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European Space Agency (ESA) program · also searched as ESA Graduate Trainee Programme, ESA Young Graduate Trainee

European Space Agency (ESA) Internships and Graduate Trainees

The European Space Agency takes students and new graduates in two programmes: student internships of three to six months at an ESA establishment, in technical and non-technical fields, and the ESA Graduate Trainee (EGT) Programme, a one-year appointment for recent Master's graduates that can be extended for a second year. About 100 EGT opportunities are published each February.

What participants do

Interns work at an ESA establishment for three to six months and must stay enrolled at their university throughout. Graduate trainees are pre-selected and interviewed from March to May, hear ESA's decision in June and take up duty in September or October for one year, with 2.5 days of paid leave a month.

How people get in

Both apply on jobs.esa.int with a profile, CV and motivation letter. Internships are published in November each year and stay open for a month, up to two applications, for citizens of ESA Member States, preferably in the last or second-to-last year of a Master's. EGT posts follow in February and March, up to three applications, for Master's graduates within a year of graduating.

What it pays

Internships are unpaid but carry a monthly allowance, whose amount the page does not state. Graduate trainees receive a monthly salary exempt from national income tax in ESA Member States, their travel costs at the start and end, and an expatriation or installation allowance when they move from another country.

Status: running

Running: ESA's pages describe the November internship campaign and the February graduate trainee campaign (read 31 Oct 2026).

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Internships and Graduate Trainees: questions

What is ESA's internships and graduate trainee programme?

The European Space Agency takes students and new graduates in two programmes: student internships of three to six months at an ESA establishment, in technical and non-technical fields, and the ESA Graduate Trainee (EGT) Programme, a one-year appointment for recent Master's graduates that can be extended for a second year. About 100 EGT opportunities are published each February.

What do ESA's internships and graduate trainee programme participants do?

Interns work at an ESA establishment for three to six months and must stay enrolled at their university throughout. Graduate trainees are pre-selected and interviewed from March to May, hear ESA's decision in June and take up duty in September or October for one year, with 2.5 days of paid leave a month.

How much does ESA's internships and graduate trainee programme pay?

Internships are unpaid but carry a monthly allowance, whose amount the page does not state. Graduate trainees receive a monthly salary exempt from national income tax in ESA Member States, their travel costs at the start and end, and an expatriation or installation allowance when they move from another country.

How do you get into ESA's internships and graduate trainee programme?

Both apply on jobs.esa.int with a profile, CV and motivation letter. Internships are published in November each year and stay open for a month, up to two applications, for citizens of ESA Member States, preferably in the last or second-to-last year of a Master's. EGT posts follow in February and March, up to three applications, for Master's graduates within a year of graduating.

Is ESA's internships and graduate trainee programme still running?

Running: ESA's pages describe the November internship campaign and the February graduate trainee campaign (read 31 Oct 2026).

What isn't public

  • ESA's page does not state the internship allowance amount.
  • The graduate trainee salary is set out in a separate document, not on the page.
  • ESA does not say how many internships it offers each year.
Sources (2), researched 31 Oct 2026

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