Information on this page outlines guidance for internships/placements for LISS students whose funding commenced before October 2024 (DTP1). For information on placements for students whose funding commenced AFTER October 2024 (DTP2), please see this page.

Internships enable students to develop a sharper sense of the wider relevance of their research as well as professional and transferrable workplace skills in line with the Vitae Researcher Development Framework. Internships may also build expertise in knowledge co-generation, where research questions, analytical frameworks and knowledge exchange processes are co-designed with academic and practitioner input.

LISS encourages students to undertake internships during their PhD, but these must be approved, in advance, by LISS DTP. Students may either:

• apply for a stipend extension of up to three months (13 weeks) to undertake an internship funded by LISS DTP
• suspend their studies (interrupt their stipends) to undertake an internship paid by the host organisation (externally funded internship)

Internships

There are various ways that internships can be developed, including:

• Externally advertised internships: LISS DTP will advertise internship opportunities. These can be with major UK government departments, UKRI schemes, and we will also develop internships with external organisations.
• Devise your own internship: Develop your own internship through contacts that you or your supervisory team have, or with an organisation that is working in an area that is of interest to you.
• Research Assistant Internships:  LISS DTP advertises research projects at one of the three LISS institutions each year. This gives students the opportunity to work on academic research project.

Internship funding:

• Stipends will continue to be paid for the duration of any approved internships. This means that you will be able to develop collaborative and networking opportunities with employers who might not otherwise be able to pay for your time. While the end of funding date will be extended by the duration of the approved internship, the required submission date will remain the same.
• You will be expected to make use of your stipend payments to cover normal travel and accommodation costs.
• Students can also apply for additional funding support (up to £1000) to assist with other costs incurred during the placements. Details should be entered into the application form.

Internship requirements:

• Internships should focus on a discreet project, challenge or research question. It should have a clear programme of activity which will develop the students’ transferrable skills and ability to apply their research skills in different contexts.
• The focus of the internship can be related to your PhD research if appropriate. However, you should not continue working on your PhD during the internship; the internship is a separate experience and should be treated as such.
• The internship should be informed by the training and skills gaps identified in the Training Needs Analysis.
• For CASE students, internships can be with the CASE partner, with another non-academic organisation, or one of our Research Assistant Internships.
• You should discuss a possible internship with your supervisor to ensure that it does not interfere with progress on your PhD.
• Internships are expected to take place within the UK. While we would not preclude a student undertaking an internship overseas, there should be a clear rationale as to why the skills and development offered by the overseas host cannot be provided for in the UK. 

Duration of internships:

• Funded extensions for internships can be up to three months (13 weeks). Please note that this is the combined maximum duration for Internships AND OIVs.
• Internships can be full time or part time, and can be taken as a block or spread over a number of months on a part-time basis, e.g. one or two days a week.
• Internships can be physical, virtual or hybrid.
• You can also split internships between two organisations, e.g. one placement of 7 weeks and one placement of 6 weeks.

Internship timing:

• Internships should not be held within the first few months of the PhD and should not take place during a Masters period.
• Internships taking place in the final year of the studentship must commence before the end date of the award (prior to the extension period being implemented).

Masters students:

• No extension is available for internships undertaken before the PhD portion of the studentship.
• Some of the Masters degrees that 1+3 students undertake have an in-built internship or similar collaboration with an external partner.  1+3 students and their supervisors may also develop such collaborations on an ad hoc basis, for example, in the summer period between Masters and doctoral degrees.
• If you are interested in undertaking an internship during your Masters degree programme that is not already in-built into your programme, please consult with your supervisor and the LISS DTP Deputy Director, Training & Cohort Development.

Externally Funded Internships:

• LISS DTP will not offer a funding extension for paid internships.
• If you are offered a full-time paid internship, secondment, or consultancy, you will most likely need to suspend your studentship for its duration. A suspension involves stopping your studentship payments for the duration of the placement, and also delays your submission deadline.
• There is no rigid limit of the duration of time you may suspend for in this case, but the duration must be of sufficiently short duration that you and your supervisory team are confident it will not significantly disrupt your progress.
• A suspension to undertake paid work must be justified as being relevant to your thesis or research training and career development. Suspension of studies requests cannot be considered on the grounds of financial hardship.
• Full time ESRC funded students are allowed to undertake a small amount of paid work during their studentship, but this should not amount to more than 6hrs a week.

To Apply: 

All internships must be approved by LISS DTP.  To apply, please complete the Internship Application form which includes a section for statements of support from your supervisor, host and Director of Graduate Studies. Please note:

• The deadline for internship applications is the first working Monday of January, April, June and October each year. The outcome will be communicated to you within two weeks of the deadline.
•  Applications should be received at least 3 months BEFORE the start date of the placement wherever possible.
• Applications for the Research Assistant Internships will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  Although the 3 month notice period does not apply, students are encouraged to seek supervisor approval and put arrangements in place several weeks before the commencement of the placement.
• If you have not received notification of outcomes within two weeks of the application review date, contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk.
• Queen Mary and Imperial students should contact their institutional LISS administrators (see contact details) about approved additional funding or any delays to payments or reimbursements.
• You will be expected to complete a placement/internship report form form (together with your supervisor and host) at the end of your placement. This should outline how the experience has enhanced your understanding of wider significance of your research, your personal and professional skills and/or your understanding of knowledge co-generation. We encourage you to develop other means of dissemination of your experience, e.g. a short film, blog post, to both the LISS DTP and a broader audience.
• A Host Agreement may be required, and your home institution will be able to advise on this. You should also check if the host organisation has any indemnity or insurance requirements.

