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Flying Start degree programmes

Entry level

Study for a degree and get your career off to a flying start.

These are right for you if

you want a blend of career development and academic achievement

You’ll gain

a degree and real-world work experience

Start date

Autumn 2027

Location

London, Manchester, Newcastle and Reading

About our Flying Start degree programmes

Our Flying Start degree programmes offer the opportunity to kickstart your careers and study for a degree at the same time. You’ll earn a salary and have a real role, working on live projects while balancing your time with university study. 

So whether you’re just leaving school or college, or are rethinking your career aspirations, this is an exciting opportunity to earn while you learn and gain valuable professional experience.

At PwC, we want you to feel challenged, to grow and learn every day. So you’ll work on a range of projects in a culture that embraces difference and encourages you to think creatively. We bring together highly skilled people to deliver for our clients, so you’ll have access to some of the industry’s top professionals and the opportunity to make an impact to our teams and clients from day one.

What you'll do

You’ll collaborate with colleagues and clients

You’ll work and learn from others, so your understanding of how organisations work will always grow. You’ll learn how to build relationships and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients who have a whole range of skills, experiences and ideas. 

You’ll analyse information and solve problems 

Most of our work involves working with innovative technology to support data analysis, and using that insight to unlock complex problems. 

You’ll offer expertise and guidance

Clients come to PwC for our expertise, experience and unrivalled knowledge. So you’ll need the confidence to challenge and influence clients, making recommendations based on facts. We work with a broad range of clients across both the private and public sectors and across a number of different industries. 

Flying Start degree programmes

We offer Flying Start degree programmes in Accounting at universities in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Reading. 

Whichever programme you choose, you’ll have the support of PwC to power your progress. We’re one of the top employers for people starting or restarting their careers. We regularly win awards for our training and development programmes. And we work closely with leading universities to ensure you get the right mix and quality of education and experience to thrive at the start of your new career. 

For specifics on the development pathways and universities on offer, see the individual programmes below. 

Accounting (London, Manchester, Newcastle and Reading) 

The work you’ll do 

On our Accounting Flying Start programme, you’ll gain experience as part of one of our Audit teams. You’ll be surrounded by smart, ambitious colleagues who are genuinely helpful, caring and supportive. You’ll collaborate closely with your team, senior leaders, clients and specialists from across our global network, learning directly from the people who shape major organisations. The camaraderie that comes from tackling complex projects and tight deadlines together builds lasting relationships and a powerful sense of trust.

And your learning won’t stop with your immediate team. You’ll study for globally recognised, future‑ready qualifications as part of a diverse, vibrant cohort - a community that becomes a lifelong network. With so many people on the same journey, there’s always someone to learn from and something to get involved in.

Audit gives you a backstage pass to the business world. Every organisation is measured on its financial performance, whether it’s a tech giant, a high‑street brand, a football club, a charity or a local council. As an auditor, you’ll be behind the scenes with these clients, from the warehouse to the boardroom, seeing how CEOs, CFOs and their teams work and how different organisations do business.

By helping clients collect, manage and interpret financial data accurately, you’ll play a critical role in how they tell their performance story and make decisions about the future. You’ll bring independent rigour to verifying that data, and help ensure they have the right digital systems and processes in place to deliver it reliably.

This experience, combined with your qualifications, will equip you with deep technical capability, broad business insight and strong tech literacy; the skills that matter in the AI age. In a fast‑moving, opportunity‑rich environment, you’ll take ownership early, build expertise quickly, and open up a world of potential career paths.

The Accounting Flying Start programme is much like other university degree courses but with one clear difference. In each academic year, you’ll spend one of the terms on a full-time work placement with PwC. This means you’ll still have each summer off to enjoy.

The programme will put you on track to qualify as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant. In fact, by the end of your course, you will have completed 85% of your ICAEW exams.

The vast majority of finalists on the programme receive a job offer from PwC after graduation. You’ll then join the final year of our graduate programme, which means you’ll have the opportunity to become a fully qualified ICAEW Chartered Accountant, with the salary to match, just over a year after graduation.

You’ll receive a competitive pro-rata salary for the terms you spend on work placement with us. We’ll also provide accommodation, if necessary, while you’re on placement at our offices. Some of our partner universities offer reduced tuition fees for your degree, many of your learning materials will be provided free of charge and we’ll pay your ICAEW registration fee. 

The Flying Start financial bursary looks to support students with the day-to-day costs of university life. At PwC, the development and wellbeing of our people is paramount and we’re delighted to be able to award a bursary to support our students to be the best they can be. If you meet the eligibility criteria, and join one of our Flying Start Accounting programmes in autumn 2027, you could be awarded a £10,000 bursary, split across the four years of the degree.

The bursary offers a unique opportunity for ten individuals to receive support in their educational journey. The criteria for the bursary is set out below which you can review to determine your own eligibility. You need to meet all five of the points as follows:

  • ‘Home Funding’ status, which means you’re living in the UK or Republic of Ireland, or an EU national with settled status in the UK​
  • Applied to study on the Flying Start undergraduate degree programme (and subsequently successfully start on the programme)​
  • Have a household income of <£35,000 per annum as assessed by Student Finance (this will be assessed once you are accepted onto the degree programme and apply to Student Finance)​
  • Demonstrate a commitment to a career in Audit at PwC during the assessment process​
  • Attended a non-fee paying school (unless you received a bursary or scholarship to attend in which case we’ll review on a case-by-case basis)​

Further details of how to apply for the bursary will be provided during the application process.

The deadline for bursary applications is 12 March 2027. 

You apply for the Flying Start degree via UCAS. You can apply for multiple Flying Start programmes but each application to each university will count as one of your UCAS options.

Our Accounting Flying Start programme can be studied at: 

As each university is unique, they all have their own admissions policy to consider applications. For the specific admissions requirements, please visit the relevant university pages.

Our assessment and selection process

Apply online

The first thing you'll need to do is complete your application carefully, following all the instructions. For accounting, you’ll apply through UCAS.

Online assessment

A series of online assessments that measure your cognitive skills, behaviours, natural preferences and reasoning abilities.

Video interview

The next stage of our assessment process is an on-demand video interview, the questions will focus on how you typically approach your work, for example at school, university or in any prior work experience you may have.

Assessment centre

The last stage of our Flying Start Accounting recruitment process is a virtual immersive assessment centre.

Learn more about our

assessment and selection process

Frequently asked questions

Our Flying Start programmes are primarily aimed at those leaving school or college, or those looking to change their career. If you’re currently studying for a degree or have recently graduated, please take a look at our undergraduate and graduate programmes.

 Flying Start programmes are open to students from all disciplines, as long as you meet the academic entry requirements for the course and university.

Accounting Flying Start programmes are applied for through UCAS.