The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) runs a rolling internship programme that places current students and recent graduates inside its international-development work. Interns join UNDP country offices, regional hubs, or headquarters in New York, contributing to live projects while getting a first-hand view of the UN system. Assignments usually run three to six months and may be served in person or remotely, depending on the specific vacancy. There is no single intake: individual internship vacancies are advertised year-round on the UNDP Job Page across UNDP’s programme and management areas, each with its own duties, location and deadline. It is a talent pipeline rather than a guaranteed job — it builds the network, understanding, and CV that can lead to one.
Benefits & funding
- Monthly stipend: unless you are already funded by a university, government, foundation, or scholarship, UNDP pays a single monthly stipend to help cover basic daily costs such as meals and local transport. The rate varies by duty station and by whether the internship is in person or remote; no fixed figure is published.
- Practical experience across UNDP’s development work, with a formal evaluation and a certificate on completion.
- Exposure to the UN system and a professional network that can strengthen later applications.
- No fee is charged at any stage. Note: travel to and from the duty station, visas, passports, accommodation, and living expenses are the intern’s own responsibility (or a sponsoring institution’s).
Eligibility
- Students in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree, students completing a Master’s, or recent graduates who begin the internship within one year of graduating.
- Doctoral (PhD) candidates are also eligible; online degrees may qualify depending on workload and accreditation.
- No prior work experience is required (and an internship does not count toward the work-experience minimum for later UNDP jobs).
- Fluency in English is required; some offices additionally require one of UNDP’s other working languages (French or Spanish) relevant to the duty station.
- Open to applicants of all nationalities; no age limit is set. Visa arrangements depend on the intern’s nationality and the duty-station country.
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Application process
- 1Browse open internship vacancies on the UNDP Job Page (jobs.undp.org), listed under each programme or management area.
- 2Open a posting that matches your field, level and preferred location (on-site or home-based) and review its specific duties, duration and closing date.
- 3Submit an online application to that vacancy, with a CV and a motivation / cover letter, before its deadline. Each vacancy is selected independently.
- 4If shortlisted, the hiring UNDP office invites you to an interview; selected candidates then arrange their own visa, travel, and accommodation before starting.
Program timeline
Rolling
vacancies are posted throughout the year on the UNDP Job Page, each with its own application deadline (frequently about two weeks after posting).
Internship length
typically 3–6 months (up to 9 months when taken for academic credit, up to 12 months for national-service or postgraduate-traineeship arrangements).