The University of Exeter believes in the principle that everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education should have equal opportunity to do so. We are committed to widen participation in higher education; raise pupil attainment; and put students on a level playing field to ensure they enjoy the best possible outcomes at university and as graduates.

The definition of those who are classed as underrepresented at university at a postgraduate level is below (please note the A2i PGT eligibility criteria is different to our A2i scheme for undergraduates). 

You Must:

1. Be a Home-fee paying, postgraduate taught student 

2. Plus, at least one of the following should apply to you: 

• Disabled student 
• Carer 
• Care Leaver or care experienced* 
• Refugee or asylum seeker 
• Have participated in a fair access programme previously (at Exeter or another institution) 

*Care Leaver: Young people (up to the age of 25) who have been looked after by the local authority for more than 13 weeks since they were 14, including some time at age 16 or 17. 

*Care Experienced: Anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage of their life, no matter how short. This care may have been provided in one of many different settings, such as in residential care, foster care, kinship care or looked after at home with a supervision requirement. 

• Other*

*If you do not meet the criteria in section 2 but you have faced other barriers to graduate-level employment that relates to your career interests, please contact the A2i team to discuss this in more detail. The more information and examples you can provide, the better able the team will be to assess your eligibility for funding.  

If you are unsure if you are eligible for WP funding, please contact us at A2i@exeter.ac.uk 

Funding Available for 2025-26

You can apply for one employer subsidy, and one ‘Help with getting to work’ bursary, per academic year.  

The funding provided to your employer is intended to fully cover your internship wages plus National Insurance (NI) contributions that your employer may have to pay to employ you for 80 hours. Any additional costs incurred by the employer cannot be covered by the funding.  This includes pension contributions if the organisation enrols all employees on a pension scheme. You, as an employee, may be required to pay NI or Income Tax from your salary if you exceed the threshold.  This will automatically be deducted from your wages. Further information about NI and tax contributions can be found on the government and Acas websites. 

Please note that funding is very limited, and applications will closed once all funding is allocated. 

Additional Support Available

A £75, £150 or £250 bursary can be paid directly to you from the university to help with the costs you may incur undertaking your internship.  This can include travel costs, workwear and accommodation.  You will have the option to apply for the bursary when you complete the employer subsidy application for your internship.

Funding applied for through this scheme can fully cover the costs of a 80 hour paid internship in the UK with an external employer.  

Funding is transferred to your internship employer so they can pay you at least £13.45 per hour. Please see the full funding eligibility below. 

The employer subsidy will cover the costs of your wages plus the National Insurance (NI) contribution your employer may have to pay for employing you and does not reflect the actual amount you will receive. As an employee, you may also be required to pay National Insurance and Income Tax from your salary and this will automatically be deducted from your wages, if applicable. 

Student Eligibility 

Students must... 

• Have the right to work in the UK and have, or be applying for a National Insurance Number* 
• Be a current University of Exeter Postgraduate taught student from an underrepresented background, and can demonstrate the challenges you have faced pursuing graduate-level employment. 

Employer Eligibility 

The employer must... 

• Be registered in the UK. 
• Be a Small or Medium sized Enterprise (SME) - an organisation with less than 250 employees and a turnover of less than £46 Million per year), a UK registered Charity or a Statutory Organisation. 
• Pay you through their own payroll system. If an employer is not able to add you to their payroll, the university will not be able to provide funding. 
• Have suitable liability insurance. 
• Provide a contract of employment. You must be employed during your internship, you cannot be self-employed. For more information you can refer to the HMRC website. 
• Please note that we cannot fund internships with the University of Exeter as part of the A2i PGT scheme.  

To arrange you own research internship you will need to undertake the following 4  steps: 

1. Identify the sector you want to work in and the type of role that interests you. The role will need to have a research focus, such as conducting market research, analysing impact of a charity/company, creating a policy brief, testing ideas for a new service or product, or an independent piece of research etc. Examples of research-focused internship activities can include: 

• • Literature Review: Summarising existing research, identifying gaps, and shaping the direction of a study or product
  • Data Collection: Conducting surveys, interviews, fieldwork, lab experiments, or archival research
  • Data Analysis: Using tools like Excel, SPSS, R, or Python to clean, interpret, and visualise data
  • Report Writing: Drafting sections of research papers, internal reports, or stakeholder summaries
  • Research Design: Assisting in the development of experiments, questionnaires, or methodologies
  • Policy or Impact Research: Exploring how findings apply to real-world challenges or influence policy

2. Identify potential internship employers and key contacts to approach - the A2i team can provide a small list of employers who are open to being approached by you, if needed (please contact a2i@exeter.ac.uk for this list). 

3. Approach the employer to ask if they can offer you an internship, and mention that you have funding attached to you to cover your pay (the Speculative Application Email Template for an External Company may help you do this)

4. When you have received a positive response from the employer, you can complete the A2i PGT Funding Application form. 

Further Help 

If you need help or advice with your CV, cover letters, making a speculative approach to employers, the Help with CVs, Cover Letters, and Applications page outlines the various ways the Career Zone can help. You can also book an appointment with the Career Zone here. 

If you have any queries about the funding, including internship or employer eligibility, you can contact the team at A2i@exeter.ac.uk 

Below is a template email that you can use for reaching out to organisations about the Access to Internships Scheme for Postgraduates. Please note, when reaching out to employers we would recommend that you insert your speculative letter into the body of your email and attach your CV to the email: 

• Speculative Application Email Template for an External Company

If you would like to feedback on your speculative application, or advice about approaching employers, you are welcome to book an appointment with the Career Zone:  Appointments | Career Zone | University of Exeter 

To apply for funding, you must have checked that the internship meets all of the above eligibility criteria, and you will then be able to complete the below application form for funding.   

• A2i PGT - 2025-26 WP Funding Application

Please note that funding is very limited, and applications will close once all funding is allocated. 

Please read the Making the Most of your Internship to help you prepare and make the most of your time.

You may also find the Supporting Equality and Diversity webpages useful, especially if you are considering whether to share certain characteristics with a potential employer such as age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We understand that you may have concerns or queries around these areas when career planning and job seeking.  The Career Zone can provide information and advice on common equality and diversity issues you may face, sources of support and positive employers and programs they offer.

We ask that your internship employer provides you with an induction when you start working. If your employer does not have an induction process, you can work through the A2I Internship Induction Checklist. If you are undertaking your internship remotely, you may also find the Virtual Internships: 10 Top Tips for Remote Working useful.

Your employer should set you clear aims and objectives during your internship. Your line manager should review and evaluate your performance throughout your internship, providing feedback where necessary. Employers are welcome to use their own performance evaluators, or you can work through the University's Internship Performance Development Review together.

If you would like to see some answers to frequently asked questions please see our A2i for Postgraduates FAQ page.

If you have any queries, you can contact the team via email or phone...

Email a2i@exeter.ac.uk

Call 01392 722617

Phonelines are monitored Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.  If the team are not able to take your call, you can leave a message.

• The intern must allow us to share their details, details of the company and the internship with the funders, the University’s Global Advancement Team.
• All parties must agree to the A2I Terms and Conditions as outlined in the A2i Internship Agreement. 
• Students can apply for a maximum of one employer subsidy and one WP Internships Bursary (if eligible) per year. 
• Students and employers cannot apply for further funding to either extend an intern or employ the same student or graduate.
• Employers cannot combine or apply for more than one A2I subsidy; UG Widening Participation, Southwest funded Internships or A2I for Postgraduates for the same internship.
• Employer subsidies will be paid upon the successful placement of an Exeter intern into the approved internship and once an A2I Internship Agreement has been signed and returned.

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