Widening Participation Summer Research Internships

The Widening Participation (WP) Summer Research Internships provide promising undergraduates with hands-on experience of research during the summer holidays, with the aim of improving your confidence and independent study skills, as well as encouraging you to consider postgraduate study and a career in research.

You’ll gain professional experience through a funded internship, gaining knowledge and experience in your chosen subject. It will help support your application for postgraduate study and help you gain transferable skills and experience useful for applying to jobs in many sectors, including those in research. 

During the internship, you’ll take part in sessions to improve your independent study and research skills and gain insights into postgraduate study and research at the University of Bristol. There are also social opportunities for you to get to know the other interns, as well as staff and students at the University. 

Funding

You will be paid the Real Living Wage (currently £14.12 per hour).

Duration

The Widening Participation Summer Research internships will last six weeks from Monday 8 June to Friday 17 July (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday). Please note, some project dates may vary.

Location

For the duration of the research project you will primarily need to be based on or near campus, whether in an office, laboratory or clinic, though an internship may involve some fieldwork and could also involve experimental or theoretical approaches, depending on the type of research a supervisor undertakes.

Supervisor and project information will be available when applications open from February 2nd, 2026. Projects offered will be linked to subjects that sit within the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences & Law, and the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, however students from all Undergraduate courses, including Science & Engineering, are able to apply to these internship opportunities.

To apply for the WP Summer Research Internship you must:

  • be a UK (Home) fee-paying student registered on a relevant undergraduate course in the UK; 
  • be in the middle year(s) of your degree.

Where an internship is oversubscribed, we will give priority to those who meet at least one or more of the following criteria:

  • your ethnicity is listed under Asian or Asian British; Black, Black British, Caribbean or African; Mixed or multiple ethnic groups; or the Other ethnic group category on the gov.uk list of ethnic groups;
  • you have been eligible for free school meals;
  • you come from one of the more deprived areas of the country as defined by the government's Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) database. You can check your postcode ranking using the IMD website. Please note this criteria only applies to students who live in England;
  • you are a mature student (aged 21 or over when you started your first undergraduate course)

Applications are now closed for 2025 and will reopen again in 2026. You can register your interest here.