Would you like to combine studying with spending time abroad? Besides studying abroad, there are various ways to spend time in another country – such as internships, language courses, writing your dissertation, subject-specific courses and study trips. Read more about your options here and find the right scholarship form for you.

enlarge the image: Student Natascha stands on a high mountain in South Africa, photographed from a great distance, with Gebrige in the background.
Student Natascha in South Africa during her veterinary internship. Photo: Natascha Rüping

Discover new job prospects, forge international work contacts and enhance your professional and language skills!
Internships are already part of some degree programmes. You can take a leave semester for a voluntary internship. There is all sorts of funding available for internships abroad: Erasmus+, PROMOS and other scholarships.

It is often possible to organise an internship abroad faster than studying in another country. Nevertheless, make sure you seek advice from the International Centre well in advance!

Erasmus+ traineeships in Europe

  • Erasmus+ funds voluntary and mandatory traineeships abroad.
  • You can receive Erasmus+ funding several times in each study cycle (bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral studies) and in any degree programme.
  • Participation in the Erasmus+ programme is possible regardless of your nationality.
  • You choose the traineeship period yourself.
  • The Erasmus+ mobility quota for each student comprises 12 funding months per study cycle (bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral studies), in state examination and diploma programmes it's a maximum of 24 months of funding. In your mobility quota multiple study stays abroad can be funded.
  • Traineeship stays abroad can also be funded within 12 months of completing your studies.
  • You are enrolled at our university for a degree or doctorate.
  • You have successfully organised a traineeship at an organisation in one of the 27 EU states or in another possible European non-EU state (see “Funding – Funding by destination country” further down this page).
  • Your traineeship lasts at least 2 calendar months and a maximum of 12 funding months (360 days).
  • You work full-time during your internship (full-time is understood according to the typical working hours in the country of the receiving organisation).

Traineeships at EU institutions and institutions that conduct EU programmes are ineligible for Erasmus+ funding. There are alternative funding programmes for traineeships at these institutions – for example, the DAAD’s short-term scholarships.
Traineeships that only involve general services to clients, order processing, data entry or only office work are also ineligible for funding.

You can find information about your funding via the document “Special conditions” (see download section on the right) and the Erasmus+ Grant Agreement. This contains the detailed funding conditions and the Grant Notification on the total amount of financial support, including any top-up amounts.

You will receive Erasmus+ status for the entire duration of the traineeship if the funding is approved. Our university has a limited total budget for Erasmus+ funding. Therefore, you will receive fixed monthly funding rates depending on the destination country and duration of your stay.

  • Funding according to destination country

End of traineeship funding by 31 July 2025

Country groupFunding
Country group 1:
Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland (Exception: via the Swiss-European Mobility Programme/ SEMP. Erasmus+ status, i.e. Zero Grant, is possible for all degree programmes.), United Kingdom (Exception: only for compulsory internships that must be completed in an English-speaking country. Erasmus+ status, i.e. Zero Grant, is possible for all degree programmes.)
€750/month
Country group 2:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City State
€690/month

Country group 3:

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey

€640/month

End of traineeship funding from 1 August 2025

Country groupFunding
Country group 1:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland (Exception: for funding via the Swiss-European Mobility Programme/ SEMP.), Vatican City State, United Kingdom (Exception: only for compulsory internships that must be completed in an English-speaking country.)
€750/month
Country group 2:
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, 
€690/month

Country group 3:

Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey

€690/month
  • Funding according to duration

A maximum of 5 months of your traineeship can be funded. Your stay can begin and end in the middle of a calendar month.

Duration of stayPossible number of months of funding
2 to less than 3 calendar months2
3 to less than 4 calendar months3
4 to less than 5 calendar months4
5 to 12 calendar months5

Students who receive Erasmus+ funding can apply for the “Green travel” and “Equal opportunities” top-up. You must submit the application together with the signed registration form for your stay abroad, a subsequent application is not possible.

In order to receive the top-up, you must submit a declaration of honour stating the reason for the funding. You must also provide evidence of this, which you must keep for up to six years after the end of your stay and which can be provided to the International Office on request.

Students with Erasmus+ zero grant status are not eligible for funding.

  • Green travel top-up

If you use low-emission forms of transport (bus and/or train) for more than 50 percent of your round trip and the “green” journey takes longer than one day each for arrival or departure, you can apply for financial support for a maximum of 4 additional travel days (calculated according to your monthly funding rate). You must provide the following evidence:

  • Tickets or invoices clearly showing your name, the date and the means of transport and that you travelled on each day and reached your final destination. Overnight stays and stopovers are possible.

