About the Internship Office

The Summer Internship Programme

The Summer Internship Programme provides access to hundreds of summer internship opportunities. These are offered by our international alumni, by multi-national corporations, by world-leading NGOs, by cutting-edge research institutions and many other organisations. All are exclusively available to Oxford University students.

Each year students undertake internships offered in over 35 countries and gain valuable work experience while travelling and undertaking interesting internship projects. The Summer Internship Programme also gives students the chance to explore work experience options in a variety of sectors in the UK.

The programme is open to all current Oxford University students, undergraduates and postgraduates, including those in their final year of study. Please note that visiting students are not eligible to apply.

Internships take place in the long vacation (between June and September), are 2-12 weeks in duration and are advertised from the beginning of Hilary term each year.

The Micro-Internship Programme

The Micro-Internship Programme provides students with convenient, short-term work placements based in the UK and Mainland Europe. The programme offers a large volume of placements across a full range of sectors, taking place in each vacation period at the end of every Oxford term. (Find term dates on the Oxford University website).

• Micro-internships are voluntary, full time work experiences lasting between two and five days
• Interns can be presented with work shadowing experience and/or a project (or a set of closely interrelated projects) that they will be assisting with and observing
• They are unpaid, although travel and lunch expenses are covered by the host organisation on production of receipts 

Placements can be research-based or professional and in a range of sectors, including think tanks, international development, consultancy, start-ups, charities, arts and heritage, or within the University (colleges, faculties and departments). Many of the projects interns assist with combine skills and experience from numerous sectors, such as consultancy or marketing in service of charities and not-for-profits.

Each placement provides an excellent snapshot into the workings of the organisation and its sector, as well as valuable transferable experience for your CV.

The Crankstart Internship and Careers Mentoring Programmes

Crankstart Scholars are encouraged to gain work experience during their time at Oxford, and funding and support are available to help them do so. Crankstart Scholars can receive advice and guidance at any time with a view to undertaking a work placement in one of the vacations. Scholars can also apply to be a part of the Crankstart Careers Mentoring Programme, which matches selected scholars with industry professionals in their area of choice. The Crankstart Programmes include:

• Exclusive internship opportunities for Crankstart Scholars across all sectors, both internationally and in the UK
• Internships taking place in the Christmas and Easter vacations (for up to 3 weeks) and the summer vacation (for up to 12 weeks)
• Individual CV & Internship Advice sessions offering support to students to help them find an internship corresponding to their skills and interests
• Exclusive careers workshops introducing sectors and providing application and interview support
• Access to exclusive internship funding

This programme is only open to Crankstart Scholars.

The Promentor Programme

The Promentor Programme is an Alumni Mentoring Programme which matches selected Oxford students with Oxford alumni in order to develop a mentoring partnership. First year bursary-holding students are invited to apply, with 10 students being selected as mentees each year. Following a matching process, mentees are introduced to 3 mentors, who they have access to throughout their time as an undergraduate at Oxford. Meetings between mentees and mentors take place at least once a term.

Selected mentees also have access to:

• Funding, specifically for work or research experiences, such as internships
• One-to-one CV & Internship support
• A mid-point and end-point review with fellow mentees
• A newsletter alerting to internship opportunities offered by the Internship Office

Internships for HSBC, Galactic Unite, D. H. Chen Foundation and Carpenters’ scholars

If you are an HSBC, Galactic Unite, D. H. Chen Foundation or Carpenters’ scholar you are encouraged to gain work experience during your time at Oxford, and you can apply for funding to support your internship.  The awards vary from £200 to £2,500 depending on the location of the internship, the remuneration and living arrangements.  As an HSBC or Galactic Unite scholar, there is no limit to the number of internship bursaries you can apply for, however, you may not exceed the maximum contribution of £2,500 overall.  As a D. H. Chen scholar you are limited to one internship bursary during your time at Oxford University. However, should you wish to split the internship award across multiple years, please send your enquiry to funding@careers.ox.ac.uk.

Please note that we will confirm your placement with the host organisation before a bursary is paid out.

Be aware that funding will not be allocated for fee-charging internship schemes, or those organised by a third-party internship recruitment company.

To apply for funding, please email your internship bursary form to Stacey Phillington, Finance Officer, at funding@careers.ox.ac.uk.

Like all students, you can also receive advice and guidance from the Careers Service at any time. Discuss undertaking an internship in one of your vacations by booking an appointment to see a Careers Adviser. Our Careers Advisers offer free, impartial, confidential careers guidance based on your individual needs.  They will also check CVs and cover letters.