StudyDesk Scholarships
About the traineeship
The European University Institute is a postgraduate research institute in Florence dedicated to the social sciences and humanities, and its traineeships place graduates inside the working units of the Institute rather than in a classroom. Trainees are assigned to a unit and contribute to that unit's projects under an experienced supervisor. The units that regularly take trainees include the Library, the ICT Service, the Historical Archives of the European Union, academic units, and central services such as communications, administration and the legal office. Recent published vacancies illustrate the range: events, graphic design, multimedia, research and institutional communications, marketing, academic services and administrative systems.
Two kinds of traineeship exist, and the distinction matters for pay. A paid traineeship can last up to one year (three months minimum in justified cases) and carries the monthly maintenance grant. An unpaid traineeship lasts at most three months and must be covered by an agreement between the trainee's home university or organisation and the EUI if a home grant is involved. This article describes the paid route in detail; if you are still enrolled, check whether your university can support an unpaid placement instead.
Benefits
- Monthly grant: €1,540 a month for paid traineeships, at the rate applying from 1 January 2026. Trainees from outside the EU/EEA who are on the 20-hour part-time arrangement required by Italian law receive €770 a month.
- Travel: reimbursement of travel expenses at the beginning and end of the traineeship for trainees recruited from outside Florence.
- Meals and facilities: a discounted lunch each day at the EUI canteen, and access to EUI facilities including the Library, reading rooms and the Centre for Academic Literacies and Languages.
- Training: participation in professional training, public seminars, workshops and wellbeing activities, plus experience in an international, multicultural research institution.
- Leave: paid leave arrangements apply under the traineeship rules — the vacancy notice for your role states the exact terms.
Who can apply
- Nationality: nationals of EU Member States and of candidate countries benefiting from a pre-accession strategy can apply, and Ukrainian nationals are also eligible. A limited number of nationals of non-Member States may be accepted on the basis of a specific agreement.
- Degree: for a paid traineeship you must hold a completed first university degree (Bachelor's or equivalent). Your last university diploma must have been obtained no longer than three years before the deadline — unless you are enrolled in further university studies when you apply.
- Languages: proven knowledge of spoken and written English at CEFR level B2 or above, plus a satisfactory knowledge of another language. English, French and Italian are the Institute's main working languages.
- Start dates: traineeships normally start on 1 February, 1 April, 1 June, 1 September or 1 November. The vacancies published for the February 2027 intake start on 1 February 2027 and last 12 months.
Documents required
- CV, uploaded through the online application form.
- ID or passport, uploaded through the same form.
- Your application counts as submitted only once you receive the automatic confirmation email — if that email does not arrive, the application has not gone through.
- Shortlisted candidates are invited to interview. Only candidates invited to interview receive information from the EUI on their selection status.
How to apply
- Go to the EUI traineeships page and open the vacancy notice for the role you want — the notice (for example V.TR.ACS.2.2026 for the Academic Service traineeship) is the binding document, and different roles have different closing dates.
- Check the notice for its deadline: the current published vacancies for the February 2027 intake close on 2 November 2026 at 23:59 CET. Other EUI calls are published as open calls with no specific deadline, and applications are considered as they arrive.
- Complete the online application form and upload your CV and ID/passport. Only applications submitted through the online form are accepted.
- Wait for the automatic confirmation email, then for an interview invitation if you are shortlisted. If you have difficulty submitting, the EUI gives the contact Traineeships@EUI.eu.
FAQs
There is no single deadline. The vacancy notices published for the February 2027 intake close on 2 November 2026 at 23:59 CET, while other EUI traineeship calls are open calls with no specific deadline. Always read the vacancy notice for the role you are applying to.
Paid traineeships carry a maintenance grant of €1,540 a month at the rate from 1 January 2026. Non-EU/EEA trainees on the 20-hour part-time arrangement required by Italian law receive €770 a month. Unpaid traineeships, up to three months, carry no grant.
A paid traineeship lasts up to one year (three months minimum in justified cases). An unpaid traineeship lasts at most three months. The February 2027 intake roles last 12 months full-time.
Nationals of EU Member States and candidate countries, plus Ukrainian nationals; a limited number of non-Member State nationals may be accepted by agreement. Paid trainees need a first university degree obtained within the last three years (unless still studying) and English at B2 or above.
Not necessarily. English at B2 or above is required, plus a satisfactory knowledge of another language; English, French and Italian are the main working languages. Individual vacancy notices may ask for more.
A CV and an ID or passport, uploaded through the online application form. The application is only complete once you receive the automatic confirmation email.
Verified 29 Oct 2026 against the EUI's own vacancy notice (eui.eu, V.TR.ACS.2.2026: deadline 2 November 2026 at 23:59 CET; online form only; CV + ID/passport; confirmation email; contact Traineeships@EUI.eu; travel reimbursement, discounted canteen lunch, library and language-centre access, training and seminars) plus ScholarshipsAds (paid €1,540/month from 1 Jan 2026, non-EU/EEA part-time €770; paid up to 1 year, minimum 3 months; unpaid up to 3 months; start dates 1 Feb / 1 Apr / 1 Jun / 1 Sep / 1 Nov; February-intake notices closing annually 30 November in some years vs open calls) and Youth Works Hub (six 2026 open calls at €1,540/month, 12 months; Academic Service and Administrative Systems vacancies closing 2 November 2026 at 23:59 CET, starting 1 February 2027; degree within 3 years; English B2 plus another language). CONFLICTS: (1) Older secondary summaries quote €1,400–€1,490/month — the current published rate from 1 January 2026 is €1,540, and the article uses that. (2) Some guides say February-intake notices close 30 November; the current vacancy notices checked for this run close 2 November 2026, and the article leads with the notice date. (3) One aggregator describes EUI traineeships as open to all nationalities — the vacancy rules restrict paid places to EU/candidate-country nationals (plus Ukrainians, with limited non-Member State places by agreement), and the article follows the vacancy rules.