If your trip is interrupted for a longer period (‘city tour’, days without travel), you can not apply for additional travel day rates. 

The easy way to travel sustainably!

You can find tips on "green" travelling for your Erasmus+ stay abroad on the website of our university's Green Office (in German). There is now also the Interrail Pass for Erasmus+: travel by train to your stay abroad and beyond! 

  • Equal opportunities top-up

This top-up amount is aimed at those with fewer opportunities in long-term or short-term mobility so that they can participate in a study stay abroad. If approved, you will receive financial support of €250 per month if one of the following reasons applies:

  • Disability or chronic health problems
    You have a degree of disability of 20 or more or a chronic illness (see the list provided by the Robert-Koch-Institute), which means that you will have additional financial costs to cover abroad. You must provide the following evidence:

    • Disability: disability card or notice from the state social welfare office
    • Chronic health problems: medical certificate confirming that additional financial costs will be incurred abroad because of chronic health problems

    Alternatively, an application for real cost compensation can be submitted to the NA DAAD (document only available in German).

  • Study stay abroad with own child(ren)
    Your own child(ren) will be accompanying you on your study stay abroad. Double funding for a child is excluded if both parents take part in a study stay abroad at the same time. If there are two or more children, each parent can receive a top-up amount. You must provide the following evidence:

    • Birth certificate and travel documents for child/children’s round trip
    • If applicable, confirmation of being registered at a child care or educational institution
    • If applicable, confirmation of joint accommodation abroad through a tenancy agreement

    Alternatively, an application for real cost compensation can be submitted to the NA DAAD (document only available in German).

  • Employment of students
    A student’s previous employment of at least six continuous months must be terminated or paused due to their study stay abroad. The end of employment must be no earlier than 3 months before the start of the internship. Monthly net earnings must be between €450 and €850. In the case of several sources of income, the average per month applies. The exceptions to this are self-employment and stays abroad during which you receive a scholarship (not BAföG) or a work placement allowance of €300 or more per month. You must provide the following evidence:
    • Pay slips or tax return
  • First generation in the family to access higher education
    Parents or caregivers do not hold a degree in Germany that is considered academic (a list can be found from the Higher Education Compass and the German Accreditation Council). Qualifications obtained abroad are considered non-academic in the country concerned. If the qualification was gained in a country that has changed to another form of government, the date of the qualification is used for the evaluation.
    If you want caregivers other than your parents to be taken into consideration, they should have had a continuous relationship with you for several years up to the start of your academic education. If only one parent or caregiver is available or familiar with you, then only this one person will be considered for the verification.
    Exceptions are study stays abroad during which you receive a grant (not Bafög support) or a traineeship allowance of €300 or more per month.
    You must provide the following evidence:
    • Declaration of Honour from the parent(s) or caregiver(s), which states their highest level of qualifications

The deadline for applying for Erasmus+ funding is two months before the start of the traineeship.

To apply, you need take the following steps:

  • Log in to the portal for stays abroad with your university login.
  • Complete the online registration carefully. Your entries form the basis for calculating your funding.
  • Upload the enrolment certificate(s) for the relevant internship period or send them by email if necessary.
  • Complete the traineeship agreement digitally. Sign it and have it signed by the person responsible for your subject and at your traineeship institution. Upload the completed traineeship agreement as a PDF document. If it is not yet complete at the time of online registration, submit it as soon as possible via the portal for stays abroad.
  • Submit the online registration. You will then receive a PDF document.
  • Check your details and sign the document digitally for confirmation.
  • Upload the signed document to the portal for stays abroad or send it by email.
  • Your submitted registration will be checked by the International Centre. You will receive an email with your password-protected Erasmus+ funding agreement, including the provisional Erasmus+ funding notification, approx. 4 weeks before the start of your internship.
  • Read the agreement carefully. Then sign it digitally. By signing the grant agreement, you accept the Erasmus+ funding conditions. Upload the signed Erasmus+ grant agreement to the portal for stays abroad or send it by email before the start of the internship.

You are not currently obliged to take an online language test via the Online Language Support (OLS) programme. However, we recommend doing so. Find out more at EU Academy.

If you are a native speaker or the required language is not offered by the OLS system, you are not required to participate. The OLS test is not a valid language certificate.

Have your traineeship organisation confirm the start of your traineeship. For this purpose, they will send an informal confirmation by email within four weeks of the official start of the traineeship, stating your name and the exact start date.

