Guidance for postgraduate researchers

Placement scheme details

Undertaking a Research in Practice (RinP) placement is a mandatory component of your PhD if your studentship was funded by the ESRC from Autumn 2024. You will spend the equivalent of 3 months away from your PhD research, working with an external host partner on a discrete project, challenge or research question. You get to choose what you do, where you do it, and when you do it, to suit your needs and career aspirations.

Your placement will help you to:

apply your research skills in different contexts
collaborate across sectoral and disciplinary boundaries
develop a range of transferable skills
proactively engage in your own personal development
build on your professional network
gain insight into a possible career
make an impact early in your career
address real world challenges

The placement scheme has been designed to be flexible to cater for all postgraduate researchers’ needs and requirements, so there is something for everyone. You have the option to work part-time hours, with a flexible/ remote working pattern, and you do not need to complete all of your placement activity in one continuous block. The Research in Practice (RinP) Placement Framework provides further details of the standard parameters that we expect all placement activity to follow. All placements will be checked and approved by the WRDTP to ensure that they provide a high quality learning experience for you.

The RinP placements scheme is managed by the WRDTP in collaboration with colleagues in the seven partner universities. The WRDTP’s Placements Manager will deliver an online briefing session about the scheme each academic year, which will give you the chance to ask any questions that you might have.

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). Postgraduate researchers 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 research supervisor(s) 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 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 primary research supervisor.
If your placement is taking place outside of the UK, you must evidence your adherence to any relevant policies from your university by uploading the relevant documentation to the placement approval form. It is your responsibility to ensure that the policies of your university 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 university when booking and paying for travel and accommodation.

Your university’s WRDTP Link Administrator is responsible for liaising with you on the administration of your RinP placement activity (e.g. travel documentation, accessing financial support etc).

Contacts at each university can be found below:

University of Bradford	Neil Turner	Admissions Office	research@bradford.ac.uk
University of Hull	Sarah Greer	Doctoral College	s.greer@hull.ac.uk
University of Leeds	Shirley Yeadon	Doctoral College	s.yeadon@adm.leeds.ac.uk
Manchester Metropolitan University	Tingyuan Yang/Fiona Commons	Doctoral Funding	doctoralfunding@mmu.ac.uk
University of Sheffield	Sarah Aspey/James Peacock	FoSS Graduate School	fcs-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk
Sheffield Hallam University	Please contact your Research Institute PGR support team in the first instance	Social and Economic Research Institute OR Health Research Institute	social-economic-pgr@shu.ac.uk OR Health-pgr@shu.ac.uk
University of York	Sarah Ramshaw	Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (RIKE)	esrc-whiterose-dtp@york.ac.uk

For support to negotiate your placement opportunity (e.g. CV checks, application checks, interview prep etc) you should contact your university’s Careers and Employability service.

Contacts at each university can be found below:

University of Bradford	Zailie Barratt	careers@bradford.ac.uk	Bradford Careers
University of Hull	The Careers Service	Contact Us	Hull Careers
University of Leeds	Will Storey	WorkBasedPartnerships@leeds.ac.uk	Leeds Internship Programme
Manchester Metropolitan University	Careers Service	Contact Us	MMU Careers
University of Sheffield	Careers and Employability Service	Book an appointment	Sheffield Researchers Careers
Sheffield Hallam University	Careers and Employability Service	careers@shu.ac.uk	SHU Careers & Employability SHU Placements
University of York	Careers and Placements	careers@york.ac.uk	York Careers

Before your placement

Before you can start your placement, you should complete the following actions:

The WRDTP Placements Manager will deliver an online briefing session in early 2025, and all eligible postgraduate researchers will be invited to attend by email.

Come along to hear all about the scheme, and to have your questions answered.

You should chat to your research supervisor as early as possible, and record your plans for your time on placement in your Development Needs Analysis (DNA) document. You may also want to contact your university’s Careers and Employability service to ask for some guidance and advice. You can find relevant contact details above.

When planning your placement, you should think about the skills that you want to gain or develop, and the type of career you may want after you have completed your PhD.

