Placement Scheme

The LAHP Placement Scheme offers LAHP-funded students the opportunity to undertake a placement of up to 6-months full-time (or 12-months part-time) which is focused on training and development.

Placements should enable students to develop transferable skills that can be applied to for instance their PhD research, engage the public in fresh and interesting ways, experience a working environment in a different sector from academia, discover new ways of working and new methodologies, and develop their employability skills. Placements should be aligned with the Vitae Research Development Framework and with the core skill development needs identified in your Training Needs Analysis.

The planned work undertaken during a placement should both further the aims and objectives of the host organisation and provide you with the opportunity to develop transferable skills that will enhance your career potential.

Routes to placement

1. Apply for a placement advertised by one of LAHP’s existing non-HEI partners.

1. Propose a placement to an existing LAHP non-HEI partner.

1. Propose a placement to a new non-HEI partner.

More details on the routes to placement in the step-by-step process below.

We recommend you allow up to 3 months for placement approval process to be completed, as LAHP requires your institution to approve the placement and ensure a placement agreement is in place before it commences. Applications for placements are accepted on a rolling basis.

The LAHP Placement Scheme is managed by the LAHP Collaborations & Partnerships team: Dr Marquard Smith (LAHP Director) and Gillian Harrison (LAHP Senior Support Officer).

• Students must discuss the possibility of a placement with their supervisor in the first instance to determine the skills they would like to develop, suitable placement hosts, and ideal timing.

• Placements can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis (International students please see section below)

• The maximum amount of time a student can spend on placement is 6-months (full-time) or 12-months (part-time).

• Students should ideally have completed the first year of their PhD before embarking on a placement.

• Placements must start within the funded period of the studentship and must be completed no later than 6 months before their funding end date. Exceptions to this rule may be made providing the student’s supervisor is in full support of the placement and is confident the student will still be able to submit their thesis on time. Placements can only take place within the student’s original funded period (not taking into consideration any funding extensions applied to support the placement).

• Placements can be undertaken at times most convenient for all parties and there is no set structure for how they must be taken. Students could, for instance spend 1 day a week or every day for 3 weeks on a placement, as is suitable for the project, the student, and the placement host.

• You can do a placement with a Higher Education organisation / institution, including the institution at which you are registered, provided the placement is not generating material for your PhD thesis and offers you the opportunity to develop transferable skills.

• Demonstrating or teaching activity cannot be supported as part of your placement project.

• Placements can be undertaken within a wide range of organisations or businesses.

International students 

International students may be eligible for the LAHP Placement Scheme, providing their institution confirms so. It is likely that you will only be able to undertake a placement for a maximum of 20 hours per week. Please consult with the relevant advisor (e.g. a visa compliance officer) at your academic institution for advice on undertaking a placement before submitting your application. The LAHP administrative lead at your institution will be able to help connect you to the relevant advisor. It is your responsibility as a student visa holder, in correspondence with your institution, to ensure compliance with your visa regulations. LAHP will not approve any placement for International students until the visa compliance officer at your institution has confirmed it is compliant with the terms of your visa.

Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) students 

CDA students are eligible to undertake a placement opportunity with a different partner to their CDA partner. In some circumstances, CDA students may be allowed to take up a placement opportunity with their CDA partner if they are working on a standalone project that does not feed into their PhD research.

CDA students must bear in mind that the total amount of funding LAHP may offer is 4 years full-time, or equivalent part-time (excluding any paid leave), or up to the end of year 4 of registration (excluding any leave), whichever is earlier. This is the case for all LAHP-funded students, however, as CDA students are already funded for 3.5 years full-time (or 7 years part-time) the maximum funding extension that could be applied under any criteria is 6-months. Therefore, if a CDA student elects to undertake a placement for the full 6-months full-time (or 12-months part-time) they would not be eligible to apply for a further funding extension on the grounds of either skills acquisition, complex methodology, or change to project. See the LAHP Research Extension Fund guidelines for full details on the criteria.

1. If you are interested in undertaking a placement during your PhD, speak to your supervisor as early as possible. You should think about the skills you would like to develop, the placement structure that would work for you, and the placement hosts that would be the best fit for these. Your supervisor can also advise on the timing of the placement and the most suitable point to take time away from your research.

2. Once you have an idea of the skills you would like to develop and the sort of placement hosts that would be suitable, decide on the best route to placement. As noted above, there are three possible routes available:

• Apply for a placement advertised by one of LAHP’s existing non-HEI partners. (These placements will be advertised on the LAHP website (see below) and in the LAHP Student Newsletter.)
• Propose a placement to an existing LAHP non-HEI partner.
• Propose a placement to a new non-HEI partner.

You can explore all of these options if you wish, and we encourage you to arrange a drop-in with the LAHP Collaborations & Partnerships Team (see below) at this point to discuss each option and next steps.

• If applying for an advertised placement, follow the application process as outlined in the advert.
• If proposing a placement to an existing LAHP non-HEI partner, get in touch with them using the contact details provided on the LAHP website (see below). As these are currently being updated, if there are no contact details listed for the partner you are interested in, please contact Gillian Harrison, LAHP Senior Support Officer, who can make an introduction for you: lahp@ucl.ac.uk
• If proposing a placement to a new non-HEI partner, do some research to find the best person to contact and get in touch with them. You may find it useful to use the placement template email  to structure your proposal when making contact for the first time. You can also use this template email when making initial contact with LAHP partners.