If you would like to shorten or extend your traineeship, please inform the International Centre at least 30 days before the originally agreed end date via the portal for stays abroad or via email.  

  • Shortening your traineeship
    If your traineeship is shortened, you may have to pay back part of your Erasmus+ financial support. If your stay is shorter than the minimum duration of two calender months, you will have to pay back the full amount received
  • Extending your traineeship
    You can extend your stay as long as you still have funding months in your Erasmus+ monthly quota and the end of your traineeship is before 31 July. You must notify the International Centre of any extension of the traineeship of less than one month by e--mail. Extensions of more than one month must be applied for with an amendment agreement to the original traineeship agreement. Depending on the change, further documents may have to be submitted or amended if necessary. You will be informed about this separately.

An Erasmus+ graduate traineeship can be funded for up to 12 months after graduation (the date of issue of your degree certificate applies), provided that your Erasmus+ mobility quota has not been exhausted and you declare your intention to complete a traineeship before exmatriculation.

We need the following from you before you complete your studies:

We need the following from you after you complete your studies:

  • The certificate showing that you have been removed from the student register
  • Certificate of successful completion of your studies (e. g. copy of certificate)

Traineeships abroad at institutions in the United Kingdom are possible with Erasmus+ funding. However, our university only has a limited budget at its disposal. For this reason, only compulsory internships that are to be completed in English-speaking countries abroad can be financially supported. However, the Erasmus+ status, Zero Grant, is possible for all degree programmes. In addition to the independent organisation of the internship, further requirements of the United Kingdom must be considered, including the visa for a stay in the United Kingdom.

The following documents are required to complete your Erasmus+ traineeship:

  • Traineeship certificate
    Have the traineeship certificate filled out by your organisation and upload the confirmation to the portal for stays abroad or send it by email to the International Centre no later than four weeks after the end of your traineeship. The document may be issued on the last day of the traineeship at the earliest.
  • Erasmus+ participation report (EU Survey)
    At the end of your stay, you will receive a link by email from the EU Corporate Notification System (check your spam folder if necessary). Please complete the questionnaire as soon as you receive the email.

PROMOS Internships Worldwide

PROMOS is a scholarship programme funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) that provides financial support for stays abroad that cannot be supported through other scholarship programmes. PROMOS scholarships are given on a merit basis according to the funding available. 

In addition to internships worldwide, the programme can also provide funding for study stays, final theses and study trips abroad.

Requirements

You are eligible to apply for a PROMOS-Scholarship when you are enrolled as a degree-seeking student at our university:

  • bachelor’s programme: starting in the third semester of study
  • master’s programme: starting in the first semester of study with at least one on-campus semester at Leipzig University if you are in an international master’s programme
  • doctoral researchers cannot receive funding in this programme. 

Your planned internship:

  • will last at least two months and you will work full-time,
  • will be paid with a maximum of €500 (proof must be provided),
  • cannot be financially supported in the Erasmus+ or DAAD programmes (see “Alternative Scholarships for Internships Abroad” farther down on this page),
  • is not financially supported by other public funding organisations (e. g. scholarship programmes and foundations) other than BAföG (German Federal Training Assistance Act) or the Deutschlandstipendium.

Students who are citizens of other countries cannot receive financial support for stays in their country of origin. Funding is not available for stays abroad in countries and regions for which the Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning.

Funding

The funding amounts depend on the destination country. The scholarship is made up of monthly instalments and a travel allowance. Your tuition fees will not be paid. 

PROMOS support is limited to one stay abroad each year and a total of six months per study cycle. The maximum funding duration per stay is four months. The PROMOS scholarship is tied to calendar years. If your stay abroad will extend into the next calendar year, then support is only possible until 28 February.

Together with the International Centre, students with a degree of disability (Grad der Behinderung) of at least 50 or with a chronic illness can submit a request for additional funds to the DAAD. These top-up amounts are paid in addition to the regular funding amounts. Please contact the PROMOS project coordinator by email at an early point in time for more information and to submit the request.

There are two application periods each year for the PROMOS scholarships:

  • for stays that start between January and June:
    1 November–1 December of the previous year
  • for stays that start between July and December:
    1 May–1 June

Applications for a PROMOS scholarship cannot be accepted if they are submitted outside of these application periods.

