UK internship programme
Shape your future
Contents
When you join Arup on our industrial and summer internships, you’ll become a member of an extraordinary collective – one where individuals thrive. Working on real projects, you’ll add value to clients from your first day, while exploring challenges that inspire your curiosity and creativity.
Whether you’re looking for a summer role a few weeks, or a longer placement of up to 12 months, we offer many possibilities to shape a better world, where you can contribute with your diverse talents.
Our scheme
Each year we recruit interns across our UK offices, which span 16 locations. We have a strong network of friendly apprentices and graduates who look forward to helping you settle into your role. You'll also have the support of more experienced team members, who are on hand to coach you through your projects. We are proud to regularly feature as one of the top UK employers of interns. It’s a testament to our commitment to providing a solid foundation to your development.
No two roles are the same and here you’ll have freedom combined with the personal responsibility from day one. Our internships are varied, challenging and rewarding, designed to provide you with real skills that you can carry forward once complete. Successful internships often lead to graduate positions, and therefore this is a great opportunity to find out what it feels to belong to an extraordinary collective at Arup.
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Awards
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Target Jobs Most Popular Graduate Recruiter
Winner - Construction, Civil Engineering and Surveying
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The Times Graduate Recruitment Awards 2024
Winner - Graduate Employer of Choice, Engineering
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RateMyPlacement
Winner: Best 100 Student Employer, 24/25
Starting your application
We understand that applying for jobs can be a difficult, and at times daunting process. We’ve kept our process simple and straight-forward so that you can perform at your best, and our friendly Early Careers Team are always on hand to answer questions.
We open for applications in December, and our positions may feature across several of our business areas. To find out more and apply, be sure to click on your desired discipline to see more roles within the job adverts. You can also sign up for email job alerts so that you’re automatically notified when a new position is advertised.
Application process
Starting your application
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1
Online application
Select the vacancy that most interests you and complete our short online application form with your basic details.
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2
Online assessment
You’ll be invited to complete 3 short assessments; this will be a personality assessment as well as a timed numerical and logical reasoning assessment. We recommend you find a nice quiet place, free from distractions so that you can think about your answers.
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3
Shortlisting
We'll review each application and check that you hold the minimum requirements as advertised in the job description.
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4
Video interview
You’ll be invited to record a short video interview, answering a few application questions to help us understand more about you and why you are interested in working for Arup. We'll review the answers that you’ve provided with the hiring teams to decide on who goes through to the final stage of the process.
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Online assessment centre
Our online assessment centre is the last stage of our process. It involves an online interview and a technical exercise, plus you will have the chance to meet some of our current Graduates and receive a virtual tour of your chosen office.
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6
Offer
If successful, we’ll call you with news of an offer of employment, and we’ll begin preparing you for your arrival.
FAQ
Our application process consists of the following stages:
- Online application form – basic details and application questions
- Application review by a recruiter
- Psychometric & ability assessments
- Shortlisting
- Video Interview – a short video interview which you will need to record, answering a few questions about your understanding of Arup, why you’re interested in working for Arup and some more information about yourself. (You will receive instructions on how to complete the video interview and have the opportunity to take a practice video).
- A competency-based online Assessment Centre. These may vary depending on the role, but you’ll be given more information when you’re invited to attended.
Applications for most Industrial Placement and Summer Internship programmes will open from December. In the meantime, you can register your interest by joining our talent community. We'll then reach out to you with more information about our vacancies once they have been opened.
We process applications as soon as we receive them and so we strongly advise candidates submit their applications as soon as possible to avoid being disappointed.
You can only complete one application during each recruitment period, so please only apply for the position that suits you best. Additional applications will not be considered.
As we work in multidisciplinary offices, there are various roles available in each of our 16 UK locations. These locations are; Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Southampton, Winchester and York.
You’ll virtually meet the hiring team and recent graduates on our virtual assessment platform, take part in an individual written/technical exercise and a competency-based interview. You will also meet with a member of the Early Careers Team to discuss the assessment in more detail and have the opportunity to ask any questions before starting. Assessment centres may vary depending on the role, but you’ll be given more information in your invite. We aim to let you know the outcome of the assessment centre within 2 weeks.
Arup is committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities. We strongly encourage you to share any adjustments that will support your participation in our recruitment process.
You’ll get the chance to tell us about any disability or learning difference on your application form and before coming to the assessment. We’ll then make the appropriate arrangements for you. The information gathered during this process is only used to make reasonable adjustments and is not considered in any other context of your application.
Our summer placement intern students typically start in either June/July 2025, and can last from 6-8 weeks. Our industrial internships (Year in Industry) start in September 2025. We will try our best to meet your start and end date needs, depending on current projects and management requirements.
We are unable to offer a Certificate of Sponsorship for our placement vacancies, we do however accept candidates who already have a Student Visa (previously a Tier 4 visa) and the right to work in the UK on a fixed term contract (please check your right to work restrictions).
We reserve our work experience for pre university students. To apply we would need you to create a CV and cover letter addressed to the Arup office of your choosing and send it in via email to the relevant office.
Our industrial and summer placements work alongside our senior professionals on real projects. You would be helping liaise with clients, write reports and visit sites to name just some of the responsibilities. As a valued member of the team you may be asked to work on any aspect of a project.
At the end of your placement and pending your overall performance, you may be considered for a Graduate Programme opportunity. Arup is actively committed to retaining successful interns.
We know that AI powered writing assistants can help you improve content and save time, however during our application process we would kindly ask you to refrain from using these tools. Our application process is designed so we can learn about your interests, background and aspirations – and to do this, we want to hear from you directly in your responses.
Our story
Since Sir Ove Arup founded the company in 1946, Arup has been working across the built environment - influencing some of the world's most iconic structures.
Life at Arup
Discover more about what you can expect from working at Arup - from the kind of work you'll be doing to the people you'll work with.