Technical Studentship - Material & Surface Science 2026-1

Employment Type: Full-time

Company Description
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 Material and Surface Science or Chemical Engineering, you will have the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of technology, contribute and broaden your knowledge in areas as varied as mechanical testing of materials, magnetic measurements, metallography, surface treatment, optical and electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction or radiochemistry to name a few.

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

Qualifications
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/3 semesters of your undergraduate studies (Bachelor or Master’s) at the time of the next student selection round taking place in February 2026.

• You remain registered as a full-time student during the internship.

• You have a good knowledge of English or French.

Additional Information
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 3472 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).

• A travel allowance.

• Depending on your personal circumstances, supplementary allowances could be granted if you are married or in a registered partnership 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.

Required documentation:
You will need a CV in English or in French in PDF format to complete your application (other supplementary documents, such as academic transcripts or reference letters are recommended).

Check out our dedicated pages for more information.

"Your application should reach us no later than November 16th 2025 (at 23:59 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 between November 2025 and February 2026. During this period, you could be contacted for a phone/video interview or additional information. The outcome of the recruitment process will be given at the end of February 2026.
Please note that if a traineeship agreement is required by your institute (university), as an international organisation CERN will not sign external documents. You will therefore be required to use the CERN traineeship agreement provided upon request.