Guidance for students

Yes – undertaking a placement is a mandatory component of your PhD if your studentship was funded by the ESRC from Autumn 2024. You must complete the equivalent of 3 months full-time work (37.5 hours per week) before you can submit your thesis and complete your viva.

You get to choose what you do, where you do it, and when you do it, to suit your needs and career aspirations. You will have the opportunity to apply elements of your research in the workplace, build on your professional network, and gain insight into a possible career, to name but a few benefits.

Your placement is fully funded by your studentship award, and you will continue to receive your stipend for the duration.

If you are a WRDTP studentship award holder who started your PhD before Autumn 2024, 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 placement scheme has been designed to be flexible to cater for all students’ 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.

Please get in touch with your home university contact to discuss the support that we can offer you.

If you have a disability, we encourage you to discuss your circumstances with the Disability Officer at your home university, as they can provide you with a support plan, which you can also share with your host organisation if you choose to.

The RiP placements scheme is managed by the WRDTP in collaboration with staff in your home universities. The WRDTP’s Placements Manager will deliver an online briefing session about the scheme each academic year, which gives you the chance to ask any questions that you might have. Additionally, you can get in touch with your home university contact to discuss the support that they can offer you. This may be in relation to e.g. contacting a suitable placement host, preparing an application statement, or planning what your project will entail.

Yes – 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 research student, 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 submit all of the paperwork for appraisal by the WRDTP team in good time before your placement is due to start, and within one of the call deadlines. This includes the approval form, a letter/ email of confirmation from your host, the costings template (if you are requesting financial support from the WRDTP), and travel documentation (if your placement is overseas). Additionally, you must include an email from your primary research supervisor to confirm that the placement has been discussed with them and agreed.

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.

Placements are flexible to support all students to participate in and gain value from them, but they must meet certain criteria to be approved.

Placements should:

• represent a discrete project, challenge or question from your PhD research.
• comprise a clear programme of activity/project which will develop your transferable skills and ability to apply your research skills in different contexts.
• not be used as a substitute for temporary staff or to cover business as usual within a host organisation.
• meet the skill/experience level required to challenge a postgraduate research student.

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

Placements can be held physically, virtually or a hybrid of the two.

All placements must be checked and approved by the WRDTP team to ensure that they provide a high quality experience, before you are permitted to start.

The WRDTP will negotiate placement opportunities with high-quality host organisations on your behalf. They will be advertised via the “Placement Opportunities” section on the WRDTP website and by email announcements to your student inbox. All ESRC funded students across all seven partner institutions are welcome to apply to any opportunity listed. They will be made available to you throughout the academic year, so make sure you check back periodically for new opportunities that might interest you.

It is your responsibility to apply directly to the host organisation for any of the advertised opportunities, and to secure yourself a placement, as the WRDTP will not match you to a project. If you need support with this, please get in touch with your home university contact and they will be happy to help you.

In addition to the placements sourced by the WRDTP, you also have the opportunity to source your own placement, as long as it meets the criteria listed above in the “What types of placement are suitable?” FAQ. The WRDTP reserves the right not to approve a placement if it does not meet these criteria.

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.

You get to choose who you work with for your placement. You can work for any organisation across the public, private and voluntary sector who you think will provide the most beneficial experience for your needs and career aspirations.

It is your responsibility to approach a host organisation to arrange your own placement, as the WRDTP will not match you to a project. You can either contact any of the hosts that the WRDTP has liaised with on your behalf, or you can approach a host of your own choosing.

You may work in your own higher education institution, but we strongly encourage you to seek opportunities with other hosts to broaden your experience and networks.

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

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.

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

No – your part-time job cannot be used as your placement activity.

Placements should:

• represent a discrete project, challenge or question from your PhD research.
• comprise a clear programme of activity/project which will develop your transferable skills and ability to apply your research skills in different contexts.
• not be used as a substitute for temporary staff or to cover business as usual within a host organisation.
• meet the skill/experience level required to challenge a postgraduate research student.

You may undertake a project focussed on conducting research, but it must be unrelated to your PhD research and cannot form part of your thesis. We strongly encourage you to undertake your placement in a non-academic setting, as this will allow you to develop your ability to apply research skills in different contexts, and to collaborate across sectoral and disciplinary boundaries. It also gives you the chance to build your network of collaborative partners, which are important for a career in academic research.

We recognise that students come to doctoral training with a range of experiences and aspirations though, and so placements in academic (research-based) settings that can offer a sufficiently differentiated experience will be considered where appropriate. You may not work with your current supervisor and/or research team though, and you must work outside of your home department.

The WRDTP will not source placements in academic (research-based) settings on your behalf, and so if you would like to undertake this type of placement, you will need to negotiate the opportunity for yourself.

You may undertake your placement with a host based outside of the UK, but the WRDTP will not source this type of placement on your behalf, you will have to negotiate it for yourself.

Placements overseas come with additional costs such as air fare, and you need to consider how you will fund this, as it is not guaranteed that the WRDTP can provide you with financial support.

We will also only approve for you to undertake a placement outside of the UK if you follow all of the specific guidance from your home institution for overseas travel. If you need support with this, please get in touch with your home university contact and they will be happy to help you.

Your time spent on placement must be equivalent to no less than 3 months full-time work (37.5 hours per week) and cannot exceed this. Placements can be held on a full- or part-time basis to suit your individual requirements, but if you choose to work part-time, you must still complete the equivalent of 3 months full-time work e.g. 2.5 days a week over 6 months.

Your working hours will depend on the nature of the placement and the needs of the host organisation, but it is not expected that you will work outside of normal full-time working hours (usually 8am – 6pm). Any preparation work that you are required to do for your placement must also be within the 3 month allocation, and not in addition to this.

Your placement will normally be undertaken in one continuous block (3-months full-time, or part-time equivalent) with one host organisation. However, you may undertake up to three shorter placements consecutively, or at different time periods, either with the same host or with up to three different hosts, as long as the total time spent on placement is equivalent to 3 months full-time work (37.5 hours per week). A one-month block is the minimum amount of time that you can spend with any single host.

The WRDTP will only negotiate placements that are 3 months in length (or part-time equivalent) with host organisations on your behalf, so if you would like to split your time between multiple hosts, you must organise this for yourself in consultation with your research supervisor.

If you choose to work with multiple hosts for your placement activity, each placement with a new host will need to be approved separately by the WRDTP team. However, if you are working with the same host, but across separate time blocks i.e. not all 3 months will be undertaken consecutively, you will only need to seek approval from the WRDTP for your placement once.

You should plan in consultation with your research supervisor 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. However, the timing of your placement is flexible, and it may be taken at any point during the studentship, as long as it is not in the first 3 months or the last 3 months of the PhD funding period (or part-time equivalent).

We strongly encourage you to have completed your placement before month 36 of your PhD funding period though (or part-time equivalent), so that you can focus the rest of your time on completing your PhD research, and writing your thesis and any research papers.

Placements should not take place during a Masters period, but you may use this time to plan what you will do.

No – you cannot be paid a salary during your placement. You will continue to be registered as a student at your home university for the duration of your placement, and will continue to receive your stipend. You cannot receive funding from your host in the form of a direct payment (e.g. as a salary), as you may become eligible to pay income tax. However, a voluntary contribution towards your expenses (e.g. travel, accommodation, work clothing, equipment etc) from your host organisation is permitted. Additionally, reasonable travel and accommodation expenses may be claimed for from the WRDTP if essential for your placement to take place.