York Internships

We consider an internship to be a project-based, high-quality piece of work that can be completed within a defined period of time (4-12 weeks). 

Projects should provide clear and tangible outcomes for the intern and your organisation, and should be of an appropriate standard and nature. 

Virtual internships

We aim to be as flexible as possible to find the right working arrangement for you, which is why we also support virtual internships, where interns can work remotely.

They can largely be completed on a flexible basis without the need for regular face to face supervision, which allows the intern to get on with the project in hand and the supervisor to get on with their day to day work.

Some examples of the types of projects that have been completed on a virtual basis recently by University of York students include Digital Marketing, Social Media Management, Research, Business Development and Analysis. Read more about some of the tasks associated with these roles.

We have hints and tips to support businesses during recruitment, selection and the duration of the virtual project.

Step 1 - Project Scoping

• Speak to the York Internships team to discuss your ideas for an internship, the scope of the project and the skills and experience required to achieve your outcomes
• Download and complete one of the Expression of Interest forms linked above, after which we'll prepare a project brief that forms the basis of the advert that the students see

Step 2 - Advertising

• Once the project brief is agreed and confirmed, the opportunity will be advertised through our Careers Portal, Handshake, for a minimum of two weeks
• York Internships will monitor applications throughout this period and publicise the internship through various marketing channels appropriate to your particular role

Step 3 - Shortlisting and Interviews

• When advertising is completed we will shortlist the applications and provide you with the applications of the most suitable candidates. Once you’ve reviewed the applications you may contact some or all of the candidates to arrange interviews at your convenience. We are happy to provide interview space on campus if needed.
• Remember to keep York Internships informed along the way of interview dates agreed, and advise us of your decision once you’ve chosen your intern and provided additional feedback to unsuccessful interviewees
• Confirm to York Internships the agreement made with the student regarding a start date, hours/days of work and any flexible working arrangements if applicable (especially for part time roles)

Step 4 - Right to Work checks and Paperwork

• The University will complete Right To Work checks and York Internships will prepare the paperwork for both you and the intern to sign
• Once the project starts, York Internships manages the payment process to the intern on a monthly basis

Step 5 - Invoicing (external hosts)

• York Internships will invoice you, during the internship, for the total cost of the project (including associated employer on costs) less any Santander funding agreed in advance that is applicable
• York Internships will contact you in the first couple of weeks of the project to ensure that everything is progressing as expected
• Interns may be visited in the workplace during the project and an evaluation will be sent electronically to all intern hosts at the end of the project

The current cost of both business and university internships starts is £15.52 p/h, inclusive of the student’s wage (£12.00 p/h in line with the University's real living wage commitment*) and employer on costs (£3.52 p/h, inclusive of holiday pay, apprenticeship levy and NI).

For university internships the department is expected to cover the cost of University pay increases, should these occur during the course of the internship.

Please note that for full-time internships, we will work on the assumption that any bank holidays that occur over the course of the project will be paid as normal unless informed otherwise.

Funding: please see the 'Funding for SMEs" tab for more information. 

* Please note that the Living Wage Foundation have now announced their latest figure as £12.60. Accredited employers must implement the new rate from 1 April 2025. Therefore from 1 April 2025 the new intern rate will be £16.12 p/h for both businesses and university departments.

Santander Universities SME Internship Programme

The University of York is a recognised partner of Santander Universities and participates in the Santander Universities SME Internship Programme. Thanks to the generous support from Santander, we are delighted to be able to offer a number of subsidies to SME businesses between June-September 2025.

This support is designed to increase the opportunities for businesses to engage with the skills and enthusiasm of University of York current students, finalists and graduates in part funded internships.

SME organisations must be registered in the UK with fewer than 250 employees and have an annual turnover of less than £50 million to be eligible for the funding. 

Intern projects can be between 4-12 weeks in duration and can be full or part time over the summer. 

Funding is applied against the total cost of the project on a case by case basis.

For updates on available funding, please contact careers-placements@york.ac.uk 

If you've got a project in mind, please download and complete the relevant Expression of Interest form below and return via email to careers-placements@york.ac.uk

Type of host	Expression of Interest form
SMEs and charities eligible for part-funded Santander internships (please see 'Funding for SMEs' section below)	York Internships Employer Santander EOI 2024-2025 (MS Word , 106kb)
Self-funded (i.e. not eligible for funding)	York Internships Employer EOI 2024-2025 (MS Word , 81kb)
On-campus University of York departments	York Internships On-Campus Department EOI 2024-2025 (MS Word , 85kb)

Previous projects, which have produced significant benefits for the hosting company, have included:

• Establishing a China desk and creating the content for an inward investment page for a chartered accountant's website in Mandarin and English by two of our international students.
• Researching, developing and implementing a more comprehensive customer outreach and engagement plan for a heating and renewable energy company.
• Investigating the removal of chemicals from hard surfaces by rainfall and washing for a research agency.
• Executive assistant to senior management team for a mental healthcare provider, creating an electronic record of serious incidents and ensuing investigations.
• Carrying out detailed household surveys with a housing trust's residents to ascertain household characteristics, circumstances and their awareness of key issues. 

2023

• Avorium (PDF , 160kb)
• SPARK:York C.I.C. (PDF , 41kb)
• Picture News (PDF , 45kb)

2022

• Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) Case Study

2021

• Rural Arts Case Study (PDF , 523kb)
• Ellers Farm Distillery (PDF , 77kb)

2018

• City of York Council (PDF , 73kb)
• North York Moors National Park Authority - Land of Iron (PDF , 74kb)
• CBT Clinics (PDF , 59kb)

Previous examples

• Castle Howard (PDF , 156kb)
• Ambiente (PDF , 80kb)‌

Did you know that just over 20% of the University of York's student population come from outside the UK, from almost 100 countries across the world? Many international students are actively seeking work experience and internship opportunities both to develop their skills and knowledge in the workplace, and to contribute to UK business' competitive advantage in the global market.

