How to apply for a degree apprenticeship

A degree apprenticeship is a paid job with a full bachelor's degree attached, at level 6, with some routes continuing to master's level at level 7. You are an employee from day one, on a contract with a wage, and a minimum share of your paid hours is spent on off-the-job training — at least 6 hours a week under current English funding rules — usually at a partner university. The apprentice does not pay the tuition.

Because the employer is hiring rather than admitting, they are assessing whether you can do the job and stay the course, not only whether you can pass exams. That changes what a strong application looks like.

• Find an apprenticeship (GOV.UK). The national vacancy service for England. Filter by level 6 and by travel distance, and set up alerts rather than checking manually.
• Employer careers pages. Large employers in accountancy, engineering, law, banking, defence, healthcare, retail, the civil service and technology run their own schemes with their own timelines.
• University apprenticeship pages. Universities delivering the training often list the employers they partner with, which is a good way to find smaller local schemes.
• Nation-specific services. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own apprenticeship systems and vacancy sites.

Our Map your path tool pulls apprenticeship routes together with the courses and qualifications they lead to, so you can see both options against the same interests and grades.

• Application form. Qualifications, plus short competency questions. Answer with specific evidence and, where a question asks for a situation, describe the situation, what you did, and the result.
• Online tests. Numerical, logical or situational judgement tests are common. They are practisable; do the employer's practice versions before the real one.
• Recorded or live interview. Expect "why this employer, why this route" and at least one question about a time you handled pressure or worked in a team.
• Assessment centre. A group exercise, a task or presentation, and an interview. Assessors watch how you involve others, not who talks most.

• Know why the apprenticeship rather than the degree. "I learn better while doing, and I want professional responsibility earlier" is a real answer. Avoiding fees is not.
• Show you understand the employer's business — what it sells, who its clients are, and where your role sits.
• Bring evidence of working with adults: a part-time job, volunteering, a placement, a society role. Work experience and shadowing count heavily here.
• Get your English and maths in order. Most level 6 schemes have firm GCSE and A level or equivalent requirements.
• Apply early and apply widely. Competition ratios at big employers are high.

Keep both live. Submit a UCAS application on the normal timetable, then pursue apprenticeship vacancies in parallel; nothing in either process forbids it. If an apprenticeship offer arrives before results day, you can decline your university offers, and if it does not, you still have a place. Weigh the two honestly using our comparison of the two routes and the UCAS timeline.

Do you apply for degree apprenticeships through UCAS?

No. You apply to the employer, usually through its own careers site, and vacancies are also listed on the GOV.UK Find an apprenticeship service. UCAS lists some apprenticeship opportunities for information, but the application itself is with the employer.

Can you apply for a degree apprenticeship and university at the same time?

Yes, and most people should. The two processes are independent, so you can hold a UCAS offer while progressing employer applications and decline whichever you turn down later.

Do degree apprentices pay tuition fees?

No. Apprenticeship training is funded through the employer and government arrangements rather than by the apprentice, and you are paid a wage for the time you work.

How much time is spent studying rather than working?

Apprentices must spend a minimum amount of their paid hours on off-the-job training — at least 6 hours a week under current English funding rules — which for a degree apprenticeship typically means around a day a week or block release at the university.

When do degree apprenticeship applications open?

There is no single national deadline. Many large employers open applications between the autumn and early spring for a September start and close them as soon as they are full, so applying early matters more than with UCAS.

Rules, wage rates and fee caps change. These are the official pages to check before you commit to anything.

• GOV.UK — Find an apprenticeship
• GOV.UK — Become an apprentice
• Skills England / IfATE — apprenticeship standards
• GOV.UK — off-the-job training rules