To apply, register in the portal for stays abroad with your university login and select the form “PROMOS Application”. Fill out the online application carefully and upload the following documents as a PDF file:

  • CV in table format
  • Certificate(s) of enrolment from Leipzig University for the entire period of your stay abroad (without the master data sheet and BAföG certificate)
    If you do not yet have the certificate of enrolment for the following semester, then please first submit your certificate of enrolment for the current starting semester.  
  • Transcript of records 
    You can obtain a transcript of records from the Examination Office. You can also submit a print-out of the transcript of records from AlmaWeb if your work to date is all included.  If you are already in a master’s programme, please also upload a copy of your bachelor’s degree certificate including an overview of your marks.
  • Describing your plan for the stay abroad 
    On a maximum of two pages, describe in German (international students can submit the description in English) why you are carrying out an internship abroad and the organisation you have chosen. Also include the content and scope of the work you will do.
  • Language certificate for the working language/country's language 
    If the working language is only German and no additional foreign language proficiency is necessary, then still please submit a language certificate for English. You do not need to submit proof of proficiency in your native language. Depending on the situation, there are various ways to show proof of your language proficiency:
    • You can complete a central standardised language test. The tests take place regularly in the Language Center.
    • If you are currently taking a language course at the Language Center, you can have your current language level confirmed by the Language Center using the language certificate form.
    • If you are studying in the language of instruction, you can have your lecturer in the subject confirm your current level of language proficiency on the language certificate form.
    • If you already have documentation of your language proficiency level (e.g. with courses, study stays abroad or your Abitur) that was issued no more than two years ago, then you can submit this to the Language Center to have it transferred to the language certificate form. Only proof recognised by the Language Center will be accepted.
    • If you have completed a standard test that was sat no more than two years ago, you can submit this as a language certificate.
  • Proof of contact with the internship organisation/internship contract with information about the location, type and scope of work, duration of the internship and remuneration for the internship as well as contact details for the internship organisation.

We will send you a personal confirmation message after we have checked to make sure your application is complete.

Review of Your Application and Nomination

Your complete application will be read by two reviewers from your discipline or a related field. The following selection criteria and weighting will be used:

  • academic achievements (40%)
  • personal aptitude, extracurricular qualifications and other activities (10%)
  • how meaningful the planned stay abroad is in relation to your studies thus far (30%)
  • language skills necessary to carry out the stay abroad (20%)

Starting around six weeks after the application deadline, emails will be sent out stating the results of the application process.

Alternative Scholarships for Internships Abroad

Besides Erasmus+ and PROMOS, there are numerous alternative scholarships for internships abroad that you can apply for. Take a look!

Finding the Right Internship

enlarge the image: Internship portals are a great way to find a placement abroad. Photo: Unsplash
Internship portals are a great way to find a placement abroad. Photo: Unsplash

Traineeship in uncertain times

Have you planned a stay abroad but certain circumstances (e. g. situation in the destination country) have left you uncertain as to whether you want to or are able to do so? Then please note the following information.

Please always follow the provisions and instructions of your host institution regarding entry, e. g. quarantine regulations or security precautions.

Please stick to cost-neutral planning for your study stay abroad for as long as possible.
We recommend:

  • taking out travel cancellation insurance and health insurance during your stay. Please seek advice on this from your health insurance provider;
  • regularly keeping on top of all information on the host institution’s websites and to subscribing to any newsletters offered there;
  • stay in contact with the contact persons at the host institution and, if applicable, your Erasmus+ departmental coordinator at our university.

Please inform your Erasmus+ departmental coordinator, your contact person at the host institution and the International Centre immediately by email.

Final theses, Language Courses, Subject-Specific Courses and More

Apart from studying or doing an internship in a foreign country, language courses, subject-specific courses and study trips can be a great opportunity to gain experience abroad. A language course can, for example, help you prepare well for an internship. You can also write your final thesis abroad or carry out research for it. A PROMOS scholarship can be used to fund some of these stays abroad.

Write your final thesis abroad

Depending on the topic of your final thesis, 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.

Support

Fund your final thesis abroad with PROMOS or as part of an Erasmus+ internship (you can find more information about this further up on this page).

PROMOS awards short-term scholarships for final theses abroad with a minimum duration of two months. The supervision of your thesis takes place at a university or a company without the possibility of Erasmus+ funding. If there is no connection to a company or university, the project must be explicitly supported and supervised by your faculty.

The funding amounts depend on the country of destination. The scholarship is made up of monthly instalments and a travel allowance. PROMOS support is limited to one stay abroad each year and a total of six months per study cycle. The maximum funding duration per stay is four months. The PROMOS scholarship is tied to calendar years. If your stay abroad will extend into the next calendar year, then support is only possible until 28 February.

PROMOS scholarships are given on a merit basis according to the funding available. 

