The Internship Programme of the United Nations Office at Vienna and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

General

The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) accept unpaid interns on an ad hoc basis. The purpose of our programme is to offer students from diverse academic backgrounds an educational experience through practical work assignments within the international environment of the United Nations, while offering the organization the assistance of qualified students specializing in various professional fields.

The main eligibility criteria for the UNOV/UNODC Internship Programme are:

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate/postgraduate university programme, both at the time of application and during the entire period of envisaged internship (for which they have to provide official documentary evidence from the university);
  • Applicants pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages must have completed at least four years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a graduate degree (for which they have to provide official documentary evidence from the university);
  • Applicants must be available for a minimum duration of two months.

Also please bear in mind that:

  • United Nations interns are not paid. All costs related to travel, insurance, accommodation and living expenses must be borne by either the interns or their sponsoring institutions;
  • Selected candidates are responsible for obtaining the necessary visas and for arranging their travel;
  • Interns are responsible for costs arising from accidents and/or illness incurred during the internship and must show proof of a valid major global medical insurance coverage.

Eligibility

To qualify for the UNOV/UNODC Internship Programme, the following conditions must be met:

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a degree programme in a graduate school (second university degree or higher) both at the time of application and during the entire period of internship; or
  • Applicants pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages must have completed at least four years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a graduate/post-graduate degree.

Please use the following list to check your eligibility for the Internship Programme before you send us an application.

Eligibility self-check

  1. You are currently enrolled in a Master or PhD (or similar programme) and will be during the entire internship, or – if you are pursuing studies in a country where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages – you are currently enrolled in your fifth year (or higher) at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree.
  2. You are able to obtain the necessary visa and to arrange your travel to Vienna.
  3. You are able to cover the costs of travel, accommodation, as well as living expenses of the internship.
  4. You will be able to provide valid medical insurance coverage for your stay in Austria, a medical certificate stating that you are in good health and an official proof of enrolment in graduate (post-graduate) studies.
  5. You are able to communicate fluently in English.

To be eligible, you should satisfy the above conditions. If you do not satisfy one or more of the conditions, you should consider postponing your application until you can meet the requirements.

Application procedures for the UNOV/UNODC Internship Programme

Interns for our programme are hired using the United Nations Secretariat online recruitment system, Inspira, and eligible candidates can apply on the United Nations Career Portal at http://careers.un.org. The first step in the process is to create a profile, which is a prerequisite for submitting job applications in Inspira.

Once the profile is completed, applicants can search for Internship Job Openings on the Job Openings page of UN Careers under the tab "Internship". There are several ways the results can be sorted to show the positions in Vienna. Alternatively, the “Search Job Opening” field at the bottom of the page can be used by choosing "Internship" from the drop-down lists under "Category" and "Vienna" under "Duty Station".

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online well before the deadlines stated in the Internship Job Openings. No applications will be accepted after the deadlines. The deadlines for all current applications will be stated on the Careers Portal website as well as in the Internship Job Openings.

Online applications will be automatically acknowledged if an email address has been provided. Please note that you will receive two confirmation emails:

  1. First email confirms your registration
  2. Second email confirms your application for an internship. This email will be sent after the successful submission of your application.

If you face any technical difficulties in using Inspira, simply contact us via the Careers Portal or Inspira to reach the Inspira Support Centre.

Languages required

Applicants must be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the United Nations (English and French). Knowledge of other official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Fields of study

Fields of study include social and political sciences, psychology, economics, journalism, finance, information technology, accounting, business administration, international relations and international law.