Real work experience

Students at the Renewable Energy and Engineering REEF Building

Even if your degree doesn’t include a placement as a core element of the course, we offer excellent opportunities to gain real business experience

Internships

Internships may help you to develop a range of skills and experiences that will be useful in your chosen career. The Career Zone runs a range of schemes and offers support to help University of Exeter students and graduates find and secure valuable internships opportunities.

Placements

Placements are jobs/work/projects that are undertaken as part of a credit-bearing module. The Career Zone and dedicated Placement teams offer a range of support and guidance to support students in finding and securing placements. They are a great way of developing a range of skills and experiences that can support students graduate career journey and success. Find out more about placements.

Work experience modules

Many of our degrees include a work experience module as an integral part of the programme. For those that don’t, you can opt to do one of the generic independent work experience modules. Through either paid or voluntary work placements, the module will help you develop essential transferable skills for your future employability.

Exeter Student Ambassador Scheme

The Student Ambassador Scheme offers paid opportunities to students want to engage with prospective students and positively promote Exeter's courses, campuses and community. There is a range of work available which offers the chance to develop key skills such as presentation, teamwork and adaptability. Ambassadors take part in a variety of activities including on-campus events such as open days and campus tours; visiting schools and colleges; and online, peer-to-peer chat.

We typically recruit c.150 students per year to either their Student Ambassador or Student Representative positions.

Career Mentor Scheme

The Career Mentor Scheme is a popular employability scheme which matches students at any stage of their studies, or recent graduates (up to three years post-graduation) with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6 month period.

Part-time jobs

Apart from providing you with money, a part-time job can provide you with experience to add to your CV. You will develop skills such as time-keeping, learning how to deal with colleagues, working as part of a team, problem solving and commercial awareness. Part-time work could provide experience in a field that you want a career in, helping convince employers you are serious about that career path.

Degree Apprenticeships

Exeter is proud to be one of the top universities offering Degree Apprenticeships. These innovative new degrees combine university study with paid work in a professional role related to your degree. One major benefit of choosing a Degree Apprenticeship is that your tuition fees will be paid for by your employer; you’ll also earn a salary throughout your studies. These degrees offer great employment prospects, as you’ll have gained valuable work experience prior to graduating.

Our degrees are delivered and developed in partnership with employers. As an applicant you can find yourself working for an amazing company, including those who are often among our top graduate employers. Partners have included IBM, the Met Office, Renishaw, BT, Laing O’Rourke and Airbus.

All of our Degree Apprenticeships lead to full Exeter degrees.

My professional training year was amazing! I spent the year at the University of Birmingham as a research intern in the School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Science. The research with which I was involved centred primarily on muscle metabolism and physiology.

In doing [the placement year] I feel I have acquired a skill-set that distinguishes me from other students and enhances my employment prospects.

I think it’s great that Exeter offers the opportunity to develop employability skills whilst contributing to your degree. In my final year I now have a new perspective as to how I can apply my learning post-studying.