The Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary

The Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary allows current postgraduate students to take part in unpaid or low-paid (i.e. in line with the national minimum wage) UK-based work experience opportunities that are due to take place between October 2025 and August 2026. Eligible work experience types are:

• Internships
• Work shadowing
• Volunteering
• Presenting at conferences

The bursary can contribute towards reasonable costs, including accommodation, conference tickets, travel expenses, and necessary clothing (e.g. a suit or other smart wear). Bursary funds are not to be used as a substitute for wages, and are to be used to contribute towards the cost of essential expenses.

The maximum amount you can request from the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary is £1000. Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may not be granted in full, so it is important that applicants fully justify their requested costs in their applications. Applications for between £1000 and £1500 will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Applications for more than £1500 will not be considered.

Applications will be reviewed in the first week of each month, or as soon as possible thereafter. We therefore advise that you submit your application at least one full month prior to the proposed start date of your work experience opportunity so that it can be approved in a timely fashion and funds can be awarded prior to your work experience opportunity starting. For example, if your work experience opportunity is due to start in mid-April, we advise that you submit your application by the end of February; if successful, funds should be granted by mid-late March. Retrospective applications for work experience opportunities that started prior to October 2025 will not be considered.

Please note that the above process and timeline may be subject to change (last updated: 10 September 2025).

The Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary is designed to support students to take part in unpaid or low-paid (i.e. in line with the national minimum wage) work experience opportunities and contribute towards covering the costs associated therein. It is not to be used as a wage substitute. Depending on the individual circumstances of their proposed work experience opportunity, eligible students may apply for up to £1000. Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may not be granted in full, so it is important that applicants fully justify their requested costs in their applications. Applications for between £1000 and £1500 will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Applications for more than £1500 will not be considered.

Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary funds may be used to contribute towards the cost of:

• Modest and reasonable accommodation (e.g. university halls of residences in vacation period, budget hotels, or similar) – up to £120 per day
• Travel – reasonable public transport costs, i.e. train tickets, tube tickets, bus travel, and coaches. Other transport costs may be approved, subject to individual circumstances and location.
• Formal clothing, including shoes (for opportunities where you will be required to work in an office or other setting whether the dress code is smart or smart casual) – up to £150 total.
• Other reasonable, necessary costs (i.e. conference fees, dependent care costs, etc.), which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Successful applicants must retain receipts for all costs incurred as part of taking part in their work experience opportunity. If successful applicants do not provide receipts or other appropriate evidence when completing the post-programme survey, the University may request a full or partial return of bursary funds from students.

Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary funds may not be used to contribute towards the cost of:

• Usual rent costs and bills
• Food and sustenance
• Fees for CPD or other courses
• Membership fees to professional organisations
• Purchasing equipment or devices over the value of £100 (unless in exceptional circumstances).
• Placements or internships that form part of a degree programme, e.g. industrial placements or teacher training placements.

The Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary is open to current home and international postgraduate students who meet the following criteria:

• You must be an internally registered, enrolled postgraduate student at the University of Birmingham (i.e. not a visiting scholar or at the University on an exchange programme).
• You must be registered to an Edgbaston campus degree programme, studying as either a campus-based learner or a distance learner.
  • Postgraduate Researchers are eligible if they are normally registered or if they are in ‘thesis awaited’.
  • You must have limited to no professional UK work experience, i.e. you have not held a UK-based salaried position that requires a university degree.
  • You must not have already received Turing / Go Global, College or Student Development Funding, or College-based Travel Awards in the 2025-2026 academic year.
  • You must have already provisionally secured a UK-based work experience opportunity which is unpaid or low-paid, i.e. an internship, work shadowing, volunteering, or have been accepted to present at a conference.
  • Although all students who meet the above criteria will have their applications considered, priority will be given to applicants who meet at least one of the following criteria:
    • Be in receipt of a PGT Access Scholarship or be a 125th Anniversary Scholar;
    • Be a care leaver or care experienced;
    • Be in receipt of a Sanctuary Scholarship;
    • Be self-funding their postgraduate studies (i.e. not in receipt of tuition fee scholarships, UKRI funding, Doctoral Training Partnership funding, or similar);
    • Have a disclosed disability, or identify as disabled or neurodivergent.

Students are ineligible to apply for the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary if:

• They are an undergraduate student (including final year students studying an integrated Masters).
• Are registered to a Dubai campus degree programme.
• Have external student status.
• Are on a Leave of Absence when applying for funds, or go on a Leave of Absence prior to commencing your Work Experience Opportunity after being granted funds.
  • Postgraduate Researchers will remain eligible for the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary if they take a Leave of Absence, with agreement from their supervisory team, for the sole purpose of undertaking their work experience opportunity.
  • Postgraduate Researchers will not be eligible if their work experience opportunity is due to take place after their viva has taken place.

To apply for the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary, you will be required to submit an application form which asks for:

• Your personal details (e.g. name, ID number, UoB email address, course details, etc.)
• Details about your work experience opportunity (e.g. organisation name, location, duration, etc.)
• A summary of your work experience opportunity, including expected duties
• You to answer the following question: How will the proposed work experience contribute towards your personal and professional development, as well as your future career aspirations?

In addition to the above, you will also need to submit as part of your application form:

• Evidence showing that you have been offered your work experience opportunity (i.e. an offer letter or confirmation email), including details of its duration, start and end dates, and payment (if applicable).
• A completed budget breakdown form outlining that total amount of funding you are requesting, how this will be used (i.e. accommodation, travel), and evidence of the costs associated with those expenses (i.e. screenshots of a hotel listing for the appropriate dates; a receipt for train tickets for the appropriate dates).
• A completed provider declaration form.

Please ensure that you submit all of these documents and that they include your name and student ID number where requested. Incomplete, erroneous, or insufficient documents will lead to applications being rejected. Please find the budget breakdown form and provider declaration form on this webpage.

Apply for the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary here. If you are a disabled or neurodivergent postgraduate and would benefit from additional support in completing your Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary application, please contact workexperience@contacts.bham.ac.uk.  

Applications will be reviewed in the first week of each month, or as soon as possible thereafter. We therefore advise that you submit your application at least one full month prior to the proposed start date of your work experience opportunity so that it can be approved in a timely fashion and funds can be awarded prior to your work experience opportunity starting. For example, if your work experience opportunity is due to start in mid-April, we advise that you submit your application by the end of February; if successful, funds should be granted by mid-late March.

Please note that the above process and timeline may be subject to change (last updated: 10 September 2025).

On completion of your work experience opportunity, you will be asked to complete a case study or write a LinkedIn post about your experience and complete our post-programme evaluation form. You will also be asked to provide receipts for all costs incurred as part of your work experience opportunity that you are using your Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary award to contribute towards. We will provide you with a post-programme evaluation form to complete in either January or June, depending on when your work experience opportunity takes place.

Undertaking work experience also counts towards The Birmingham Award.

The Birmingham Award is the University of Birmingham's recognised free employability skills award for students of all levels, including postgraduates. The award supports you to develop and recognise the skills you gain through professional development activities, and how to articulate these skills in preparation for real-world recruitment processes. 

You can start your award anytime. Please visit The Birmingham Award website to get started. Find out more below and if you have any questions, please email: thebirminghamaward@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about the Postgraduate Work Experience Bursary, please email us, using: workexperience@contacts.bham.ac.uk