Internships and More

To be eligible for Erasmus+ funding, your internship abroad must meet certain requirements:

• Approved receiving institution
  You will need to find an approved receiving institution within an EU Member State (including overseas territories) or Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Vatican State and the United Kingdom.
• Participation in an Erasmus+ programme is independent of your own nationality.

How does Erasmus+ fund your stay abroad? 

• Amount of funding according to length of stay and destination country
• Minimum duration of 2 months (60 days)
• Erasmus+ "allowance" for several stays flexible for an Erasmus+ study and/or Erasmus+ internship
  o During Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral studies you have a maximum of 12 months each.
  o In state examination and diploma programmes you have a maximum of 24 months.
  o Funding is also available for an internship completed within twelve months of finishing your studies.

You apply for Erasmus+ funding when applying online to the International Centre.

A decision on whether to grant financial support from Erasmus+ funds will be taken once your documents have been examined.
Your eligibility for an Erasmus+ grant is independent of whether you will also be paid a salary for your internship. The scholarship amount varies depending on the length of stay and the country of destination.

Funding by length of stay

The minimum duration of your stay is 2 months (60 days), the maximum duration is 12 months. The actual duration is determined by the confirmation email from the host institution and the traineeship certificate at the end of the Erasmus+ traineeship. The eligibility period corresponds to your traineeship duration, rounded down to half and full month rates (15 days / 30 days).

Funding by country of destination*

Country group	Funding
Country group 1: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom	€600/month
Country group 2: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City State	€540/month
Country group 3: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey	€480/month

* including overseas territories

Special “top-up” grants (not valid for the UK)

You can apply for top-up grants for study abroad during the 2022-23 academic year when registering online for your Erasmus+ grant.

Please apply for your Erasmus+ grant at least one month before your internship is due to start (cut-off deadline). It only takes a few steps:

• Online registration

You register and enrol for an Erasmus+ programme online using your university login. Please print out the online registration form and submit the signed original to the International Centre.

• Enrolment certificate

Upload your enrolment certificate(s) for the relevant internship period directly when registering online or send it by E-Mail.

• Learning Agreement for traineeships

Please fill in the Learning Agreement for your internship digitally. Sign it and also have it signed by the person responsible for your subject as well as the receiving institution. Please send a digital copy or scan of the signed agreement to the International Centre.

• Erasmus+ funding for traineeships

After your registration has been checked, you will receive an email from the International Centre with a password-protected link to a storage cloud. There you will find your Erasmus+ grant agreement and the notification of your provisional Erasmus+ financial support. Please submit a signed original of the Erasmus+ funding agreement to the International Centre.

Erasmus+ Internship after Graduation

If you do not yet have a suitable receiving institution or a confirmation from one, please first submit the following before your exmatriculation:

• Original letter of intent signed by your institute’s Erasmus+ coordinator
• Current enrolment certificate
• Online registration

After your graduation:

• Certificate of exmatriculation
• Proof of completed studies (e.g. copy of degree certificate)

The Online Linguistic Support (OLS) language tests is mandatory in the working language if you wish to receive an Erasmus+ grant. You will receive an automatically generated email from the EU Academy after you have submitted all the documents to us and your grant application has been approved.

OLS covers the following main teaching languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German.
Online language support is gradually being expanded. In addition to the 24 official languages of the European Union, language support will also be provided for Icelandic, Macedonian, Norwegian, Serbian and Turkish in the future.

An Erasmus+ internship abroad at host institutions in the UK is possible until 31 May 2023 under the usual conditions. In the academic year 2023/24, placements abroad in the UK can also be funded through Erasmus+ worldwide.

1. Application for a Certificate of Sponsorship by the International Centre (SI)

The SI will submit an application to the British Council for a Certificate of Sponsorship on your behalf. This certificate contains a personal reference number, which you will need when applying for a visa. The British Council takes up to four weeks to process applications, and you will be notified as soon as your Certificate of Sponsorship arrives. It is valid for three months from the date of issue and free of charge for German citizens.