The cultural knowledge and language skills that come with an international student could benefit your business in a range of ways, from developing international marketing materials to providing insight into an overseas business market for potential import/export activities.

Contact us to discuss how the University's international student population can drive your business forward this year. 

Previous University of York interns have undertaken a wide range of projects with companies in York and the North Yorkshire region, giving businesses a unique insight into overseas markets, and for potential import and export activities. Examples of previous projects include:

• Multilingual web content translation project for an executive search agency
• Establishing an inward investment China Desk in York for an accountancy firm
• Researching the latest products being used and marketed abroad, and their success and viability in the UK for a renewable energy company
• Organising a business summit for international visitors to York for a conference business
• Developing a market report exploring the opportunities for export to the Far East for a food manufacturer 
  

Case study: Developing a China desk in York

Garbutt & Elliott engaged two Chinese postgraduate students, Jingwen Feng and Xu Wang, to develop a China Desk for the company and to create content for an inward investment web page in Mandarin.

Garbutt & Elliott commented that, ‘Jingwen’s and Xu’s outstanding commitment has enabled us to begin development of a reputation as a trusted advisor to Chinese firms investing in the UK. It is important for world-class universities such as the University of York to demonstrate the great opportunities available to students by taking on internships in companies with vision.’

Are you an SME manager or owner wondering whether to recruit a student or graduate? Perhaps you want to explore what a student or graduate could offer your business and find out more about what might be involved.

Our SME toolkit is designed to give you information, advice and tips to help you with your next steps, learning more about the potential benefits to your business, different ways to access and utilise student expertise, and how to support and retain them once they are on board.

Q. Is taking on an intern only for large businesses?

Not at all - York Internships are available for businesses of all sizes. There is no limit to the number of projects you can run or the number of interns you can hire. The only difference is that smaller businesses may be eligible for funding whereas larger organisations may be required to self-fund.

Q. What type of projects can it cover?

The sky's the limit, as long as it's deliverable against our timeframes and is designed to have a significant impact on your business - take a look at our case studies for inspiration. Some past examples of intern roles have included software developers, CRM programmers, market research assistants, website translators, social media content creators and data analysts.

Q. How long is the internship? Can I keep an intern on afterwards?

Our internships can last between 4 and 12 weeks, and if you start at the lower end, we can extend up to a maximum of 12 weeks total once the internship has started. If you wish to appoint your intern after the 12 weeks, it would be via your business' own recruitment process and they would be officially onboarded and added to your books.

Q. Do I need business premises – can they work hybrid?

As well as in-person internships, we also offer remote and hybrid projects, which are perfect for businesses that have limited working space or premises. Take a look at our hints and tips to support businesses undertaking a virtual internship.

Q. I'm eligible for funding - how does it work?

Great! Subject to availability, we allocate funding at the point of receiving a completed Expression of Interest (EOI) form. This is automatically deducted from your final invoice so you don't need to apply for it.

Q. Can you help with the job description and can I interview the applicants?

Of course. Once we receive your EOI, we draft up a project brief that forms the basis of your advert. At this point we also confirm key dates such as interviews and start date. Once we've drafted this we share it with you to make sure you're happy with the wording, and then we'd advertise this via Handshake. After the advert closes and we've completed the first round of shortlisting, we send the candidate list onto you so that you can review this and arrange interviews directly with candidates. 

Q. Do they go on my payroll?

No, we pay all interns through the university payroll, which means they don't need to be added to your books. Interns submit weekly timesheets that we approve and they're paid monthly in line with university process. We simply invoice you for the total cost of the project minus any funding.

Q. Do I need Employers Liability Insurance?

We ask that all hosts have Employers Liability insurance to cover any potential risks and/or issues that could occur such as damage or illness. If you don't have this, most insurance providers will allow you to take out a short term policy to cover you for the duration of the internship.

Internship projects

Internships hosted by Academic and Professional Service departments on campus will be available all year round. Intern projects are between 4 and 12 weeks in duration and can be completed full time or part time.

They centre on projects with defined outcomes which will add value to the work of the department, and do not replace or ‘stand in’ for existing, regular work.

All internships should be project based and offer tangible benefits to the department while providing challenging and graduate-level work experience to the student, allowing them the opportunity to develop and build skills.

Rates and administration

The current intern rate of pay is £12.00 per hour (in line with the University's real living wage commitment. The cost to the department is £15.52 per hour to allow for employer on-costs (inclusive of holiday pay, apprenticeship levy and NI). 

The full administration and payment of the internships will be managed by Careers and Placements. 

Departments should be aware that they will need to provide Careers and Placements with a workorder for their internship contribution; this will be requested at the point of advertising a project, and departments should ensure that they have authorised Careers and Placements to be able to use the workorder; without this authorisation intern payments will be delayed. At the earliest opportunity in the internship process, please ensure that you read this important information about how internal internship costs are arranged.

Previous intern projects have involved:

• designing activities to enhance student engagement
• creating online outreach and learning activities for local schools
• auditing marketing channels and creating new content to support departmental outreach and recruitment
• evaluating inclusion and diversity in the curriculum
• reviewing the accessibility of learning resources 
• providing research assistance and data analysis support for existing projects

If you have any questions please email the Placements Team at careers-placements@york.ac.uk.