Placements and research

Placements

We are keen to support individuals with placement opportunities within our team, these placement opportunities support an awareness of our charity, and build confidence and life skills within the world of work. 

To make an enquiry please email education@rzss.org.uk.

If you are specifically interested in Post Graduate placements within our Conservation and Science teams, please contact conservation@rzss.org.uk. Annually we take a limited number of long-term placements which are associated with MSc or PhD research or are taken through BSc “year in industry schemes”.

We also offer a small number of volunteer placements through the Saving Wildcats project. If you want to receive alerts about new placements and other volunteering opportunities then please sign up to the Saving Wildcats newsletter.

Other opportunities will be advertised on the RZSS social media channels occasionally.

All paid jobs within the conservation team are advertised on the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland job page.

If you are looking to gain experience within our veterinary team, please find further information on our veterinary training page

Please note: We cannot guarantee hands on experience with our animals during placements.

placement student maha standing at underwater penguin viewing area with a clipboard looking at penguins in the water IMAGE: RZSS 2024

Research

At the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, we understand how vital research is to support and inform our decisions. 

Should you be seeking to engage in undergraduate or Social Studies research at Edinburgh Zoo or Highland Wildlife Park please email education@rzss.org.uk.

Scientists interested in pursuing research at either of our two collaborative primate research centres with the University of St Andrews – Living Links (Brown capuchins, Common squirrel monkeys) or the Budongo Research Unit/Budongo Trail (chimpanzees) – should in the first instance write to Research Manager Kate Grounds at kmg25@st-andrews.ac.uk. These centres support primarily members of the Living Links & BRU Consortium but opportunities for external researchers may be possible, particularly for observational projects.

If you are interested conducting your research placement with our Conservation or Science teams, then please send your enquiry to conservation@rzss.org.uk but mark it for the attention of a relevant member of staff in the team.

All other postgraduate research students, please complete the form via the link below, should you require assistance email research@rzss.org.uk with your enquiry. Please note that priority will be given to BIAZA recommended research.

All research requests are reviewed on a case by case basis and we aim to response as soon as possible.

Online research form