UNESCO Doctoral Internships in Paris 2026–2027, France

Applications are now open for the UNESCO Doctoral Internships 2026–2027. These are short-term research internships hosted by UNESCO in partnership with University College London (UCL). They are open exclusively to UCL doctoral (PhD) students working in education and related fields. The internships last 6 months and take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

Selected candidates receive partial financial support from UCL covering accommodation in Paris and travel between London and Paris. There is no application fee. The deadline to apply is Friday, 28 August 2026 at 17:00. You can check out more Internships, BS, MS, PhD and postdoc positions here.

Key Details:

• Degree Level: PhD internship
• Host Organisation: UNESCO Headquarters
• Host Country France (Paris)
• Duration 6 months
• Funding Type Partial funding
• Open to UCL doctoral students only (not open to all nationalities)
• Application Fee None
• Application Deadline Friday, 28 August 2026, 17:00

What This Internship Offers:

• Financial assistance from UCL towards accommodation costs in Paris
• Financial support for travel between London and Paris
• Opportunity to work directly with the UNESCO Global Happy Schools Initiative at UNESCO Headquarters
• Hands-on research experience in educational equity, wellbeing, peace, and community learning
• Guidance from the French Embassy on student trainee visa requirements
• Professional development through collaboration with an international organisation
• Chance to contribute to global education policy and practice

Also Check: PhD, Postdoc & Professor positions at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Experience with educational or experimental interventions is preferred
• Must be a doctoral (PhD) student currently enrolled at University College London (UCL)
• Must have upgraded and be within 12 months of submitting the thesis
• Field of study must be education, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, international development, peace and conflict studies, social policy, or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrated interest in global education equity, social cohesion, and human rights
• Strong research and analytical skills (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods)
• Excellent written communication skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across institutions
• Knowledge of international policy frameworks (such as SDG 4 and UNESCO mandates) is desirable

Also Check: Technical University of Denmark PhD and Postdoc Scholarships 2026 (Fully Funded)

Available Internship Themes:

Internship 1: Pedagogies for Peace and the Happy Schools Initiative

This internship focuses on expanding the Happy Schools approach in contexts of conflict, displacement, and deep socio-economic inequality. It explores how schools can actively build cultures of peace, social cohesion, and democratic participation.

Rationale: Three Priority Areas

1. Post-2030 Foresight and Future Learning Spaces Looks beyond the Sustainable Development Goals to explore what future learning spaces should look like. It examines the role of communities in creating new learning environments (in-person or virtual) that prepare young people for a world shaped by rapid change, conflict, environmental disruption, and technology.

2. The Right to Lifelong Learning and Human Rights Connects the Happy Schools framework to the evolving right to education. The intern will study how communities can expand learning spaces to help achieve quality education for all, and how the Happy Schools approach supports this goal.

3. Socio-economic Outcomes and Evidence-Informed Education Focuses on improving access to UNESCO’s Happy Schools Diagnostic Toolkit for communities and multi-service hubs with limited resources. The goal is to increase impact on learning outcomes, wellbeing, and socio-economic progress in underserved areas.

The internship also encourages methodological innovation, especially in designing inclusive and participatory research tools that assess wellbeing and school quality across different cultural and socio-economic contexts.

Scope of Work

The intern will carry out applied research and development through desk-based research and stakeholder engagement. Main activities include:

• Conduct a rapid evidence review on adapting the Happy Schools framework (People, Process, Place, and Principles pillars) in displacement and conflict-affected settings
• Work with Jusoor and other Happy Schools network partners to analyse the situation and implement the Happy Schools Diagnostic Toolkit
• Co-create and test an intervention that promotes peace, social cohesion, and democratic participation in a Jusoor school, followed by interviews and focus groups to assess results
• Produce a case study (suitable for academic publication) on applying the Happy Schools approach in conflict and displacement contexts
• Contribute to research design using mixed and participatory methodologies (co-design, narrative methods, etc.)
• Support ongoing work in UNESCO’s Section of Education Policy (time permitting)
• Promote the internship and the GCI/UNESCO partnership through LinkedIn posts, a short blog, a short video, and a presentation to UCL peers