For the application we will need the following documents from you. Please submit them in good time and contact us by sending us an email to erasmus.praktikum(at)uni-leipzig.de.

2. Independent application for Temporary Worker-Government Authorised Exchange visa (T5)
For an internship, you are considered a “temporary worker” and need to apply for the T5 (GAE) visa with your personal reference number (see Step 1). This has to be applied for no more than three months before the start of the internship (as specified on the certificate). You complete the application online and it costs around 189 pounds for German citizens. Students need to prove that they can afford to cover the cost of living through the Erasmus+ grant and/or the internship salary, and are not allowed to apply for public benefits. This does not apply to students from EU countries who are on a research stay of less than six months. The visa is valid for a total of 12 months. Entry is permitted up to 14 days before the start of the internship.

3. Immigration Health Surcharge
Upon receipt of your visa, you will be liable for the Immigration Health Surcharge to give you access to the National Health Service (NHS). For interns this costs around 470 pounds per annum. Please apply for the Immigration Health Surcharge on your own for the duration of your stay. If your internship will last less than six months, you do not have to pay anything.

Please contact our International Centre if you would like to shorten or extend your internship.

• If you wish to shorten your internship, you may be required to repay some of your Erasmus+ grant. If you fall below the minimum duration of two months, you will have to repay the entire amount of the grant.
• You can prolong your stay as long as this will not cause you to exceed your Erasmus+ “time allowance”.

If you wish to extend your internship by less than one month, all you need to do it contact us and let us know via e-mail. If you intend to extend your internship by more than one month, you will need to complete an amendment to the original Learning Agreement for traineeships.

Conclude your Erasmus+ internship and receive your final grant instalment:

• Traineeship certificate
  Have the traineeship certificate completed by your receiving institution and email a scan of the certificate to the International Centre at the end of your internship. At the earliest, the document may be issued on the last day of the internship.
• Erasmus+ Participant Report (EU-Survey)
  Your Erasmus+ Participant Report is an opportunity for other students to find out useful details about the receiving institution and help them prepare. After your stay abroad, you will receive an automatically generated email from the sender EUSurvey (please also check your spam folder).

If possible, please refrain from spending any money on planning your stay abroad for as long as possible.
We recommend that you:

• Wait as long as possible before booking travel tickets, renting an apartment abroad or similar.
• Take out travel cancellation insurance and ensure sufficient health insurance cover during your stay. Please speak to your health insurance provider if you have any questions.
• Keep open the option of continuing your studies at Leipzig University for as long as possible.
• Regularly check the host institution’s website.
• Stay in contact with your coordinators and contacts at our university and those at the host institution.
• Meet all deadlines set.

Please inform your Erasmus+ departmental coordinator as well as your contacts at the host institution and our International Centre immediately. If you have planned a stay abroad with Erasmus+, please fill in this form, sign it and send it via email.

With Erasmus+ you can combine physical and virtual mobility periods and receive financial support. For this, the host institution must offer virtual options for your internship. The financial support starts at the beginning of the physical mobility period at the host institution abroad. The duration of the stay abroad determines the amount of financial support. In case of a Corona-related termination of your internship abroad under two months, the financial support will be paid for the exact day (up to a maximum of 30 days per month). If you start your mobility period virtually at your home university location, you receive no financial support. Financial support is only available from the start of your stay abroad.

You can shorten the physical mobility period abroad or replace it by a virtual period for Covid-related reasons. Please state this in your declaration. When you switch from physical to virtual mobility, whether abroad or in your home country, your financial support will be continued. When you have achieved your learning objectives in accordance with the Placement Agreement, you will receive the Erasmus+ grant as stated in your grant agreement.

The host institution confirms virtual/physical mobility periods by means of the the confirmation of the internship start date (email) at the beginning and the internship certificate at the end of the internship. Both the confirmation by mail and the internship certificate should record a distinction between virtual and physical mobility phases.

