If you are an employer and interested in getting involved in the Professional Pathways programme, please visit the employer-facing webpages.
Professional Pathways align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Professional Pathways
What is it?
The Professional Pathways programme is a suite of sector specific training courses and paid 35 hour internships that will take place in June 2026.
Training is delivered by industry experts, to provide you with a firm grounding in the relevant sector. Following the employer-led training, you will undertake a paid 35 hour internship. Please see the individual pages below for further information.
For more information on each Pathway, please see:
- Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage
- Pathways to Charity and Development
- Pathways to Marketing
- Pathways to Professional Services in Higher Education (returning for 2026)
- Pathways to Scientific Laboratories (to be confirmed for 2026)
How to apply
Applications for our 2026 programme are now open! To apply, please follow the relevant webpage linked above to read full details on each Pathway and access the individual application forms. Please ensure you have fully read all the information on the relevant Pathway webpage(s) before applying.
Applications will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 13th January 2026. Please note, decisions on shortlisting will take place once applications have closed and will not be first come first served.
The training and internships will take place in June and July 2026 and you will need to be a current student at this point to be eligible to apply. Please check the individual Pathways webpages for full eligibility criteria.
Support with the application process
We have put together some guidance to help you with completing the application form stage of Professional Pathways. You can download this here: Top tips for your Pathways application. We also have a translation of this for Chinese students: Top tips for your Pathways application (Mandarin).
We recently ran an Information Session for International Students and if you would like to access the recording of this, please contact the team at professionalpathways@exeter.ac.uk.
The Career Zone will also be delivering the following application drop-in events which you may find it useful to pop along to, no booking required:
Weds 7 Jan 13:00-15:00 (Online): Professional Pathways - Application Drop-In Session (ONLINE) | Handshake
Thurs 8 Jan 13:00-15:00 (Streatham): Professional Pathways - Application Drop-In Session (STREATHAM) | Handshake
Thurs 8 Jan 13:00-15:00 (Penryn): Professional Pathways - Application Drop-In Session (PENRYN) | Handshake
Finally, you can book an appointment with a Career Zone member of staff to discuss your application if you wish to.
Contact us
If you would like to ask any questions, please contact the Pathways team at: professionalpathways@exeter.ac.uk