UCL Expand Subject Experts

Become a UCL Expand Subject Expert!

UCL's Access and Widening Participation Office are recruiting 5 postgraduate students to lead on the preparation and delivery of UCL Expand, an 8-week academic programme for Year 12 students from backgrounds underrepresented in higher education.

The ideal candidates will have some teaching experience and a passion for inspiring and working with school-aged students.

Check back on this date for access to the job description and further guidance documents or click the link below to register your interest and we'll send you all the information about the job once it goes live on 2 September:

Register your interest

What is a UCL Expand Subject Expert?

UCL Expand Subject Experts are UCL postgraduate students (PGT and PGR) who are recruited by UCL's Access and Widening Participation Office to deliver engaging academic sessions to prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

The main role of UCL Expand Subject Experts is to create and deliver four online academic seminars and one in-person introduction session as part of the UCL Expand programme. All sessions should be interactive, engaging and activity-based, and should link together under an umbrella topic, relating either to the Subject Expert's own academic research or other area of specialism.

The four online seminars will encourage Year 12 participants to explore key academic skills, focusing on what it means to think, research, solve problems and communicate like a subject specialist.

As a UCL Expand Subject Expert, you will:

• Further develop your teaching experience, both in-person and online.
• Create sessions linked to your current or previous area of study or research.
• Create interactive and engaging sessions designed to inspire Year 12 students in a subject you are passionate about.
• Attend training about the UCL Expand programme, lesson planning and delivery, and safeguarding and child protection.
• Have access to 1-1 support from the UCL Expand team when creating your content and throughout the programme.
• Earn money alongside your studies.

FAQs

What are the goals of the UCL Expand programme?

• To provide students with a hands-on experience of super-curricular engagement in a subject area of interest to inform course choice decisions and to be used in personal statements.
• To provide students with transferable academic skills taught in a problem-based learning framework to positively impact their attainment at A-level and to support the transition to higher education.
• To increase underrepresented students’ sense of familiarity and belonging in universities prior to application.

UCL Expand is run by UCL's Access and Widening Participation Office. The programme is aimed at Year 12 students who are currently underrepresented in higher education. Please see our website for more information about the work we do: UCL Access and Widening Participation

Who can apply to be a UCL Expand Subject Expert?

UCL postgraduate students who will be studying during 2026-27 and who will be on the UCL campus can apply to be Subject Experts. This includes PhD students, Master's students and students in final year of a four-year undergraduate Masters course, such as MEng, for example.

Please note that this role isn’t open to UCL alumni, students attending other institutions or inter-collegiate and study abroad students taking modules at UCL. 

We are keen to hear from applicants who are considerate to the needs of cohorts who might not traditionally enter higher education and who are interested in furthering their academic experiences.

Applicants will also need to be available for all dates indicated in the 'What is the full UCL Expand 2027 programme timeline?' section below.

What is the application process?

There is a two-step application process. We recommend that you look at the job description and session guidance documents (available from 2 September 2026) in depth before starting your application. 

1. Written application form: This written application will assess your experience and ability to create academic content for unfamiliar audiences. You will be asked to outline your UCL Expand subject topic and main objectives for each online seminar, and provide a lesson plan for one academic seminar. You will also need to submit a 5-7 minute video audition showcasing an activity from this session. The application form provides full guidance on what we expect from each question and audition.

2. Interview: Shortlisted applicants will receive an invite to interview shortly after the application window closes. The interview will assess how you meet our person specification for the role, as detailed in the job description, and your understanding of how the programme fits within the work of access and widening participation at UCL, through a series of questions.

Interviews will take place in the week beginning 26 October 2026. Please see 'What is the full UCL Expand 2027 programme timeline?' below for more information about key dates.

Can I have a further breakdown of each session?

During the in-person Welcome Event, UCL Expand participants will meet their postgraduate Subject Expert and Student Ambassadors, and take part in the following sessions: an introduction to the programme; an academic libraries workshop; and icebreaker and subject introduction sessions led by Subject Experts.

During online seminars 2, 3, 5 and 6, participants will explore four key academic skills with their Subject Expert, focusing on what it means to think, research, solve problems and communicate in a specific academic discipline. They will explore one of these skills each week through the topic chosen by their Subject Expert. All online seminars should also encourage critical thinking, analytical skills and academic debate, and will give participants an insight into what it means to study academic content at university.

Online seminar 1 will be an introduction to the UCL Expand programme and online seminar 4 will be dedicated to working on the final project. Both of these sessions will be delivered by the UCL Expand team, not Subject Experts. 

During the Graduation Event, participants will celebrate their accomplishments across the programme, and present their final projects. Subject Experts will be encouraged to engage with these presentations and will award participants their certificates of completion during a graduation ceremony.

What is the UCL Expand project and how does it relate to the online sessions?

In their spare time outside of the UCL Expand programme, participants will produce a project. The project should take the form of an academic poster, although participants can choose an alternative format if they wish. Participants have freedom over the subject focus of their poster, although we encourage it to be linked to the topic they have learned about in online sessions. 

Participants will present their projects at the UCL Expand Graduation Event. This will be an informal presentation and will take the form of an academic poster presentation. This will involve participants speaking to small groups of other participants and UCL Expand staff about their research whilst standing in front of their posters. They will also be able to see other projects and ask questions of other participants about their research. 

The UCL Expand team will primarily support participants with the development of their projects and will give them guidance during online seminar 1 and online seminar 4. Subject Experts will be expected to answer questions about the final project during online sessions and provide potential project ideas. More information about this will be given during the UCL Expand Subject Expert training.

How will I be paid?

UCL Expand Subject Experts will be enrolled onto Unitemps, our in-house recruitment and payment service for temporary workers.

You will be paid a competitive rate of £23.11 per hour (subject to change awaiting UCL's 1 August 2026 pay uplift). Hours include*:

6+ hours of training 20 hours to create the online content and plan sessions (paid in three separate installments)

 

*Subject to change 

• All in-person and online delivery time (see schedule below)
• 2 hours for check-in calls with a member of the UCL Expand team, during the content creation stage

What is the full UCL Expand 2027 programme timeline?

*Timings subject to change.

UCL Expand Subject Experts must be available for all dates where ‘Subject Expert attendance required’ is marked ‘Yes’.

Where ‘No’ is indicated, Subject Experts do not need to be present or prepare anything in advance. If you are not available for any of the dates above, please indicate this on your application form. Your application may still be considered, but we will prioritise applicants who can attend all required dates.

Will there be applicant drop-in sessions?

Yes! Please attend any of the sessions below to ask us questions about the Subject Expert role, the application process or the UCL Expand programme.

UCL Expand Subject Expert applicant drop-in sessions

See below for drop-in details and joining links.