Internship information for current students

Find out more about our Internship programme.

As a globally recognised leader in the development of advanced research and teaching in social data we provide some of the most extensive training in social data methods to undergraduates in the UK.  

Our unique internship programme gives UCL undergraduate students in their 2nd year, (or 3rd year if a 4 year course) in the faculty of Social and Historical Sciences (SHS) and the Social Research Institute (SRI), the opportunity to use their hands on training in organisations including the Financial Times, charities and policy organisations like Save the Children and think-tanks such the Climate Policy Initiative. 

This ‘real-world’ experience sees students doing valuable work across sectors and topics analysing data sets to visualise and present data information in support of media articles, research papers and reports. 

2026 Internship Applications:

Applications for 2026 will open towards the end of March 2026. 

If you are a current SHS or SRI undergraduate student you can sign up for our next Internship Q&A event taking place on Wednesday 3rd December. Please note this event is only open to UCL students your department will contact you about this directly. 

Watch our Internship Q&A Event Recording and discover everything you need to know about our internship opportunities, from insights into the application process to real stories from recent interns and alumni (accessible for UCL staff and students only). 

Internship FAQ’s for Students:

The scheme is an opportunity for SHS and SRI undergraduates in their second year (or third year if on a four-year programme) to apply their skills in a real-world setting. The internships focus on data-related projects that are exclusive to our students. 

Internships typically last  6 weeks, with some being extended up to 8-10 weeks. 

We work with a number of partners and organisations such as the Financial Times, Save the Children UK, IOM as well as a number of smaller more bespoke consultancies and charities.

Yes! All internships are paid. Students who are successful in their application to their internship will be paid the London Living Wage, which is currently £13.85 per hour (2025). Some organisations also pay for travel and lunch expenses. 

All internships are different and will take place in a different setting depending on the policy outlined by the host organisation. Many organisations are doing a hybrid style of working where interns would spend 2 – 3 days in the office and the other days working from home. 

The Social Data Institute will advertise the internships available on their application page at the end of March and students will be able to apply soon after. Once applications have closed a short-listing process will occur. Should you be successful and make it to the short list you will then be invited to interview at the host organisation. Once all shortlisted students have been interviewed the host organisation will let you know if you have been successful in securing the internship.

Please note that at the moment these internships are only open to SHS and SRI in their second year (or third year if on a four-year programme).

Internship Student and Alumni Spotlights

Discover how participating in the Social Data Institute’s activities has helped shape the futures of our alumni, as they share their personal experiences and insights.

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Student Testimonies:

 

student at the economist

Zara Hamzah Sendut is a second year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student who spent six weeks with The Economist: 

“My whole internship was fantastic. I was excited when I was invited to draft a piece about fuel poverty then be interviewed by The Economist’s Head of Data Journalism and Data Editor for a position. Getting to spend time working with the data team on pieces of data-driven journalism was an enriching experience.   

“During my full-time placement I was able to work across three main areas and had a number of articles published. The first saw me pitching and producing data-led articles for their Graphic Detail section. I wrote three in total, covering topics on: wildfires across the European Union; how the war in Ukraine has affected worldwide economic growth particularly in the G20 countries; and the Economist Intelligence Unit’s livability index of the most livable cities in North America.  

“The second was coding in R to analyse data and uncover trends or a story. I gathered data to investigate if political assassinations had changed the course of history and spent a lot of time processing data from the European Space Agency on heat stress. The data set spanned a 42-year period of those suffering from severe heat stress in every country globally and involved hundreds of csv files so it was initially challenging. I plotted the data by continent and country income group to identity patterns of high temperatures. The third area was around data visualisation and I was able to practice ways of presenting data using visual tools and design, a skill I really enjoy.  

“It was amazing how applicable my academic studies were to the work and it was great to experience larger volumes of data for analysis. The team were so knowledgeable and happy to share their advice and practical expertise with me. It was such a valuable experience and has increased my interest in big data and how we can understand complex data to benefit society.  

 

Max

Max Skoczylas, a second year Politics and International Relations undergraduate spent an extended 15-week internship with the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) :

“It’s no exaggeration to say that my internship changed my life. Getting into research and policy organisations is typically really hard so this internship has been invaluable. Since spending time with the CPI I have a much clearer idea about my future career direction and I’ve decided I would now love to use my data science skills in a policy setting.  

“The whole experience was wonderful and I was surprised by how I was able to get involved in two new projects looking at big topics straight away. The first was a novel project using policy and literature data within cities to understand how the building sector can reach net zero. The second looked at investment in relation to climate resilient infrastructure. 

Through key word searches and statistical data I was able to approximate global levels of money flowing into climate resilience infrastructure. For example, as Japan showed, we can’t invest in nuclear energy if infrastructure resilience isn’t there to handle flooding.  

“Supporting the wider team and working alongside them was really rewarding and I was able to contribute a lot, putting my theory and working knowledge to the test. I was even able to write two sections of a report being published in November, increasing my knowledge of different writing styles and how to reach different audiences. Things I thought I could do I was able to try, cementing my practical understanding of processes and techniques. I learnt new skills such as Python programming and got quicker at using existing skills. I had to juggle many competing demands on my time so I’m much better now at prioritising and time management. 

“This internship really demonstrated to me the importance of data and its use in society. As I learn in my degree, politics and money hold the power in the world. Data is fact and can be used to support or argue against this power. If we don’t have clear data then we can’t properly evaluate our impact on topics such as climate change. If we can collect data to measure progress we can understand what does and doesn’t work across society.” 

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Social Data Institute Internships, please feel free to contact us via: ucl.soda@ucl.ac.uk