UN YPP

Overview

The United Nations Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is the UN Secretariat's entrance examination for early-career professionals. Candidates who pass are placed on a roster for entry-level P-1 and P-2 posts and, once recruited, take part in a professional development programme.

The YPP exam is held once a year, in one or more subject areas chosen according to the UN's needs. It is open only to nationals of participating countries, and the list of countries changes every year. The 2025 exam area was Global Communications, and 45 countries took part, including China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United States and Viet Nam.

Who can apply

For the 2025 Global Communications exam, applicants had to:

• be a national of a participating country

• be 32 or younger by the end of 2025 (born on or after 1 January 1993)

• hold at least a first-level university degree (a bachelor's or three-year equivalent) in a field relevant to the exam area

• be fluent in English or French, at UN Level II in reading, writing, listening and speaking

Selection process

The YPP has three stages:

1. Application screening. Applications are checked against the eligibility criteria. For the 2025 exam, if more than 90 applicants from the same country applied for the same exam area, they were ranked on highest education completed, knowledge of UN official languages and relevant work experience, and the top 90 per country per exam area were invited to the written exam.

2. Written examination. Taken online, in two parts.

3. Oral examination. A competency-based interview by video conference.

Exam pattern

Only candidates who succeed in Part I are invited to Part II. For the 2025 exam, a maximum of 60 applicants per country per exam area moved from the first stage of the online exam to the second, based on performance. Candidates arrange their own testing location with a reliable internet connection. Knowledge of UN official languages may be tested at any stage.

Important dates

For the 2025 Global Communications exam, the job opening was posted on 28 October 2025 and closed in mid-December 2025. Part I of the written exam was tentatively set for February 2026, Part II for one to two months after Part I, and the oral exam for June 2026. UN Careers says the YPP application period typically opens once a year, and the subject areas change each cycle, so check the site regularly.

Fees

There is no fee. The UN does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process.

How to apply

Applications are made through the UN's Inspira system, linked from the YPP pages on UN Careers, during the annual application window. Each year's exam area has its own job opening, which lists the participating countries and the degree fields that qualify.

After the exam

Successful candidates are placed on a roster that is valid for three years and used to fill entry-level P-1 and P-2 vacancies in UN Secretariat offices around the world. A place on the roster does not guarantee a job offer. According to the UN's Work4UN page, those recruited receive a two-year fixed-term contract and, after satisfactory performance, can be considered for a continuing contract; a managed reassignment programme supports their early career moves.

Preparation tips

The General Paper is common to all exam areas, so practise reasoning and written analysis on international affairs topics alongside the subject knowledge for your exam area. If you are close to the age limit, watch the annual list of exam areas and participating countries carefully, since your country or field may not be included every year.