Manchester University Requires Work Placements for All Undergraduates

University of Manchester announced that every undergraduate programme will now include a mandatory period of practical experience—internships, placements, joint projects or exchanges—taken after exams in the summer term. Vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison said the aim is to give “every single student a chance to put their learning into context,” regardless of discipline.

All Manchester students to go out on placement as part of degrees

Graduates face debt often exceeding £50,000 and difficulty finding graduate-level jobs, many taking low-paid work. The Higher Education Statistics Agency notes that in 2024-25 about a quarter of undergraduate courses offered a placement of at least one year, reflecting a shift toward work-integrated learning. Professional degrees such as medicine and teaching already require placements.

The Guardian

Manchester has roughly 32,000 undergraduates. Over 500 students who completed 2025 internships reported higher confidence and job readiness. HESA shows about 25 % of courses offered a placement of at least one year in 2024-25. Student debt often exceeds £50,000.

The Guardian

The university says the placement will become “a normal part of university life, not something students have to find separately or through personal contacts.” Vivienne Stern warned the jobs market is changing rapidly and graduates must be “as well prepared as possible.” Libby Hackett called the policy a “significant step” delivering “invaluable experience” and the “wide range of skills and resilience” employers need.

The Guardian

Nick Hillman praised the ambition but warned that scaling placements for 32,000 students is “very difficult” given limited employer capacity and students’ existing part-time work. He noted that institutions such as Aston and Loughborough have long embedded employment into curricula, whereas no Russell Group university has attempted a comparable rollout.

The Guardian

Sources agree the initiative is unprecedented for a Russell Group university, yet no data are provided on how many external partners can host the required placements, and quality-assurance mechanisms for non-vocational disciplines are not described.

The Guardian

• “every single student [should] have a chance to put their learning into context – an internship, a placement, a joint project or an exchange” — Duncan Ivison, Vice-Chancellor, University of Manchester

The Guardian

• “It is very difficult to do this sort of thing at scale because of the number of students and employers involved – Manchester is a huge university.” — Nick Hillman, Director, Higher Education Policy Institute

The Guardian

• “The jobs market is changing rapidly and we need to make sure that our graduates are as well prepared for it as possible.” — Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive, Universities UK

The Guardian

• “ Manchester University said: “We want every student to have the opportunity to apply what they are learning before they graduate.” — University of Manchester (official statement)

The Guardian

The university will embed placement modules into curricula for the 2026-27 academic year, with outcome monitoring and employer feedback scheduled for the following summer. Detailed guidance on discipline-specific requirements is expected from the academic board later this year.

The Guardian