You will find further information on this on the DAAD website.

Please inform yourself regularly about travel conditions and warnings on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

Financial support when cancelling an Erasmus+ mobility period

Do you have ongoing costs that are directly linked to the authorised study period abroad (e.g. rent, electricity, travel costs) even though you did not start your mobility period?
Please state this first of all in your declaration. If the costs cannot be cancelled, you can apply for a refund. Please send all the original receipts (in German or English, for any other languages please include a translation) to the International Centre with the completed refund claim form.

Financial support when ending an Erasmus+ mobility period early

If you have to terminate your physical mobility period abroad early, please notify the International Centre via E-Mail:

• Erasmus + Europa Internship
• Erasmus+ worldwide

Do you have ongoing costs that are directly linked to the authorised study period abroad (e.g. rent, electricity, travel costs)?
Please state this in your declaration. Regardless of whether you are still abroad or have already returned, you will receive the Erasmus+ grant as stated in your grant agreement. Warning: the amount of the grant is based solely on the current academic period (see declaration).

Do you have no further ongoing costs directly linked to the authorised exchange (e.g. rent, electricity, travel costs)?
Please state this in your declaration. In that case, you will receive the financial support for the duration of your physical and, if applicable, subsequent virtual mobility period. This will be paid according to the exact number of days of the required minimum stay (no more than 30 days per month), and beyond that, depending on the agreed funding rates, either paid to you or paid amounts claimed back.

Irrespective of the declaration please submit all further compulsory Erasmus+ study documents to the International Centre.

In order to apply for a PROMOS scholarship, you must be fully enrolled and pursuing a degree at our university.

If you are studying on an international master’s programme, you must have attended our university for at least one semester. Bachelor’s students can apply from the third semester of study, and master’s students from the first semester of study. Doctoral candidates are not eligible for funding under this programme.

PROMOS funds internships abroad lasting from six weeks to six months. The respective grant rates depend on the country of destination. The scholarship comprises a monthly grant and a one-off travel allowance.

PROMOS scholarships are tied to calendar years, which means that in the case of stays abroad spanning several years, funding is only possible until 28 February of the following year.

Students with a degree of disability (“GdB”) of at least 50 or a chronic illness can apply for special funding from the DAAD together with the International Centre. The special funding can be paid in addition to the regular grant rates. Please contact the PROMOS project coordinator by email early on for further information and to apply.

Online Application

Please submit your application online only. Register with your university login via the online portal. Enter your information in the online application and upload the following documents:

• CV in tabular form
• Certificate(s) of enrolment

Please upload your enrolment certificate(s) from Leipzig University for the entire period of your stay abroad. If you do not yet have the enrolment certificate for the following semester, first submit your enrolment certificate for the current semester. You must then submit the next certificate as soon as you have it (without being asked). You do not need to provide your master data sheet or your BAföG certificate.

• Overview of grades

An overview of grades can be obtained from your AlmaWeb account or by contacting your subject’s examination office. You can only use the overview of grades from AlmaWeb if all your previous achievements have been recorded in full in the portal. If you are a first-semester master’s student, please also submit your bachelor’s certificate together with an overview of grades. If you are already enrolled in a higher semester on a master’s programme, we will require your current overview of grades in addition to your bachelor’s certificate with overview of grades.

• Describe the project

Please specify why you have chosen to complete an internship abroad and explain your choice of host institution. Describe the content and scope of the work (one to two pages).

• Language certificate for the working language/national language

You can receive a language certificate from one of the teachers at the Language Center after taking one of their language certification tests. The Language Center holds these tests regularly. Your school-leaving certificate does not count as proof of language proficiency.

• If you speak the language in question or are studying in that language, please contact a language teacher at your institute.
• If the working language at your receiving institution is German and no further foreign language skills are required, please contact your PROMOS project coordinator.
• If you can prove that you passed one of the standard tests listed here within the last two years, you can use this instead of the language certificate.

