Guidance: How to apply for a Government Social Research sandwich student placement

Our 12-month sandwich student placement scheme is aimed at students who are considering a career in the Government Social Research (GSR) profession after graduation.

Applications for our 2026 scheme are now closed.

Are you a social science undergraduate in your penultimate year? Do you want to gain practical experience and use your research skills to make a difference? Join the UK Government for a paid student placement.    

You would spend a year working alongside social researchers and policy officials before returning to your studies. The job could involve analysing research data to help government decision making, evaluating the impact of policies, and providing social research advice to help shape government strategy.   

Placement students may also get an early-access interview for a government role upon graduation and many return to work for us.  We offer:

Chance to gain professional social research experience,  apply your knowledge and sharpen your skills

For further information, please refer to the to the job descriptions and the application guidance notes.  

Minimum salaries for our 2026 scheme: £27,800 for London and £23,800 nationally  

Salaries vary according to department and location. Please refer to the job descriptions for full details.

Locations for our 2026 scheme included: Birmingham, Bristol, Darlington, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sheffield, York  

Locations vary according to government department. Please refer to the job descriptions for full details and learn more about the Government Social Research profession here.

The Sandwich Student scheme is only open to students in their penultimate year of undergraduate study (i.e. the year before their final year) and who are on track to achieve a minimum of a 2:2 in their honours degree as indicated by their results so far.