There are multiple options for BBS students to secure an internship. Many companies will offer insight days or shorter-term work experience to work around your studies.

Summer internships are short opportunities in a professional role. Formal internship programmes are targeted mainly at penultimate year students and are also used to recruit to graduate training programmes. However, most internships are open to all students.  

Even after you graduate, you can still look for work experience; graduate internships are an excellent means of obtaining further work experience once you have completed your degree. Similar to undergraduate Internships, they are full-time for between one and six months.

Reasons for looking for an internship vary. You may want to explore if a particular career or employment sector is right for you or wish to gain experience, contacts and knowledge in your chosen area.

In a competitive market, having work experience on your CV is key to staying ahead. Work experience can help you understand what you want to do and get an insight into roles and companies before securing a permanent job.

Before you start looking for an internship, take some time to consider the following:

• Occupations and industries you are interested in and the work experience you will need to develop a career in that area.
• Your existing skills and experiences and how you would like to develop them further.
• When do you want to get experience? How much time can you commit?
• Location – where do you want to work? Where can you travel?

Unsure what is the best path for you? Discuss your options with the BBS Careers team.

• Book an appointment

The University offer a range of virtual internship programmes. Paid opportunities range from working with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises. 

Complete an internship virtually without needing to leave the comfort of your home.

• Find out about Virtual Internships

What funding is available?

The University offers funding and bursary schemes for students wanting to do an internship. Financial support is available to undertake unpaid or low-paid work experience and work experience relevant to your future career.

• Work Experience bursaries scheme  
• Gateway bursary 
• Additional sources of work experience funding (birmingham.ac.uk)

When can I start applying for internships? 

Summer internships get advertised from September at the start of your second year. Internships are usually open for applications up until the summer.

However, larger companies tend to open applications from September to December.

Companies post job adverts throughout the year. Keep checking websites regularly. We recommend looking for internships on:

• Placements & internships for students
• RateMyPlacement 

Look out for internships promoted in the weekly BBS Careers newsletter. 

When do larger firms stop hiring? 

Companies will stop hiring if they get a lot of applications and fill their positions. We recommend checking deadlines frequently.

The majority of the larger organisations tend to close vacancies in December. Some companies continue to recruit into the following year and still advertise unfilled vacancies until April. 

What is the difference between an internship, placement and insight days? 

The main differences are the lengths and the job role itself. 

• Placement years last for 12 months.
• Internships are up to 3 months.

Both options will give you the experience of working full-time, and you will have a set role within the company.

• Short internships can last between 2 weeks and a month.
• Virtual Internships last for up to 1 month.
• Insight days usually last between a day to 1 week. They can be in person or face to face.

Some companies also use “short-term placement” to describe an internship.

You may also see “internship programmes”, which offer you the chance to network, and learn about the company. You can learn about the different roles and what is involved in the day-to-day activities.