Before your stay, you can attend a preparatory language course at our Language Center or take advantage of the language courses offered during your studies:

• SQ 13 – Key qualification module in Intercultural Communication
• Foreign language modules
• Autonomous foreign language learning modules
• Tandem language learning modules
   

• Proof of contact with the receiving institution/internship contract

You will need a letter from the receiving institution indicating the location, the nature and scope of your work, the duration of your internship and the contact details of the receiving institution.

 

After checking that your application is complete, we will send you a personal confirmation message.

Review of Your Application and Nomination

Your complete application will be reviewed by two subject-specific appraisers. The following selection criteria and assessment weightings are taken into account:

• Subject-specific qualification and personal suitability (50%)
• Relevance of the planned stay in relation studies completed so far (30%)
• Language skills necessary to carry out the stay (20%)

Applicants will be notified by email of whether they have been nominated for a PROMOS scholarship approximately six weeks after the application deadline.

• Archaeology
  Internships with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI)

• Economics and management science
  AIESEC Global Talent
  New Kibbutz

• Humanities
  at institutes of the Max Weber Foundation (Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute) abroad

• Computer science
  AIESEC Global Talent

• Engineering and natural sciences
  IAESTE specialist internships
  RISE Worldwide research internships
  Vulcanus in Japan

• Teacher training degrees
  Partner schools around the world
  PAD language assistant programme
  DAAD Lehramt.International (short-term grants)
  DAAD Lehramt.International (for teacher training graduates)

• Medicine
  Research internships, university hospitals
  Internships in development cooperation
  Deutscher Famulantenaustausch (bvmd)

• Law
  ELSA Student Trainee Exchange Programme

• AIESEC
  Global volunteering projects
• ASA
  for working and studying in Africa, Latin America, Asia and South Eastern Europe
• DAAD
  Carlo Schmid Programme: Internships in international organisations
  Programmes for short-term scholarships and travel expense grants
• DFJW (Franco-German Youth Office)
  Scholarships for study-related internships in France
• DPJW (German-Polish Youth Office)
  Scholarships for internships in Poland
• German Academic Scholarship Foundation
  Scholarships for internships in China

• AIESEC
  Volunteering and internships
• Arbeitskreis Lernen und Helfen in Übersee e.V.
• Arqus Alliance Internships
• Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Brussels
  Student internships in Brussels
• Bundesverband der Pharmaziestudierenden
• Campusjäger
  Job and internship portal by students, for students
• Career Centre at Leipzig University - Job portal
• College Council
  Internship portal for the US and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand
• Deutsch als Fremdsprache
  Internship portal run by the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
• Deutsch-Französische Juristenvereinigung e.V.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• DFJW Job portal
• Erasmus Student Network
• European Law Students’ Association (ELSA)
  Arrangement of paid internships for aspiring lawyers (partial funding via Erasmus+ internship possible)
• European Youth Portal
• German-Canadian Association
• German-Japanese Association of Jurists
• Goethe-Institut
• iAgora
• International Placement Service (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency
• Internship portal at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Job portal at Leipzig University’s Career Centre
• KOPRA
• studieren weltweit
• Worldwide Classroom

Depending on the topic of your dissertation, it may be important for you to carry out research abroad. This could give you access to research fields that are not accessible here in Leipzig. You may also need material from foreign institutions that is of particular relevance to your work.

What financial support will I receive?

Fund your final thesis abroad with PROMOS or as part of an Erasmus+ internship.

PROMOS awards short-term scholarships for dissertations. The respective grant rates depend on the country of destination. The scholarship comprises a monthly grant and a one-off travel allowance.

Students with a degree of disability (“GdB”) of at least 50 or a chronic illness can apply for special funding from the DAAD together with the International Centre. The special funding can be paid in addition to the regular grant rates. Please contact the PROMOS project coordinator by email early on for further information and to apply.

