About our placements

Find out what a placement is, whether you could do one, and what you need to consider.

A placement is an opportunity for work, study or research experience.  It should be relevant to your studies and build on your academic knowledge.  Normally it will be integrated within the academic year, so you will earn credit towards your degree while gaining valuable professional experience.   

Depending on your course you could for example be teaching English, working for a private company, carrying out research at an international research institute or studying at a language school. 

Your School will guide you on what type of activity meets their requirements, and must give formal approval for your plans. 

Find out more in the drop-down information below. 

The Schools listed in the link below currently offer placements, but not every degree programme may offer this option so you should check with your School what is possible for your particular course. 


Most students who do a placement abroad complete it as a mandatory part of their degree programme, but some choose to do it on an optional basis.  

All types of placement will improve your academic and professional prospects and help you prepare for a globalised world.  You will develop relevant skills, step out of your comfort zone and build new networks. And you will gain confidence through coming across different situations which require you to be resourceful and develop resilience and adaptability, but also empathy within diverse and unfamiliar cultural contexts. These are all qualities that are highly valued by employers. 


Your School will advise you about what type of placement will meet their academic requirements and where you can go, as this will depend on your degree programme. 

In some cases there may be specific options which they will invite you to apply for, while in others you may be encouraged to source your own placement. Typical examples of activities include working as a language assistant, study at a language school, an internship with a private company, research at an international institute, or a placement within an industrial or social work setting. 


Your School will be able to advise you about their requirements in terms of the timing of your placement, the duration and, if relevant, the number of hours per week. 

If you’re a Languages student, particularly if you are studying two languages, you may be required or in some cases may choose to do more than one placement.  Some Languages students opt to do a placement in one semester and an exchange in the other.  Again, your School can advise how this will work for your subject or combination of subjects.  


If you’re doing a work or research placement, you should make sure you’re clear whether or not any post offered to you is paid. 

It is your responsibility to negotiate payment with placement providers or employers and ensure that you can afford to undertake a placement.  

Neither the Study and Work Away Service (SWAY) nor your School has any power to negotiate payment with placement providers for you.  Neither can we pay fees for any placement or programme with a cost attached.  


If your School offers you the option to study at a language school, they will normally cover the cost of the host school’s fees up to the minimum required duration.  If you have any questions about payment of fees abroad, speak to your School.  


It’s your responsibility to check that you will be able to afford to do the placement, so it’s important to consider all the costs, how a placement abroad might affect your tuition fees in Edinburgh, and how you will budget for your time away


If it’s a course requirement for you to do a placement abroad, you may be entitled to funding through the UK Government’s Turing Scheme or equivalent funding from the University.  

To receive funding, your placement will normally need to meet certain Turing Scheme eligibility criteria.

For example it must be at least 28 days’ duration, must take place outside your normal country of residence, and must be undertaken in person (not online).  

You may also be able to access funding from your student funding body. 


Each School has its own application, allocation and initial approval process and timeline, so you should ask them for guidance on how it will work for students on your course. There may be different processes or deadlines if you are sourcing your own placement. 

Once it has been agreed with your School what you will be doing, you will be invited to register your placement with SWAY’s Placements team and complete the SWAY paperwork including a placement agreement, travel risk assessment, and if relevant Turing grant documentation. 


There are some important points to consider when planning your placement.  If you have a choice of options, these points may also help you decide what and where is right for you.  

Key things to consider

In all cases, you should check your proposed host country's visa requirements and/or if relevant your right to work in the host country before committing to a placement. 

You must also check your proposed host country's visa requirements and, if relevant, your right to work in the host country before committing to a placement.


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