Graduate Study Programme | The United Nations Office at Geneva

Graduate Study Programme participants group together for a photo in front of the Palais.

Graduate Study Programme (GSP) at UN Geneva is the longest-running educational initiative of the United Nations, now in its 62^nd year. Over the past six decades, the GSP has trained over 3,000 young people from more than 110 countries on all continents. This intensive two-week summer seminar provides an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of the United Nations and “International Geneva” through first-hand observations, lectures, research, and networking.

62nd GRADUATE STUDY PROGRAMME

Summit of the Future

Summit of the Future will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 22-23 September 2024. The Summit is seen as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives. UN Member States will consider ways to lay the foundations for more effective global cooperation that can deal with today’s challenges as well as new threats in the future.

The Summit’s outcome will be an intergovernmentally negotiated, action-oriented Pact for the Future, comprising a chapeau and five chapters covering: 1) sustainable development and financing for development; 2) international peace and security; 3) science, technology, innovation, and digital cooperation; 4) youth and future generations; and 5) transforming global governance. At the invitation of Member States, UN Secretary-General has issued eleven Policy Briefs containing more detail on certain proposals from Our Common Agenda, to support Member States in their preparations for the Summit.

62^nd Graduate Study Programme

The 62^nd GSP will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from 1 until 12 July 2024 under the theme: “Summit of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities”. The Programme will consist of morning lectures given by representatives of the United Nations, other international organizations, civil sector, and diplomats, visits to institutions, and work on group projects in the afternoons. Students, divided into five working groups, will look into the five chapters of the Pact for the Future and present their findings in short papers and presentations at the end of the Programme. This research and drafting process will be student-led and student-owned, with limited support from facilitators.

The Programme will be very intensive, with an average time commitment of 8-10 hours per day over ten days. While participation in the Programme is free of charge, participants will have to cover their own expenses of visa, travel, board and lodging in Geneva. The United Nations Office at Geneva is in no position to provide scholarships or arrange for sponsorships.

This Programme is open to currently enrolled graduate students, who are between 22 and 32 years of age, are not employed full time, and are fluent in both written and spoken English. The application process will be open from 11 December 2023 until 1 March 2024. Only complete applications submitted before the deadline will be considered.

In selecting participants, the Selection Committee will consider academic qualifications of the applicants, their extracurricular activities and achievements, relevant professional experience, languages spoken, as well as the applicants’ motivation, while trying to ensure fair gender and regional balance. All candidates will be informed of the results on 1 April 2024 and are thus kindly asked not to inquire about their application status until then. All decisions by the Selection Committee are final.