UNDP Internship Programme 2027 - New York HQ Stipend

It is the internship scheme run by the United Nations Development Programme, and its stated purpose is to give students and recent graduates exposure to development issues and first-hand experience of the day-to-day working environment of UNDP, in person or remotely. UNDP hosts interns in country offices, regional hubs and the headquarters in New York. Interns hold no staff status, cannot be used to replace staff members, cannot occupy an authorised post and cannot represent UNDP in any official capacity. The current internship policy is version 4.0, effective 1 May 2025 with a review date of 30 April 2028, and UNDP was still editing the surrounding procedures in June 2026.

Yes, in the sense that matters for planning, though it is a stipend rather than a salary. Where an in-person intern is not financially supported by any institution or programme such as a university, government, foundation or scholarship, the receiving office must pay a monthly stipend meant to help with basic daily costs like meals and transport at the duty station. The amount is set for each duty station at 45 per cent of the lowest level of the applicable national salary scale, or 10 per cent of the daily subsistence allowance in countries with no such scale, and a remote intern receives half the in-person rate. If another body already funds you, UNDP pays only the difference, if any. UNDP publishes the rate schedule internally rather than on its public site, so the figure for New York comes from the vacancy announcement and the agreement form, not from an aggregator.

Yes. UNDP names the headquarters in New York as one of the places internships are hosted, alongside country offices and regional hubs, and its job board bears that out. A capture of the board from 29 January 2026 shows four internships open at the New York duty station at once, covering UN system affairs, corporate and institutional law, programmes and projects law, and policy and advocacy on climate and security risk. What no page promises is a New York seat at any given moment. A check of the board on 16 September 2026 found 115 live vacancies, 7 of them at post level IN, none of those in New York. Placements outside the United States fall outside what this site covers, so treat the country office and regional hub postings as background rather than as options here.

You need to meet one of four academic requirements at the time of application: enrolment in a postgraduate degree programme such as a master's or higher, enrolment in the final academic year of a first university degree, recent graduation with a start date within one year of graduating, or enrolment in a postgraduate professional traineeship programme of which the internship forms part. Doctoral students are eligible, online degrees may be depending on workload and accreditation, and no prior work experience is required. Nationality is not a gate, and UNDP requires interns to be selected from as wide a geographical basis as possible without distinction as to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion. The one hard exclusion is family: a child or sibling of a UNDP staff member cannot intern at UNDP.

There is no single annual deadline. Each internship advert carries its own closing date, shown in the Apply by column on the UNDP Job Page, and the programme runs continuously rather than in one intake. The February 2027 date on this page is a planning marker, not a published cutoff. It is pinned there because UNDP's own board carried a cluster of four New York headquarters internships closing between 5 and 20 February 2026, which makes late January and February the sensible weeks to be watching if a US placement is what you want. Check the board weekly instead of treating one empty search as an answer.

The policy sets a minimum of six weeks and a maximum of six months, and UNDP's careers FAQ says most run three to six months. An internship may last up to nine months where you can show it will earn you credit for an academic course, and up to twelve where it forms part of national service or a postgraduate professional traineeship. Assignments come full-time or part-time at 50 or 80 per cent, with the stipend prorated to match. Either side can end the internship for any reason on two weeks' notice, and the location, the stipend and the remote or in-person mode are fixed once the agreement is signed.

No to both. UNDP states that it does not provide medical and accident insurance, that interns are responsible for securing adequate cover for the whole internship, and that it will not reimburse the premium. Any costs arising from accidents or illness during the placement fall on the intern. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, passports, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the intern or a sponsoring institution, and UNDP does not help interns find somewhere to live. The one exception is official travel: if UNDP asks you to travel for the assignment, that is reimbursed on the same basis as for staff, including daily subsistence allowance and additional insurance cover where applicable.

Not directly. UNDP states there is no expectation of employment following an internship, and that the programme is not connected with its employment activities. Interns may apply for other UNDP positions during the internship, but if you are selected for one, the internship stops on the day the new role begins rather than being shortened for convenience. Internships also do not count towards the minimum years of relevant work experience that UNDP jobs require. What they do give you is the network, the UNDP certificate, a written evaluation and a supervisor who can write a recommendation, plus the Junior Professional Officer and Graduate Programme routes to consider next.