GO Work Abroad - Durham University

Work Abroad: Global Placement Years, Internships and Volunteering

Whether you want to enhance your CV or perfect your language skills, there are a number of great Global Opportunities to work abroad. These range in length from short summer internships to full-year Placement Years. There are also a number of funding options available to help support your ambitions. Regardless of whether your ambitions are in the UK or abroad, the Careers & Enterprise Centre can help you make career plans and take the next steps to where you want to be.

Visit Careers & Enterprise

Global Opportunities Fair

The next Global Opportunities Fair will take place in October 2025.

See the slides from last year's event

GO Work Abroad with Durham

Please click on the headings below to find out about the GO work abroad options

Placement Years

Work for between 9 and 12 months in the UK or globally as part of an additional recognised year with a Placement Year.

People talking in front of poster displays at a career fair

Global Internships

The University advertises short internships with partners and has a number of bursaries to assist home UG students looking to undertake internships.

GO Volunteer

Durham promotes a number of international volunteering opportunities with our Trusted Partners.

Careers & Enterprise Centre

Looking for general ideas about work during or after your degree? The Careers & Enterprise Centre can help.

A member of the Careers and Enterprise Centre discusses the available career paths and options with a student

Fair Access

Expressions of interest are particularly welcomed from students from backgrounds where participation in study or work abroad is traditionally low. This includes students who: have received or are eligible for the Durham Grant Scheme; have participated in the Supported Progression Scheme or Sutton Trust Summer school at Durham University; are from a minority ethnic group; have a home address in an area of low progression to higher education (i.e. your postcode is listed '1' or '2' in the Polar checking tool).

Widening Participation

Some opportunities may be Turing funded. This funding is prioritised to disadvantaged students who meet the University's definition of Widening Participation, including:

Students with a low (parental) household income or low socio-economic status (including those with an annual household income of £25,000 or less)
Students with a medium-low (parental) household income or low socio-economic status (including those with an annual household income of £25,001 to £47,200)
Students receiving Universal Credit or income-related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them, such as a child or partner
Students who are care-experienced
Students who have caring responsibilities
Neither of the students’ parents can be found or it is not reasonably practicable to get in touch with either of them (estranged students)
Refugees and asylum seekers

Turing Scheme Details

Durham University has been successful in boosting Global Opportunities for its students for the coming academic year. The University has been awarded a grant from the Turing Scheme, the UK government’s programme to study and work abroad.

Find out more about the Turing scheme

A student on a balcony looks out across a busy city

Did you know?

Students who go abroad are 20% less likely to be out of work when they graduate than those who did not. Find more reasons to GO on the UUKi’s Go International report

Access the UUKi Go International report here

Working abroad may seem daunting, however, there is a range of support available. These range from language courses with the Centre for Foreign Language Study to pre- and in-placement support through the Disability and Counselling services. Please click on the banners below for further details. You may also want to think about Durham's GO Study Abroad options which includes both full-year and shorter options.