Working or volunteering for us
There are several ways in which you can help the School Community, get involved and take advantage of opportunities available.
Whether you want to earn money or develop your CV there are several ways to become involved in the work of the School.
Internships are offered across the University, and are open to any students within the University. The portal used to advertise these internships is called Employ.ed.
As part of Employ.ed, the School of History, Classics & Archaeology has worked hard to develop internship opportunities for students. We regularly offer a small number of internships over the summer, which are advertised on the Employ.Ed website.
In the past the School has recruited interns to:
- catalogue our book collections
- create School exhibitions
- work with our teaching collections (artefacts and documents)
- digitise materials.
Students from the School have also benefited from undertaking internships outside the School. In previous years, our students have interned at places such as the Institute of Academic Development and the Centre for Research Collections. Often, interns also complete the Edinburgh Award as part of the internship which recognises your work.
Class reps are student volunteers who represent their cohort and work in partnership with the academic staff.
Within each of the School's subject areas, class reps are elected and attend student-staff liaison committees. They are expected to relay the opinions and experiences of their classmates and help to effect positive changes within their course/programme.
Once elected, class reps receive training from the Edinburgh University Students' Association, and are given access to support programmes, events and workshops across the University. Find out more by visiting the EUSA website.
Our Student Ambassadors are paid employees within the School who are recruited to offer support on open days and Offer Holder Days (which take place between September and June each year).
Ambassadors attend an induction session and work at least one event. At open days, they are expected to talk to prospective or incoming students about their experiences and to have a good knowledge of the School and the University. They also provide ongoing support to students via email.
Once recruited, Ambassadors may continue in the role until they complete their study (i.e. at the end of fourth year).
Our Student Research Room coordinator is a paid employee within the School. They are a student who manages our Research Rooms and a team of volunteers during semester. The role gives some excellent experience of managing book collections, as well as volunteer management and induction.
We have a team of volunteers who are recruited annually to help out in our Research Rooms. They field enquiries about the rooms and book collections held within, help add new donations to the collections and report any issues with equipment.
At the start of the year, all students are contacted and given information on how to apply for the post of Student Research Room volunteer. If you're interested in getting involved, keep an eye on your emails!
My experience as a volunteer and coordinator in the Student Research Room helped me to realise that I wanted to work in an area where I could preserve history and make it available for future researchers, students and members of the public. Since graduating from Edinburgh I have been accepted onto a Museum Studies Masters at Glasgow University and worked as a member of the National Mining Museum Youth Panel - two positions that have allowed me to apply the skills I developed as coordinator of the SRR.
You can find information on voluntary opportunities in the UK and overseas, as well as what might be expected of you as a volunteer and some of the legal issues to consider through the University's volunteering portal.