Ongoing recruitment guide, checked 4 October 2026. The regular WTO Internship Programme offers up to six months of experience and a CHF60 daily allowance, including eligible weekends and holidays. It does not cover travel to Geneva; interns arrange their own health insurance.
Who can apply?
Candidates must be at least 21 and nationals of a WTO member or an accession-negotiating country or customs territory. After a relevant undergraduate degree, applicants need either one completed year of a current master’s programme, a completed master’s followed by higher-level study, or a postgraduate degree completed within the past two years at selection.
Application and availability
Apply through the WTO external jobs platform. Suitable candidates enter a one-year roster; recruitment is ongoing and placement is not guaranteed. Individual specialist notices may have their own requirements.
Review the official WTO internship requirements and application link.
Preparing an application
Choose an example that shows how you evaluate evidence. You might explain a trade-related assignment, a statistical exercise or a policy briefing, but focus on what you actually did. State the question, the approach and the main finding in language a reader outside your department can understand.
If your work was collaborative, distinguish your contribution from the team’s output. Avoid attaching confidential research or claiming fluency in software you have only briefly used. A clear and honest account of a modest project is more useful than unsupported claims of expertise.
Before accepting any offer, compare its dates with your commitments and prepare a realistic budget. Check document requests in the live application form and keep a copy of your submission. These are editorial suggestions, not additional WTO selection criteria.
Do not confuse the programmes
This guide concerns the regular internship, not the separately funded China-sponsored Accessions programme. Read the named programme’s official terms before comparing benefits.
Summary
Allowance: CHF60 daily. Duration: up to six months. Recruitment: ongoing.
Topics: WTO internships, trade policy experience, postgraduate career development.
