Eligibility

All students, graduating from The University of Manchester in 2013, can apply. The notes below summarise any potential restrictions.

The Manchester Graduate Internship Programme (MGIP) welcomes applications from international students, although if you do not have authorisation to work in the UK beyond the expiry of your student visa, you may find it difficult to secure a work visa for most of our internships.

Student visas usually expire around 4 months after your course end date. The majority of MGIP internships are for 4 to 12 months duration and therefore usually require international students to have, or obtain, permission to work in the UK beyond their student visa expiry. This will typically be under a Tier 2 employer sponsored visa if you are not an EEA national.

Working beyond your student visa under Tier 2

Tier 2 sponsorship requires that:

• The salary is a minimum of £20,000 per annum (or more for certain roles/jobs)
• The employer is on the Sponsor Register of employers
• The post meets the UK Border Agency definition of a skilled job for Tier 2 sponsorship.

You can find out which employers are on the Sponsor Register on the UKBA website.

You can find out more about skilled job roles and minimum salaries under the Codes of Practice for Tier 2 on the UKBA website.

Unfortunately, most MGIP positions do not meet the minimum salary requirements for Tier 2 sponsorship as the average salary for a MGIP internship is £15,000 per annum/pro rata.

Masters students

Taught masters students cannot work full time over the summer because you are expected to be working full time on your dissertation. You can only work full-time once you have submitted your dissertation.

Taught masters students are advised to start searching/applying for MGIP jobs in August/September 2013.

Postgraduate research students

Postgraduate research students must agree any vacation dates with their supervisor in writing. Read the postgraduate regulations for more information.

PhD students

While you are still registered as a full-time PhD student, you are not allowed to take up full-time employment.

If you are no longer registered as a student, but are awaiting your viva or completing corrections, you can work full-time. However, both you and any prospective employer need to consider how you might balance the demands of completing your PhD with the demands of full-time employment.

Each employer will have different requirements and criteria and you are advised to read the job description carefully. We have found that the majority of MGIP employers are more concerned about skills, competencies and experience than degree subject and degree result.