Paid internships
Build experience and gain skills that will last a lifetime with our paid internships.
We’re passionate about your personal development and you will earn a competitive salary and benefit from a strong support group, all while helping us beat cancer.
We aren’t currently recruiting for our Internship scheme. We’ll update this page when there’s more information to share.
Paid internships: what you can expect
What paid internships do you offer?
Our 12-week internships are across a wide range of departments within the charity and available in a variety of locations including London, Cambridge and Oxford, with flexible working. We also have fully remote roles.
All of our internships provide you with invaluable insight and the opportunity to develop your skills within a supportive environment while earning money. Our interns work on projects over and above the work we’re already doing, so you will be helping accelerate progress for people affected by cancer.
Our paid internship scheme has consistently been recognised by external bodies as one of the very best charity placements in the country.
Who can apply?
We design our internships to provide school leavers, undergraduates, graduates and career changers a taster of what it’s like working for one of the UK’s leading charities.
When can I apply?
Each 12-week internship takes place three times per year with intakes in January, July and September.
How much can I earn?
Our paid interns are paid the London Living Wage.
What happens at the end of my internship?
At the end of your internship, we encourage you to apply for permanent positions, if suitable ones are available, to enable you to stay on at the charity.
Hear from our interns
Find your area of interest
When applying, you can choose the business area that appeals to you:
Scientific Research
Technology
Finance
Human Resources
Marketing, Fundraising and Events
Policy, Information and Communication
Your personal development
We’re passionate about your personal development. Whichever internship role you take on, you’ll have:
a dedicated intern manager to support you
the opportunity to find a mentor who will help you accelerate your personal development
previous interns (or ‘buddies’) to offer you peer support and help you make the most of your experience.
You’ll also attend regular skill-development workshops in areas such as project management, CV writing and interview preparation. And, we offer a one-to-one session with an HR advisor to tailor your CV. We'll provide a reference when you apply for another role.
As part of our interns community, you’ll have the chance to take part in various networking opportunities, fundraising and volunteering activities as well as attend socials and talks.
We ask that you come willing to learn and ready to adapt to our innovative, fast-paced environment. We also ask that you are able to commit to the full 12 weeks of the scheme.
Become a Cancer Research UK paid intern
Stage 1: Online application
Complete an online application form. Fill out your details, answer a motivational question and upload your CV. Please note that in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, our application process is anonymised, meaning we will not be able to view your CV until later. So please fill out all required fields even if the information is provided in your CV.
Stage 2: Assessment
Successful applicants will be invited to complete a situational judgement test that poses real-life scenarios that you might experience while working with us and asks how you would approach the situation. This is multiple choice and untimed.
Stage 3: Audio submission
People who are successful in their assessments will be asked to send us an audio recording answering competency-based questions. We will email the questions and applicants will have a few days to submit a response via an audio recording (no video required).
Stage 4: Interview
People who are successful in their audio assessments will be invited to attend a final interview. A panel of representatives from the department you are applying to will ask competency-based questions relating to the role.
Stage 5: Offer
We will get in touch to make successful applicants an offer. We will arrange the induction week for you and other new interns, a diverse and talented cohort, launching their careers in charity.
Sometimes, applicants may be unsuccessful in their desired department but have shown qualities of a great intern. We will do our best to match them to another role that suits their interests and skillset.