRDTP studentship award, and you will continue to receive your stipend for the duration of the placement. During your placement, you will still be registered as a student, and so you cannot receive additional payment from your host in terms of a salary. However, a voluntary contribution towards expenses from your host organisation would be permitted. They should pay directly for the costs of accommodation and travel through their own procurement systems though, to avoid any tax implications for you.

Additionally, reasonable travel and accommodation expenses may be claimed from the WRDTP if essential for the placement to take place. You should submit your costings file giving an estimate of your expenses at the point of seeking approval for your placement from the WRDTP.

When planning your placement, you should think wisely about how you can make your funding go further. Perhaps you can arrange to stay close to your home university, so that you can live in your current accommodation and only incur travel costs, or maybe you could arrange to take your placement in an area where you can stay with a friend or relative for free. Remote placements with an occasional trip into the office will also save you accommodation costs.

• It is your responsibility to organise your own placement in consultation with your research supervisor. You must apply directly to your chosen host to secure yourself an opportunity, as the WRDTP will not match you to a project.
• Once you have secured yourself an opportunity you must let the WRDTP team know in good time before your placement is due to start, as all placements must be checked and approved in advance. Approval requests submitted outside of the advertised deadlines will not be reviewed, and you will not be permitted to start your placement.
• At the point of applying for approval, you must have the support and authorisation of your main supervisor.
• If your placement is taking place outside of the UK, you must evidence your adherence to any relevant policies from your institution by uploading the relevant documentation to the placement approval form. It is your responsibility to ensure that the policies of your institution are adhered to.
• Once your placement has been approved, you may not change the dates or details of your activities without contacting the WRDTP in advance.
• You must apply for support for travel and accommodation expenses in advance – retrospective applications for funding will not be considered under any circumstances.
• Once an application for financial support has been approved, no further monies will be awarded. You are expected to manage your costs within the award envelope.
• If for any reason your placement activity is cut short or cancelled, you must inform the WRDTP to allow for any spare funds to be called in.
• You cannot repurpose any unspent funds without seeking permission in advance from the WRDTP.
• You must comply with your department/school’s finance procedures and auditing processes as required. It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow the procurement rules in your home university when booking and paying for travel and accommodation.

More information coming soon