If proposing your own placement, the LAHP Collaborations and Partnerships Team are very happy to provide guidance on structuring and shaping your placement with the host. Please ensure you have identified a placement supervisor within the organisation.

3. Once you have agreed a placement in principle, via any of the three routes outlined above, complete a LAHP application for the placement. This must be submitted via the online application form.

Applications will be processed within 15 working days.

In the application form you will be asked to provide a placement role description, or overview of the project to be undertaken whilst on placement, and identify the training and development needs the placement will address. You should refer to the Vitae Research Development Framework and the core skill development needs identified in your Training Needs Analysis for this.

Your primary supervisor and placement host supervisor will also need to provide a supporting statement. Instructions for this will be in the application form. International students will also need to provide confirmation that that their institution’s visa compliance department have confirmed the placement is compliant with the terms of their visa.

4. The LAHP Collaborations & Partnerships team will review your application and if approved, you will be informed and referred to your institution to complete the necessary compliance documentation in accordance with your institution’s procedures. LAHP will expect that a risk assessment is completed, and a placement agreement between yourself, your institution, and your placement host is put in place. Your institution will support you through this process.

Once these have been completed your placement will be formally approved, and you will receive written confirmation.

Please allow up to 3-months for this process to be completed. If your application requires urgent consideration, for example if the placement needs to commence or be approved earlier, please contact the LAHP Senior Support Officer as soon as possible. Urgent applications may be considered in exceptional circumstances where possible, providing a clear rationale is given.

5. With your placement approved, you can then apply for an extension via the LAHP Research Extension Fund to cover your time on placement. Please upload your LAHP placement approval document to this application. Your extension will be approved in principle, and you will be advised of what your new funding end date will be. Providing you complete your placement as agreed, your funding end date will be updated upon completion.

Please note, LAHP can only apply an extension before your funding end date passes.

6. LAHP requires a mid-point check in with your placement host and will email them at this time to request that they complete a short summary of your progress to date.

7. Within one month of the conclusion of your placement, you will write a report on your experience that details the nature of your placement and the training and development that your placement has provided you with (LAHP will provide you with a template for this). Your placement host will also be asked to provide testimonials on the benefits and outcomes of your placement. You may also be invited to subsequent LAHP training and development events to discuss your placement and offer advice and support to LAHP students considering undertaking a placement.

Please note, LAHP may request you submit your report before the placement finishes if you are completing your placement within the last 6-months of your studentship and your extension needs to be confirmed before your funding end date.

8. If you need to discontinue your placement earlier than expected once it has started, please contact the LAHP Senior Support Officer as soon as possible and provide as much notice as possible to your placement supervisor. You should aim to provide one month of notice or more. You will only receive a stipend extension if you have completed over one month (FTE) undertaking the placement.

9. Duty of care for you as a student whilst on placement is the responsibility of your home institution. Your home institution will brief you prior to commencing your placement and inform you of the support available to you from your home institution whilst on placement. This will include procedures for raising concerns or grievances whilst on placement and procedures for withdrawing from your placement and returning to full time PhD studies should this course of action become necessary. The LAHP Collaborations & Partnerships team can offer informal support and guidance.

You can apply to the LAHP Engagement Provision for support with additional costs (for example travel costs) that will be incurred whilst on placement and will exceed your normal living costs. Please note that placement-associated travel costs may only be covered by the Engagement Provision if the travel is not broadly the same as that which occurs when travelling to your normal place of work, i.e., to your university.

Accommodation costs may be requested for international placements or placements that will involve a substantial daily commute.

Once your placement has been formally approved, you can submit an application for associated costs via the LAHP Engagement Provision here

Here you can find a list of the non-HEI Partners who have agreed to the LAHP Placement scheme. By clicking on the individual links, you will be able to find out more about the type of placements that each partner offers as well as whether they are open to placement proposals from LAHP students and supervisors. Please check this list regularly as we update it as and when new Partners join.

If you can’t find a suitable partner from this list, you can liaise directly with institutions that you or your supervisors have developed/or intend to develop collaborations with and then submit the LAHP agreement forms to us once the placement arrangements have been agreed.

ACTIVE PLACEMENT HOSTS

Bishopsgate Institute 

Black Cultural Archives

British Film Institute

Derek Jarman Lab

Eastside Community Heritage

Lambeth Palace Library

Museum of the Home

Museum of London

National Archives

National Theatre

Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group

Royal College of Physicians

Victoria & Albert Museum

Wasafiri

Zinc

Here you can find all the placement opportunities that are currently open for applications.

Find out about our LAHP students’ experiences in the placement case studies section.

If you would like to discuss a placement opportunity or have any questions regarding the process, please email lahp@ucl.ac.uk

Alternatively, Dr Marquard Smith and Gillian Harrison run 15-minute online drop-in sessions every fortnight. Dates for Spring 2026 are listed below, book your drop-in slot here

• Wednesday 28^th January 2026, 11am-12pm
• Wednesday 11^th February 2026, 11am – 12pm
• Wednesday 25^th February 2026, 11am – 12pm
• Wednesday 11^th March 2026, 11am – 12pm