Person Specification

• PhD student in education, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, international development, peace and conflict studies, social policy, or a related field
• Must have upgraded and be within 12 months of submitting the thesis
• Demonstrated interest in global education equity, human rights, and/or peace education
• Strong research and analytical skills (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods)
• Excellent written communication skills and ability to synthesise complex material
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across institutions
• Knowledge of international policy frameworks (SDG 4, UNESCO mandates) is desirable
• Experience with implementing educational or experimental interventions is preferred

How to Apply

The application deadline is Friday, 28 August 2026 at 17:00.
Complete and submit the online application form by link below

Also Check: Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPR) Australia

Internship 2: Community Learning Hubs and the Happy Schools Initiative

This internship explores the Community Hubs criterion of the Happy Schools Framework. It focuses on how schools can function as integrated community hubs that support learning, wellbeing, and social cohesion.

A recent UNESCO Working Paper (No. 19, Andres et al., 2025) linked five principles for learning and community hubs to the Global Happy Schools Framework. However, this connection is still mostly conceptual. The internship aims to fill this gap by examining real-world practice.

Key research questions include:

• How do schools already using the Happy Schools Framework put Criterion 9 (Community Hubs) into daily practice?
• Which of the four pillars (People, Process, Place, Principles) most strongly enable or constrain a school’s ability to become a multi-service community hub?
• How can a multi-service community hub implement the Happy Schools Framework even if it is not an established school?

Rationale: Three Priority Areas

1. Post-2030 Foresight and Future Learning Spaces Explores what future learning spaces should look like beyond the Sustainable Development Goals. It examines the role of communities in creating new learning environments (in-person or virtual) that prepare young people for a world of rapid change, conflict, environmental disruption, and technology.

2. The Right to Lifelong Learning and Human Rights Connects the Happy Schools framework to the evolving right to education. The intern will study how communities can expand learning spaces to help achieve quality education for all under SDG 4.

3. Socio-economic Outcomes and Evidence-Informed Education Focuses on making UNESCO’s Happy Schools Diagnostic Toolkit more accessible to communities and multi-service hubs with limited resources, in order to improve learning outcomes, wellbeing, and socio-economic progress in underserved areas.

The internship also encourages methodological innovation in designing inclusive and participatory research tools that assess wellbeing and school quality across different cultural and socio-economic contexts.

Scope of Work

The intern will carry out applied research and development through desk-based research and stakeholder engagement. Main activities include:

• Conduct a rapid evidence review on how community learning spaces operate and how they can be integrated into a Happy Schools model, especially in communities with fewer resources or serving vulnerable populations
• Work with education practitioners and Happy Schools network partners to co-design and pilot test a community learning model using the Happy Schools Diagnostic Toolkit
• Produce a case study (suitable for academic publication) on how the Happy Schools approach can be expanded to include community learning spaces for greater equity and access
• Contribute to research design using mixed and participatory methodologies (co-design, narrative methods, etc.)
• Support ongoing work in UNESCO’s Section of Education Policy (time permitting)
• Promote the internship and the GCI/UNESCO partnership through a LinkedIn post, a short blog, a short video, and a presentation to UCL peers

Person Specification

• PhD student in education, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, international development, peace and conflict studies, social policy, or a related field
• Must have upgraded and be within 12 months of submitting the thesis
• Demonstrated interest in global education equity, social cohesion, and human rights
• Strong research and analytical skills (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods)
• Excellent written communication skills and ability to synthesise complex material
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across institutions
• Knowledge of international policy frameworks (SDG 4, UNESCO mandates) is desirable
• Experience with implementing educational or experimental interventions is preferred

How to Apply

The application deadline is Friday, 28 August 2026 at 17:00. Complete and submit the official online application form.

Also Check: Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPR) Australia