Complete our scoping form to let us know the kind of support you're looking for and what you'd like students to work on within your business.
Heritage Postgraduate Placement
Bring fresh insight, specialist skills, and project support into your organisation
If your organisation has a project that would benefit from dedicated research, fresh thinking, or additional capacity, hosting a University of Stirling Heritage postgraduate student could be the ideal solution.
Our Master’s Heritage students complete an 84-hour summer placement (equivalent to 12 working days), offering practical support while gaining valuable experience across Scotland’s heritage landscape.
Read on to learn how collaborating with our students can support your organisation - or contact us to discuss your ideas.
Why host a Heritage postgraduate student?
By welcoming a Stirling Heritage student into your organisation, you gain:
- Dedicated support on a defined project or area of need.
- Postgraduate-level skills in research, interpretation, digital heritage, collections, visitor engagement, or community outreach.
- Fresh energy and new perspectives from emerging practitioners.
- A chance to support the development of Scotland’s future heritage workforce.
- Opportunities to build lasting links with the University and our academic and practitioner networks.
Placements deliver real value to organisations of all sizes - from national institutions to small community heritage groups.
What skills can our Heritage students offer your organisation?
Students enrolled in the Masters Heritage programme bring expertise across many areas of heritage practice, including:
- Collections care, documentation, and cataloguing.
- Interpretation planning and content development.
- Exhibition research and project support.
- Digital heritage and online engagement.
- Community outreach and heritage participation.
- Archival research and analysis.
- Heritage policy, landscape research, and consultancy.
- Visitor experience and communication.
- Conservation support (non-interventive).
Our students can undertake a substantial project aligned with your needs. Many organisations begin with a specific task or project idea and then widen the scope as the placement progresses.
Types of projects we can support include:
- Developing interpretation content for exhibitions or trails.
- Supporting collections audits, inventories, or digitisation.
- Conducting audience or community research.
- Creating heritage communication materials.
- Assisting with heritage mapping or desk-based research.
- Supporting community heritage initiatives.
- Preparing research to inform policy or strategic planning.
We are happy to discuss bespoke projects that align with your organisation’s goals.
When do placements take place?
The Heritage placement module runs over the summer period.
- Placement length: 84 hours (12 working days).
- Timing: Summer module.
- Format: Can be completed on-site, remotely, or through a hybrid approach.
Project scopes should ideally be submitted in advance of the summer teaching period to ensure the best match between student and organisation.
How we support you
We provide:
- A dedicated University contact throughout the placement.
- Guidance on creating a project brief.
- Support with paperwork, induction, and student preparation.
- Clear expectations and timelines.
- Regular check-ins if required.
Our aim is to make the experience valuable, flexible, and straightforward for partners.
Submit a project or find out more
If you are interested in hosting a student or would like to discuss your project ideas, please contact:
Sharron Jack - Work-Based Learning and Skills Manager, s.l.jack@stir.ac.uk.
Partner with us to support the next generation of Scotland’s heritage professionals — and gain enthusiastic, skilled project support for your organisation.