Purpose of the OIV Scheme

The OIV scheme supports visits to educational institutions around the world.. Visits must be to a higher education institution, or an organisation with a substantive research office. The OIV scheme offers:

• An extension to your studentship of up to 13 weeks.
• A travel and subsistence allowance (budget dependent) of up to £1,500 for European destinations and £2,500 for destinations outside Europe.

OIV funding can be used for activities such as:

• undertake additional specialist research training not available in the UK
• develop language skills
• establish research links that will be beneficial to their current or future academic career
• disseminate early research career findings
• attend and participate in seminars where directly relevant to their research.

Timings

• OIVs must start after the first 3 months of your studentship.
• OIVs must finish at least 3 months before your funding end date (prior to the extension period being implemented).
• Maximum length: 3 months (13 weeks) in total.

Restrictions and Eligibility

• Stipends can be extended for up to a maximus of 3 months (13 weeks).
• Applications must be student-led.
• Brief statements of support are required from both the student’s PhD supervisor, DGS, and the host institution at the application stage to ensure accountability for the use of funding.
• Only one OIV application can be made during the studentship period.
• Visit should relate directly to your PhD.
• Eligible students: +3 component only (not the Master’s year of a 1+3 award)
• Not for overseas fieldwork (covered separately), but can be scheduled immediately before/after fieldwork.
• Must involve a Higher Education institution or organisation with a substantive research office outside the UK.
• Destination must be deemed safe by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Application Process

OIV application deadlines: 1st working Monday of January, April, June, and October. If your OIV opportunity does not fit in with the application deadlines, please contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk.

Before the Visit (Application Stage)

1. Plan early: applications should be made at least 3 months before your OIV start date.
2. Discuss your plans with your supervisory team before submission.
3. Supervisor & DGS Statement of Support: All applications for OIV funding must be accompanied by a written statement of support from the student’s primary PhD supervisor and the DGS. Thse statements should confirm: the relevance of the proposed visit to the student’s doctoral research and training; the student’s readiness to benefit from the visit; how the visit aligns with the overall PhD training plan.
4. Host Institution Statement of Support: A formal statement from the host academic/institution is also required, confirming: the value of the proposed visit for the student’s research; the resources, facilities, and/or expertise that will be made available; the host’s commitment to supporting the student during their stay
5. Submit your OIV application form
6. We aim to communicate decisions on the outcome of OIV applications within 2 weeks of the application deadline.

After the Visit (Reporting Stage)

• After your visit: Complete the OIV report. Please note that feedback from PhD supervisor and Host is also required for reporting purposes.

Note on Statements of Support and Feedback: As Overseas Institutional Visits are funded through ESRC resources, it is essential to evidence the academic value and outcomes of each visit. For this reason, brief statements of support are required from both the student’s PhD supervisor, DGS, and the host institution at the application stage. Additionally short feedback is required from PhD supervisor and host after the visit. These requirements are designed to be proportionate and not unduly burdensome, but they are necessary to ensure accountability for the use of funding and to demonstrate the benefits of the scheme for doctoral training.

Institutional Travel Policies

Students must follow the travel policies for their home institution when booking travel:

Queen Mary University of London: Please see: Queen Mary Finance Guide for LISS Students. QMUL LISS Administrator Angela Kamara can offer further guidance.

Imperial College London students: Imperial staff travel and expenses. Imperial LISS Administrator Samira Modaresifar can offer further guidance.

KCL Students: Important Update for Business Travel Policy: As of June 2025, King’s College London has introduced a new Business Travel Policy that applies to all staff and students undertaking travel for university-related purposes. All applications for additional funding associated with overseas travel are now require completion of the following two forms:

1. Submit a Business Travel Authorisation (BTA) request, and

2. Apply for Business Travel Insurance

Both forms are available via Helix. Further information on the policy can be found on the KCL Travel Services internal site. Please follow your local departmental process to obtain the necessary approvals for your BTA and insurance.

Once you have received both approvals, please email them to liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk. The required documents must be the Helix email titled ‘Can we help you further?’, which includes the full details of your Business Travel Authorisation and Travel Insurance requests.

LISS DTP cannot process any OIV payments until both the BTA and insurance confirmation emails have been received.

Language Training Extension application form

Up to one extra year’s extra support may be considered if a student needs to acquire or develop working ability with a language in order to carry out fieldwork (including UK fieldwork) or other parts of their research; this is over and above the funded length of the studentship. Students following a pre-described Masters course are not eligible to apply during this training.  Any anticipated language training should have been mentioned in the student’s application and project summary or be discussed with the Deputy Director, Training & Cohort Development as soon as possible upon commencing the studentship.

Extensions are additional periods of funded time that are added to your studentship, extending your award end date but not your final submission deadline. They recognise the fact that if you are undertaking activities such as difficult language training you will have less time during these periods to undertake your doctoral work.

Language training extensions beyond six months will only be allowed if the student needs to spend an extended period of time overseas in order to obtain these language skills.  If the student has already undertaken a pre-described Masters course, it is expected that some progress with language acquisition will have been made and therefore it is not expected that extensions beyond six months will be made.  Extensions for language training do not automatically attract overseas fieldwork costs.  Overseas fieldwork costs should only be considered alongside an extension where it is not possible to learn the language outside of the fieldwork site.

Please see Annex 3 p. 43 of ESRC funding guide  for guidance on groupings of languages.