Oxford

GAINING EXPERIENCE AND DEVELOPING SKILLS
C
THE INTERNSHIP
OFFICE
Part of The Careers Service, The Internship Office runs
a unique scheme – The Internship Programme – which
provides work experience opportunities for Oxford
students in locations in the UK and around the world.
The Internship Office also runs other schemes aimed at
specific groups of students to help them to find internship
placements.
THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
The Internship Office’s flagship
programme sources hundreds of
summer internship opportunities in
locations around the globe, all exclusively
available to current, matriculated Oxford
University students. They’re offered in
a wide variety of sectors, and often
come with generous support or travel
scholarships. There are opportunities
suitable for students of all levels of
experience and of all years of study,
from first year undergrads to final year
DPhils. The internships are advertised
from January each year, with application
deadlines from February onwards. You
may not have considered working for a
children’s publisher in Canada or working
for a mergers and acquisition company
in China, yet these are internships offered
by some of the programme’s regular
sponsors.
Possible funded opportunities include:
]]
Internships with world-leading
international development
organisations, such as the UN
Development Programme and
development charities in Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
]]
Professional placements from
multinational organisations like
Sony in Japan and boutique finance
companies around the world.
]]
Scientific research internships with
universities and institutes in Japan,
India, Brazil, Russia, Germany and
China.
]]
Teaching positions in schools around
the world.
]]
A wide range of arts and heritage
internships, from the Hermitage in
St Petersburg to Washington’s Naval
History Museum.
The Internship Programme also offers
access to placements in the UK,
beyond the undergraduate internship
schemes of the major graduate
employers. There are opportunities
in research, the arts, publishing and
charitable work. As ever, the skills of
engineers, computer scientists and
students with numerical skills are much
in demand.
If you want to remain in Oxford over
the summer, the programme aims
to provide many local opportunities
and is increasing the provision
of placements available within
Oxford University itself. We currently
have placements within colleges,
departments, the Bodleian and the
University museums. The Internship
Office tries to ensure that every
placement comes with either a
stipend or assistance with travel or
accommodation. Funding is also
available for some internships. UK
internships advertised through the
programme will be paid at National
Minimum Wage or above if the work is
offered by a company in the for-profit
sector.
THE DOCTORAL INTERNSHIP
PROGRAMME
DPhil students from the Doctoral
Training Centres in Humanities,
Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary
Biosciences may apply to this
programme for funding and dedicated
support to undertake a three-month
internship. Internships can take place
at any time during your studies and
in any sector. The Internship Office
provides access to a database of
internship providers to assist your
search, and can liaise between you
and employers to find an option that
corresponds to your interests.
FIONA WHITEHOUSE
INTERNSHIP OFFICE
MANAGER
“
If you’re not sure what you
would like to do, internships
are a great way of dipping
your toe in the water and
making contacts along the
way, as well as
building your confidence
and looking great on your
CV.
”
MORITZ-HEYMAN INTERNSHIPS
The Moritz-Heyman scholarships for
students from low income backgrounds
include funding set aside specifically for
internships. If you are a Moritz-Heyman
scholar, you can apply for an internship
scholarship at any point during your
undergraduate studies. Contact The
Internship Office for an appointment
to discuss your interests, and they’ll
be happy to assist you in finding an
appropriate internship placement.
MICRO INTERNSHIPS
The micro-internship programme offers
very short-duration projects of defined
scope, in a wide variety of organisations,
from entrepreneurial local businesses
to development charities, and from
scientific laboratories to museums.
Micro-internships are voluntary, full time
work experiences that last between two
to five days in Week 9 of every term.
They consist partly of a defined project
and partly of work shadowing and are
designed to give you a brief introduction
to working in a particular sector.
They are unpaid but travel and lunch
expenses are covered.
www.careers.ox.ac.uk
35