Technical Studentships - Applied Physics

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on home.cern.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization.

Take part in CERN’s Technical Student Programme! 

If your university or institute requires or encourages you to acquire work experience through an internship, imagine doing this at CERN in Geneva. It’s more than work experience. In fact, it’s a student programme like nowhere else on Earth and an impressive addition to your CV!

If you are a student looking to complete practical training in domains related to Applied Physics, you will have the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of technology, contribute and broaden your knowledge in disciplines as varied as particle detector physics and their applications, analysis and simulation, data processing, radiation studies, beam instrumentation, optics, lasers, cryogenics, vacuum or thermodynamics to name but a few.

Please note that students specialising in theoretical or experimental particle physics are not eligible to apply for this programme.

A panel of CERN experts meets twice a year in December and May to review all applications, and on each occasion, typically 120 students are selected to join the programme.

In order to qualify for a place on the programme you will need to meet the following requirements:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have completed at least 18 months of your undergraduate studies (Bachelor or Master’s) at the time of the next student selection taking place in May 2021. Please note that PhD students are not eligible for this programme.
• You can stay for at least 4 and at most 12 months remaining registered as a full-time student.
• You have a good knowledge of English OR French.

CERN would very much like to benefit from your expertise, commitment and passion. 

In return, CERN will provide you with:

• A contract of association from 4 to 12 months.
• An allowance of 3319 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• A travel allowance.
• Depending on your personal circumstances, a supplement if you are married and/or have children.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive Health Insurance scheme (the contribution will be automatically deducted from your allowance).
• 2,5 days of paid leave per month.

Your future Life @CERN

Get a glimpse of what it’s like to work at CERN: https://careers.cern/benefits and https://careers.cern/our-people

Here are few tips to start you off:

• Be as specific as possible in the application fields “Education” and “Experience”.
• We recommend you prepare your answers in Word or Notepad in advance, as once you start completing the application on Smartrecruiters, you have a limited time to submit it.
• If you apply to more than one job, you will need to upload the documents for each application you submit.

Check out our dedicated pages for more information.

Required documentation:

You will need the following documents, clearly labelled (e.g. “CV”, “Motivation letter”, “Academic transcript”, etc.) and in PDF format to complete your application:

• A CV.
• A copy of your most recent academic transcript giving an overview of your marks (if you download it from your university portal please make sure there is no protection so that we can open it).
• A reference letter from your University Professor is mandatory. Should you have one from a previous internship you may add this as a second reference.

You may upload the reference letter yourself, whilst submitting your application, or through your referee via the link you will receive shortly after submitting your application.

Your application along with all supporting documents should reach us no later than 24th March 2021 (12pm CET). Please note that your application may also be shared during the process with a panel of national experts for evaluation purposes. Ultimately, it will be reviewed by a panel of CERN experts who will meet in May 2021.