Placement And Career Information

Cardiff University supports student employability through Student Futures, course-based work experience, internships, placements, employer events and its online jobs board. The university reports strong graduate outcomes and is recognised by employers across a wide range of sectors.

For international students, this support is useful because UK hiring can feel different from the application process in other countries. Students may need help with concise CVs, tailored applications, interview examples, assessment centres, networking and understanding visa-related work options.

Cardiff reports that 95% of graduates were in employment, further study, due to start a job or course, or doing other activities such as travelling 15 months after finishing. The university also says students have had placements with 100+ multinational, SME and local employers.

How Placements Usually Work

Placement structure depends on the course. Some degrees include a placement year, year in industry, clinical placement, professional practice, school placement, project with external clients or optional work experience. Other courses may focus more on internships, employer events and dissertation-linked projects.

Common placement-related points to check include:

• Whether the course has a placement route
• Whether the placement is optional or compulsory
• Whether the placement changes the course length
• Placement year tuition fee, if applicable
• Visa conditions during placement
• Minimum academic progression requirements
• Whether students must secure the placement themselves
• What support is available from Student Futures or the school

Career Support At Cardiff

Student Futures helps students plan careers and prepare for applications. Support may include one-to-one guidance, workshops, employer fairs, jobs board access, CV feedback, interview preparation and online employability resources.

International students can use this support to understand:

• UK CV and cover letter style
• Part-time job applications
• Placement and internship searches
• Graduate scheme timelines
• Interview and assessment-centre expectations
• Networking with UK and international employers
• Graduate Route and wider career planning

Graduate Career Routes

Career routes depend on the course, but Cardiff students commonly explore sectors such as:

• Technology, software and data
• Business, finance and consulting
• Engineering, construction and infrastructure
• Healthcare, medicine, dentistry and life sciences
• Journalism, media and communications
• Law, policy and public services
• Education, research and academia
• Psychology, social sciences and charities
• Creative, cultural and sport-related industries

Students should always check the career section of their exact course page because graduate roles, accreditation and work experience options vary by subject.

Placement Benefits For International Students

Placements and internships can help students:

• Build UK work experience
• Understand workplace communication
• Improve confidence before graduation
• Create stronger examples for interviews
• Test whether a career path is right
• Build a professional network
• Learn how employers recruit in the UK

Important Planning Advice

Students should not wait until the final year to think about careers. A better plan is to prepare early: attend Student Futures sessions, join relevant societies, apply for part-time or volunteering roles, build LinkedIn, and track internship or placement deadlines from the first year.

For the September 2026 intake, students should confirm whether the selected course includes placement options and how that affects tuition fees, visa duration, course length and total living cost.