Please note that unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control the Faculty Global Placement Grant has been paused for Summer 2024 and will not be available this year.
Put theory into practice, gain practical skills, and develop a global perspective while still studying for your undergraduate degree. Over recent years, numerous students in our faculty have benefited from undertaking overseas work experience opportunities, either independently or with the support of school and faculty placement schemes.
Many students have been very interested in pursuing overseas roles, but have been put off by the costs. We actively support students throughout the process, providing guidance and resources. Therefore, the Faculty of Social Sciences will be offering financial support of up to a £750 grant to students who wish to undertake international work experience.
This support is designed to enable a wider group of students enjoy great career related work experience overseas without fear of incurring excessive costs. The grant will support the costs, living expenses and associated charges of these. Annually we can award 15-25 grants depending on application numbers.
International work experience can give you hands-on experience with a global organisation. This can make a real difference to that organisation or community, as well as improving your own skills and international experience. Many placement providers build in mentoring, additional training, and some even offer language skills, making these experiences particularly attractive.
This grant is available to assist with opportunities that do not form part of your course requirements. When applying for the grant, please manage your expectations as the annual grant money available to students is finite, and provided on discretionary basis based on your application. The grant is there to help with the expenses of your overseas placement and is unlikely to cover all expenses. Find out more about our eligibility criteria below.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible to apply for this grant, the following criteria must be met:
- You must be a current home fee paying, full-time undergraduate student at the University of Nottingham
- You must be studying a degree with your home school in the Faculty of Social Sciences (if your home school is in Faculty of Arts, or any other faculty you will not be eligible)
You must also meet at least one of the criteria below:
- Be in receipt of a University of Nottingham Core Bursary or a Nottingham Potential Bursary.
- Have a declared disability. If you haven't declared a disability to the university but would like to choose this option, please contact stephen.vaccarini@nottingham.ac.uk before continuing with your application.
- Identify as having Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) ethnicity.
- The home address used on your UCAS application is in an area where people are less likely to go to university. A POLAR postcode check is carried out post application to confirm this so there may be instances where applications aren’t accepted on this basis.
- Be a mature student (21 or over at the start of your course).
- Have spent more than three months in local authority care (this can be at any point in your life).
- Be under 25 and estranged from your family.
- Be a carer.
- Have refugee status from the Home Office.
The following are not eligible to apply for the grant:
- Postgraduate taught students
- PhD/postgraduate research students
- Foundation year students
- International students on exchange at the UK campus for one year only
- Students whose most recent school/college was an independent school (non-state school such as a private fee-paying school or grammar school) are not eligible for this scheme
- Previous recipients of the Global Placement Grant OR the Careers and Employability Service International Work Experience Grant (IWEG) - only one of these grants is allowed per person during your time at the university
The work experience opportunity must:
- be an overseas placement opportunity (outside of the UK and not in the same country as your off-campus country of residence) during the summer vacation period June to end of September 2023 (earlier dates may be considered – please provide dates when applying)
- not form part of your course requirements
* In exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis we may be able to consider applicants who do not fully meet the criteria listed. If this is the case with your circumstances, please email stephen.vaccarini@nottingham.ac.uk with details. Any email received will be treated in the strictest confidence.
How to apply
How does it work?
The grant will be awarded to support your expenses such as:
- placement provider fees, travel costs, accommodation, basic living expense (food etc), inoculations, VISA charges etc
- other relevant expenses
As part of the process, you will be required to give detailed evidence of programme costs.
You will be expected to find your own work experience opportunity. If you wish to access support with finding a placement, beyond the suggested organisation listed above, you can book an appointment with the Careers and Employability Service, or visit the internships abroad page where you can find plenty of helpful resources to help your search.
Please also be aware of our:
If you have any questions, please contact the Grant Administrator Rebekah Thirlwall.
Looking for ideas?
The Go Abroad website list plenty of opportunities for you to browse and investigate if they are suitable for yourself.
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You can boost your skills and future employability with the Pagoda Projects international programme covering a range of countries.
Video profiles
Watch Alex Yousefian, overseas work experience grant recipient, discuss his internship in China as a sales manager and how the grant covered many of his internship costs.
Watch Sarah Lazar, overseas work experience grant recipient, discuss how her grant enabled her to enjoy an international work placement at The Rosie May Foundation.
Watch Sara and Sasha talk about being Research Interns in Nepal with the Rosie May Foundation, as part of the geography and politics placement programmes.