You should plan to take your placement at a time that causes the minimal amount of disruption to your research. This will most likely be between months 12 and 24 of your PhD funding period (or part-time equivalent); after you have completed your progression review.

The Research in Practice placements scheme is researcher-led, which means you take responsibility for organising your own placement in consultation with your research supervisor. The WRDTP will not match you to a project. You choose what you do, where you do it, and when you do it.

Apply for advertised opportunities

The WRDTP will negotiate placement opportunities with high-quality host organisations on your behalf. They will be advertised on the Placement Opportunities page, and by email announcements to your university inbox.

It is your responsibility to apply directly to the host organisation for any of the advertised opportunities.

Find your own placement

You also have the opportunity to source your own placement, as long as it meets the criteria for approval in the Research in Practice (RinP) Placement Framework.

You could approach an organisation that you have an interest in, or your research supervisor may be able to suggest someone they already collaborate with.

As part of your Research in Practice placement, you are required to complete an assessment. This will be assessed on a pass/fail basis, and you must pass this assessment to pass your placement.

You will need to:

deliver an oral presentation or briefing to your placement host
submit an output to accompany the oral presentation

The output must be submitted to the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP), and will be marked by your research supervisor. You can view further detailed guidance about your assessment in the WRDTP Placement Assessment – Postgraduate Researcher Guidance.

You should plan your assessment in advance in collaboration with your placement host and research supervisor. At the point of seeking approval for your placement project from the WRDTP, you will be asked to suggest what format your output will take.

All placements must be checked and approved by the WRDTP team before you can start. We check that the project meets the skill/experience level required to challenge you as a postgraduate researcher, and that it provides you with an opportunity to develop your transferable skills. We also consider health and wellbeing factors such as working hours, supervision, and any hazards or risks that the placement may involve.

You must apply for placement approval within one of the call deadlines (see key dates below), and in good time before your placement is due to start. Approval requests submitted outside of these deadlines will not be reviewed, and you will not be permitted to start your placement.

If you choose to work with multiple hosts for your placement activity, either in consecutive placements or as separate blocks, each placement with a new host will need to be approved separately by the WRDTP team.

How to apply for approval:

All applications for placement approval must be made in advance by the postgraduate researcher using the WRDTP Research in Practice (RinP) Placement Approval Form. A copy of the approval form questions can be previewed in advance.

Due to the form containing a file upload request, for security purposes, you must have a Google account in order to submit a response. If you do not have a Google account already, you can make one using an existing email address. Instructions are available.

Please check your submission for accuracy and let the WRDTP team know if any changes need to be made – placements@wrdtp.ac.uk

Supporting documentation:

The form requires the following file uploads:

A description of your placement project (template if required)
A supporting statement from your placement host (template if required – to be completed by the placement host and uploaded by the postgraduate researcher)
A supporting statement from your research supervisor (template if required – to be completed by the research supervisor and uploaded by the postgraduate researcher)
Costings file (template)
Overseas travel (an approved risk assessment and proof of travel insurance from your university combined into a single PDF)

After you apply for approval:

Once received, applications for approval are reviewed by the WRDTP Deputy Director (Training) and the WRDTP Placements Manager on behalf of the Academic Quality Committee (AQC). Where appropriate, an applicant may be asked to provide further information and/or to revise the application as part of the decision-making process.

Outcomes are then communicated to WRDTP Link Administrators, who are responsible for informing the applicant. In cases where an application for approval has been declined, the reason for such a decision will be made clear to the applicant.

Where an application for funding is approved, the funds are made available to the postgraduate researcher’s department/school via the WRDTP Link Administrator.

Key dates:

A call for placement approval applications will be made 6 times per annum:

	Call opens	Call deadline	Panel decision
1	3 February 2025	28 February 2025	7 March 2025
2	31 March 2025	25 April 2025	2 May 2025
3	2 June 2025	27 June 2025	4 July 2025
4	4 August 2025	29 August 2025	5 September 2025
5	29 September 2025	24 October 2025	31 October 2025
6	1 December 2025	9 January 2026	16 January 2026