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Undergraduates

AWE gives you extraordinary opportunities to develop and grow your skills whilst studying for your degree by offering Year in Industry placements and via the Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme.

Undergraduate applications are now open for our 2025 intake

AWE gives you extraordinary opportunities to develop and grow your skills whilst studying for your degree by offering Year in Industry placements and via the Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme.

You’ll add experience you won’t find anywhere else in the UK onto your CV, undertake exciting and challenging work and be part of keeping the nation safe.

Year in Industry

Our 12-month year in industry placements offer an exciting and unique opportunity to join a company working towards a shared mission of keeping the nation safe and secure. To complete this placement we are offering you a competitive total reward package including:

  • A salary of £22,250 per annum
  • Generous holiday entitlement (270 hours of leave annually)
  • Excellent work/life balance
  • Nine-day working fortnight
  • Access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending across retail, hospitality and leisure
  • A competitive pension contribution scheme

We offer Year in Industry placements across a vast array of teams at AWE, including within Engineering, Materials & Analytical Sciences, Physics, Nuclear Threat Reduction, Environment, Safety and Quality Management, Project Management, Data Science, Nuclear Materials and Cyber Security.

Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme

AWE’s Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme offers students enrolled in university the chance to improve their financial and work experience prospects by providing a scholarship for the length of their degree course. 

Upon successful joining of the scholarship scheme as an engineer or a scientist, you will receive:

  • Your Tuition Fees paid for up to 3 years of your course 
  • An annual lump sum financial bursary 
  • A 45-day paid summer placement with AWE (£22,250 pro rata) 
  • Place yourself in a prime position for consideration of graduate roles at AWE as well as expanding your skillset and knowledge within the Defence and Nuclear sectors. 

Summer placements take place each July and August, and AWE will be opening Summer 2024 for applications for next year. 

We are welcoming applications from all year groups at University, and those studying across Engineering disciplines and Sciences including Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Forensic Science, Radiation Science, Computer Science and Environmental Science.

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