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Fall 2010 | Spring 2011
Spring 2010 | Spring 2009
UN Internships
In the past two years the number of internship opportunities opening up for SIPA students in the UN system has increased considerably. The UN Studies Program seeks to provide a base to promote networking and information exchange between current and prospective UN interns and to help them make informed decisions about working in this field.
To do this, we need your feedback. If you are a current or past UN intern and are willing to be contacted by interested students to speak, informally and at your discretion, about your experience, please fill out this survey. The survey responses themselves are not made public. Sending us this information does not oblige you to get involved any further. Your name will not be forwarded to any other mailing lists. You will, however, receive preference for invitations to any networking events that the program may sponsor.
We appreciate your candid and thoughtful responses. With your help we can compile and make available to SIPA students the most up-to-date information on both internship and employment opportunities in the UN and in UN-related fields.
How to Get One
Watch for announcements on the OCS online mailing list. Apply directly to the department using the contact information provided in the announcements, but also complete the required application form from the UN's central internship office. Note that some announcements often require students to respond immediately; others may not be compatible with a student's full-time course schedule, requiring intensive work over only a portion of the semester. If possible, try to get in touch with past interns, especially those who may have worked in the same department, as well as SIPA alums in the UN. Search through the SIPA Alumni and Student Network, SIPA’s official LinkedIn group, to find alumni working with the United Nations and contact them for career advice. Type in various versions of the organization name, for example: the United Nations may also be written as the UN, the United Nations Development Programme may be listed as UNDP, etc. Career panels and internship debriefing panels that are held at least twice a year and organized by the OCS are also a useful way of staying informed about the work of and prospects in particular agencies and departments.
Conditions
Internships are offered throughout the UN system throughout the year. They are unpaid, with no reimbursements for travel or food. Internships vary in the degree of flexibility they provide to students; some may permit you to work from home. Responsibilities in the Secretariat headquarters often take the form of providing research and logistics support for an official meeting or upcoming conference, a post conference report, or a publication.
Other opportunities exist within the UN system outside New York and at organizations working on the UN. NGOs with consultative status at the UN and country missions offer internships and fellowships. Opportunities in the NGO community, whose members lobby the UN on specific issues, are advertised via OCS as well; some may deal with the work of UN offices in Geneva and elsewhere. These may provide some remuneration and access to UN premises, and do not require application to the UN itself. United Nations agencies with country and regional offices also offer summer internships. Contact OCS for information on travel grants. Press offices and news organizations (e.g., IPS, CNN) located in the Secretariat building hire interns interested in media work. A few organizations with observer status (e.g., the International Organization on Migration) may also occasionally hire interns.