Funding and support

Our team can offer a range of support services and funding options to help you make the most of you time overseas. 

Support

We know it can be daunting to make the decision to spend time overseas, that’s why we ensure student support is easy to access at every point of your journey.

There is not one search platform for international placements. Familiarise yourself with the websites and networks used to advertise opportunities in your countries of interest. 

Be prepared for a speculative search, contacting organisations directly as well as applying to advertised opportunities. 

What type of work are you looking for? Knowing your skills and having some experience will help you establish what types of jobs you would be most suited to.

Work experience may not always be paid. Unpaid internships / placements are common in most countries.  However, you may receive funding from the Turing Scheme to help towards your travel and living costs.

Think about eligibility to work in another country – it’s not automatic! Do you need a visa? Visas are now required for UK students who want to undertake a placement in Europe, as well as most other countries worldwide.  You may have to apply and pay for a visa which will allow you to work and/or study for a while in another country.

Studying and/or working abroad can develop your transversal skills such as an ability to take initiative and working with people from other cultures. Employers are looking for these skills when recruiting, so this can increase your chances of success at interview after your studies.

Talk to our SU Global Connections team e-mail suglobal@staffs.ac.uk

Finding an international placement

Are you looking for a placement abroad and don’t know where to start?

• Check out gap year opportunities on the Prospects website.
• If you're looking for work experience, use the job search feature on the Prospects website, and filter the form to show 'work experience' and 'worldwide'.
• You can find internships and placements across Europe on the Erasmus Intern website, the EU jobs portal, or on Global Placement.

Before you travel

• We offer help and support with applying for your opportunity and funding through the UK Government Turing scheme.
• We will provide a pre-departure briefing to ensure any concerns you may have are answered and that you are fully prepared for your international experience.
• We provide helpful checklists before you go to give you piece of mind that nothing has been forgotten.

Whilst you are abroad

• You will be provided with a dedicated contact at Staffordshire University while you are overseas.
• If the experience is part of your course, you will also be in regular contact with your tutor/academics.

Funding

We have a range of different funding opportunities for students to help make participating in an international experience more affordable.  The cost of taking a placement (study, work, volunteer) will depend on the location and the time you will spend overseas.

Turing Programme

Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the UK Government has decided not to continue its membership of the Erasmus programme.  However, all current eligible placements under the existing Erasmus+ programme in 2021/22 will remain funded.

The Turing Programme is a new programme developed by the UK Government which is intended to provide funding for UK students to participate in international placements from 2021/22 onwards. Staffordshire University has been successful in accessing funding through the Turing Scheme to support international placements for our students.

An important feature of the Turing scheme is that funding is available for all Staffordshire University students, so whether you are studying a Foundation programme (at the university or one of our many partner colleges), an undergraduate degree, master's degree or even a PhD – you will probably be eligible for funding.

Your experience must be a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 12 months to be eligible for this funding. Due to the lack of travel opportunities caused by Covid, eligibility for funding is now a two week minimum until 31st August 2022.

Turing Funding

All students are eligible to take part in an International experience. Depending on where you go and how long for, you’ll receive different levels of funding via the Turing Funding. For a list of destinations within each group, please visit the Turing Scheme’s website.

International experience of 2 – 8 weeks

• £136.25 per week (Group 1 destinations)
• £120 per week (Group 2 and 3 destinations)

International experience of 9 – 52 weeks

• £380 per month (for Group 1 destinations)
• £335 per month (for Group 2 and 3 destinations)

Turing Cost of Living groups

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Uplift funding

The Uplift funding may also be available for some groups of students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Funding criteria

• Annual household income below £25,000
• Care leavers
• Receipt of income related benefits
• Refugees and asylum seekers

The funding offers an additional £110 per month for students who meet the eligibility criteria. Additionally, this scheme offers further funding towards direct costs of travel from £20 to £1,360 depending on distance. 

Student Success Fund 

We can also support you in applying for our Student Success Fund to help with costs of certain experiences. The Student Success Fund covers experiences that do not meet the Turing criteria, for example experiences less than 2 weeks, conferences, or academic planned visits.