StudyDesk Scholarships
About the programme
United Nations Volunteers is the UN organisation that deploys volunteers to support peace, development and humanitarian work. It runs two distinct routes. Onsite UN Volunteers take up full-time assignments — typically six to twelve months, sometimes longer — inside a host UN entity, in duty stations around the world, including hardship locations. They work as part of the host team, not as interns, and the assignments span everything from child protection and public health to programme management, communications, logistics and data work. Online Volunteering is the remote counterpart: volunteers anywhere in the world take on defined tasks — writing, research, translation, graphic design, digital marketing — for host organisations working towards the Sustainable Development Goals, without travelling and without a contract with UNV or the engaging organisation.
That distinction drives everything else in this article. If a listing promises a "fully funded UN Volunteer scholarship" with a single deadline, it is almost certainly describing onsite assignments in general terms, or it is simply wrong. Read the individual vacancy: it states the duty station, the duration, the required experience and languages, and the closing date.
Benefits
- Onsite assignments: support under UNV conditions of service, set out in each vacancy's description of assignment. Summaries of the programme list a resettlement allowance paid after successful completion of the assignment, alongside the living and assignment support that comes with serving in a duty station. Amounts vary by assignment and duty station, so no single figure is stated here.
- Online volunteering: no allowance, financial compensation or benefits — this is unpaid, remote, task-based volunteering. The return is experience, skills, a certificate of completion for the assignment, and a stronger profile for future UN or development roles.
- Both routes: practical experience inside the UN system, professional networks, and work that counts as real UN experience on a CV. UNV charges no recruitment fee at any stage — any request for payment connected to a UNV application is a scam signal.
Who can apply
- Age: at least 18 years old for both routes. Some youth-focused onsite programmes set their own upper age limits — the vacancy states them.
- Onsite roles: requirements depend on the specific role. Professional specialist roles typically require a degree and relevant work experience (for example, a recent UNICEF specialist vacancy asked for a Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology or a related field plus at least three years of relevant experience); community-level roles set lower bars. Language requirements are stated per vacancy — working knowledge of English, French or Spanish is commonly required.
- Online volunteering: open to adults aged 18 or over worldwide. There is no single academic or professional background for the whole service; each host organisation sets the skills, language and experience requirements for its own task. No IELTS or TOEFL is required as a blanket rule.
- Commitment: online assignments run up to 20 hours a week for a maximum of 12 weeks; onsite assignments are full-time for their stated duration.
Documents required
- A UNV profile on the Unified Volunteering Platform (app.unv.org) — education, skills, languages and professional experience. This profile is your application base; there is no separate paper form.
- Vacancy-specific material as each assignment asks for it — typically a motivation statement tailored to the role, and sometimes work samples.
- Online volunteering: register on the platform, complete your profile, and apply to advertised tasks that match your skills. Host organisations set the task requirements and the closing date for each listing.
How to apply
- Create an account on the UNV Unified Volunteering Platform (UVP) at app.unv.org and build a complete profile — education, skills, languages and experience.
- Search the advertised assignments (onsite) or the online assignment board (remote) and read each vacancy in full: duty station, duration, requirements and closing date.
- Apply directly through the platform to the roles that match your profile. For onsite roles, only applications submitted through the official process are considered.
- Apply early for any vacancy with a near closing date — for example, specialist onsite vacancies have closed within days of advertisement — and never pay anyone who claims to secure a UNV placement.
FAQs
There is no single deadline. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, and each advertised assignment carries its own closing date — check the vacancy, not a roundup page.
Only in the limited sense that onsite assignments are supported under UNV conditions of service, including a resettlement allowance on successful completion. Online volunteering is unpaid, with no allowance or benefits. Neither route is a scholarship with a fixed cash package.
No. Online Volunteers receive no living allowance, financial compensation or benefits, and have no contract with UNV or the engaging organisation. Assignments run up to 20 hours a week for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Anyone aged 18 or over. Onsite professional roles typically need a degree and relevant experience; online volunteering has no single academic bar — each host organisation states its own requirements.
No blanket IELTS or TOEFL requirement applies. Vacancies state their own language requirements, commonly working knowledge of English, French or Spanish.
No. UNV charges no recruitment fee, and the United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interview, testing or recruitment fee. Treat any payment request as a scam.
Verified 29 Oct 2026 against ScholarshipHub (UNV Program 2026: minimum age 18; requirements vary by role; working knowledge of English, French or Spanish often required; online volunteering open worldwide; apply via the UNV Unified Volunteering Platform; rolling applications; resettlement allowance after successful completion) plus CrispNG (UNV online volunteering eligibility and how to apply, last checked 27 October 2026: open to adults 18+ worldwide; unpaid, no allowance or benefits, no recruitment fee; up to 20 hours/week, maximum 12 weeks per assignment; each host sets its own skills requirements and deadlines) and a live October 2026 onsite vacancy (UNICEF Viet Nam National UN Volunteer Specialist, Child Protection, Hanoi: Bachelor's in social work/psychology or related field plus 3+ years' relevant experience; apply via app.unv.org; UN no-fee warning). CONFLICTS: (1) One aggregator prints a single "official deadline" of 31 December 2026 — that is not a UNV programme deadline; UNV assignments are rolling with per-vacancy closing dates, and the article follows the platform model. (2) Aggregator pages that call the whole programme "fully funded" conflate onsite support with online volunteering, which is explicitly unpaid — the article separates the two routes. (3) A "UN Volunteer Internship Programme for ages 18–29" described by one aggregator is not a distinct UNV programme in the sources checked; the article describes the two established routes (onsite assignments and online volunteering) only.