For more details, please refer to our information on studying abroad and the PROMOS application information.

How do I apply for a PROMOS scholarship?

Step 1: Prepare for your online application

To help you prepare for your online application, we have put together some practical tips for filling in the online form.

Step 2: Applying online

To apply, please register via the online portal using your university login. Please only apply via the online portal.
Please enter your information in the online application and upload the following documents:

• CV in tabular form
• Certificate(s) of enrolmen
  Please upload your enrolment certificate(s) from Leipzig University for the entire period of your stay abroad. If you do not yet have the enrolment certificate for the following semester, first submit your enrolment certificate for the current semester. You must then submit the next certificate as soon as you have it (without being asked). You do not need to provide your master data sheet or your BAföG certificate.
• Overview of grades
  Please request this from your examination office. You can also submit a printout of the overview of your grades from AlmaWeb, provided it lists all of the credits you have earned so far. If you are already enrolled on a master’s programme, please also upload a copy of your bachelor’s certificate including a Transcript of Records.
• Describe the project
  Please explain why the success of your final thesis depends on your going abroad and include a project schedule for your time abroad (e.g. in a table).
• Language certificate for the language of instruction/national language
  You can receive a language certificate from one of the teachers at the Language Center after taking one of their language certification tests.
  • If you speak the language in question or are studying in that language, please contact a language teacher at your institute.
  • If the language of instruction is German and no further foreign language skills are required, please contact your PROMOS project coordinator.
  • If you can prove that you passed one of the standard tests listed here within the last two years, you can use this instead of the language certificate.

• Proof of contact/confirmation of supervision
  We require information about the location of your host university and your supervisor abroad.
  Thesis / student research projects that are not conducted at a higher education institution or company must have demonstrable unrestricted support from the department.

Our tip:

Our application information and checklist for PROMOS applications will help you make sure that you have completed all the necessary steps when applying.

After checking that your application is complete, we will send you a personal confirmation message.

Review of your application and nomination

Your complete application will be reviewed by two subject-specific appraisers. The following selection criteria and assessment weightings are taken into account:

• Subject-specific qualification and personal suitability (50 per cent)
• The relevance of the planned stay in relation to studies completed so far (30 per cent)
• Language skills necessary to carry out the stay (20 per cent).

Applicants will be notified by email of whether they have been nominated for a PROMOS scholarship approximately six weeks after the application deadline.

Taking a language course abroad is the perfect opportunity to significantly improve your language skills! Besides our language courses, it is possible to take courses at private language institutes or universities abroad.

Find Language Courses Abroad

The DAAD website provides a good introduction to this topic. There you can search for language courses at universities around the world.

Examples of specialist courses are summer schools or workshops at a foreign host university. They usually last several days or a few weeks and deal with special projects or topics. These activities are often supplemented by local cultural programmes.

Find Specialist Courses and Summer Schools Abroad

Please contact us for information on current opportunities. In addition, many departments have noticeboards advertising such programmes.

• The DAAD’s Go East programme organises summer and winter schools in East-Central, South Eastern and Eastern Europe.
• Are you interested in going to Switzerland? Students of physics, computer science and engineering can apply to the CERN Summer Student Programme.

This funding is not available for congress or lecture tours. For these, please check the DAAD website.

You can undertake a study trip abroad together with your fellow students. The whole trip must be accompanied by a professor. The study trip will focus on subject-related learning and give you an insight into the local culture. Study trips focus on getting to know students and other academics.

Financial support

Under PROMOS, a flat-rate allowance is available to support study trips by groups of at least five students and/or doctoral researchers accompanied by a professor.

Please note this information and our checklist for study trips abroad.

Applying for PROMOS funding

Applications for PROMOS grants for study trips can only be submitted by professors of our university. Please send all application documents as specified in the checklist as a single PDF file to Christine Seidemann.