Placement requirements for cohorts from 24/25 onwards (DTP2)

• Placements should focus on a specific 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 placement can be related to your PhD research if appropriate. However, you should not continue working on your PhD during the placement; the placement is a separate experience and should be treated as such.
• Students must discuss plans with their supervisor and align them with their Development Needs Analysis (for DTP2 students).
• For CASE students, placements can be with the CASE partner, with another non-academic organisation, or one of our Research Assistant Internships.
• Placements are expected to take place within the UK. While we would not preclude a student undertaking a placement 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.

• Placements are expected to be three months (13 weeks)
• Placements 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.
• Placements can be physical, virtual or hybrid.
• You can also split the placement between two organisations, e.g. one placement of 7 weeks and one placement of 6 weeks.
• If your placement is shorter than 13 weeks (or you do not undertake one at all) your funding end date and thesis submission deadline will be adjusted accordingly.

• Placements should not be held within the first few months of the PhD and should not take place during a masters period.
• Any students who do not complete a 3-month placement within the first three years of their PhD will have their studentships shortened by three months accordingly.
• Placements taking place in the Masters portion of the studentship do not count towards the ESRC core component placement. This means that a placement will still be required in the PhD phase, and if not completed the studentship will be reduced by three months.

• All studentships commencing after October 2024 include three months’ funding intended to support this placement period. Any students who do not complete a three month placement within the first three years of their PhD will have their studentships shortened by three months accordingly.
• 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.

• An externally funded placement does not count towards the ESRC Research in Practice placement.
• If you are offered a full-time paid placement, secondment, or consultancy, you will most likely need to suspend or interrupt your studentship for its duration. A suspension involves stopping your studentship payments for the duration of the placement, and also delays your submission deadline.
• Please see details on suspensions on our Interruptions and change of status guidance.
• 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.

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

• The deadline for placement 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.

Once your Research in Practice placement has been approved, you may be required to complete some additional paperwork required ahead of commencing the placement. This may include:

1. A Host or Placement Agreement. Each institution manages this differently:
   • KCL: the King’s Host Agreement on King’s CareerConnect. This process is initiated by the student, who should select “PhD placement” from the form options.
   • QMUL: Details on placement agreement forms can be found here.
   • Imperial College London: Students should contact their home department for guidance.
   • The placement host is also welcome to use their own agreement, should this be a requirement or a preference.
2. Visa compliance: overseas students may be required to complete paperwork to ensure that the placement does not breach the restrictions of their study visa.
   • KCL: Complete visa compliance form
   • QMUL: See guidance on work placements
   • Imperial College London: See guidance on work placements and internships
3. The host organisation may have additional paperwork to complete ahead of the placement commencing indemnity or insurance requirements.

We also recommend that you:

• read the placement guidance document.
• check in with your supervisory team regularly during the placement.

The  report should outline how the placement has deepened your understanding of the wider significance and impact of your research, developed your personal and professional skills and improved your understanding of how your research connects to real‑world contexts

We encourage you to share your experience through other formats such as a short film, blog post, or a case study, for both the LISS DTP community and a wider audience.