Industrial experience - introduction for students
While studying physics, you can enrich your experience by doing a summer internship or a year in industry placement. The advantage of doing an industrial placement is that it will enhance your degree studies with experience of working in a professional context solving actual business needs of your host organisation. You will be able to apply your classroom learning to solve problems, improve your communication and team-working skills, and gain confidence and insights into your strengths. Working in industry during your studies will also help you get a clearer idea about what you would like to do professionally once you graduate.
A summer internship and a year in industry vary in depth and breadth of experience, but both are valuable in terms of professional skills and confidence you will gain. To undertake a summer internship, one does not need to make any changes to the programme of study. To undertake a year in industry, one would need to transfer to a programme variant that will include a placement year. The School's Placement Officer will guide you through the process of programme transfer once you secure a placement. The Placement Officer also provides comprehensive support to students searching and applying for internships and placements. To see some of the options available to you, please have a look at on the White Rose Industrial Physics Academy where we showcase a broad variety of opportunities available to physics students.
As a placement student, you will remain a registered student at the university. The Placement Officer will keep in close contact and provide support while you are on the placement. All students on a placement are subject to reduced tuition fees, which can be found here.