Together with the International Centre, students with a degree of disability (Grad der Behinderung) of at least 50 or with a chronic illness can submit a request for additional funds to the DAAD. These top-up amounts are paid in addition to the regular funding amounts. Please contact the PROMOS project coordinator by email at an early point in time for more information and to submit the request. 

Students who are citizens of other countries cannot receive financial support for stays in their country of origin.

Application

There are two application periods each year for the PROMOS scholarships:

  • for periods abroad that start between January and June:
    1 November–1 December of the previous year
  • for periods abroad that start between July and December:
    1 May–1 June

Applications for a PROMOS scholarship cannot be accepted if they are submitted outside of these application periods.

To apply, register in the portal for stays abroad with your university login and select the form “PROMOS Application”. Fill out the online application carefully and upload the following documents as a PDF file:

  • CV in table format
  • Certificate(s) of enrolment from Leipzig University for the entire period of your stay abroad (without the master data sheet and BAföG certificate)
    If you do not yet have the certificate of enrolment for the following semester, then please first submit your certificate of enrolment for the current starting semester.  
  • Transcript of records 
    You can obtain a transcript of records from the Examination Office. You can also submit a print-out of the transcript of records from AlmaWeb if your work to date is all included.  If you are already in a master’s programme, please also upload a copy of your bachelor’s degree certificate including an overview of your marks.
  • Describing your plan for the stay abroad 
    On a maximum of two pages, describe in German (international students can submit the description in English) the necessity of completing a stay abroad for successfully writing your final thesis and include a timeline for carrying out your project abroad.
  • Language certificate for the working language/country's language 
    If the working language is only German and no additional foreign language proficiency is necessary, then still please submit a language certificate for English. You do not need to submit proof of proficiency in your native language. Depending on the situation, there are various ways to show proof of your language proficiency:
    • You can complete a central standardised language test. The tests take place regularly in the Language Center.
    • If you are currently taking a language course at the Language Center, you can have your current language level confirmed by the Language Center using the language certificate form.
    • If you are studying in the language of instruction, you can have your lecturer in the subject confirm your current level of language proficiency on the language certificate form.
    • If you already have documentation of your language proficiency level (e.g. with courses, study stays abroad or your Abitur) that was issued no more than two years ago, then you can submit this to the Language Center to have it transferred to the language certificate form. Only proof recognised by the Language Center will be accepted.
    • If you have completed a standard test that was sat no more than two years ago, you can submit this as a language certificate.
  • Proof of contact/supervision agreement 
    We need information about the location of your host university or an agreement to supervise you during an internship from the host organisation abroad. If the final thesis is not being carried out at a university or a company, then it must be explicitly supported by the department without reservations. 

We will send you a personal confirmation message after we have checked to make sure your application is complete.

Review of your application and nomination

Your complete application will be read by two reviewers from your discipline or a related field. The following selection criteria and weighting will be used:•

  • academic achievements (40%)
  • personal aptitude, extracurricular qualifications and other activities (10%)
  • how meaningful the planned stay abroad is in relation to your studies thus far (30%)
  • language skills necessary to carry out the stay abroad (20%)

Starting around six weeks after the application deadline, emails will be sent out stating the results of the application process.

Language courses abroad

Taking a language course abroad is the perfect opportunity to significantly improve your language skills! 

The DAAD website provides a good introduction to this topic. There you can search for language courses at universities around the world. Private language institutes or language centres at universities abroad offer courses as well.

The Saxon Student Mobility Programme for students at Saxon universities also supports language courses:

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:

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.

Together with your fellow students, you can go on a study trip abroad. This trip is organised and accompanied by a university lecturer and involves a bilateral partner university outside the Erasmus funding region. You will be taught subject-related knowledge on site and gain an insight into the culture of the country. Meeting students and academics is the focus of the study trips.

Support

PROMOS supports study trips for groups of at least five students and/or doctoral candidates who are accompanied by a university teacher with a lump sum for their stay.

See our information and application modalities for study trips abroad.

Application

Only lecturers at our university are eligible to apply for PROMOS funding for study trips. Please send all application documents as specified in our information and application modalities as a single PDF file to the project coordinator.

enlarge the image: Auf dem Bild sieht man im Hintergrund einen jungen Mann, der in seiner Hand ein Smartphone hält. Das Smartphone zeigt er in die Kamera. Auf dem Smartphone ist ein Logo mit dem Schriftzug "entdecker" zu sehen.
The “entdecker” app is available in the Google Play Store and the App Store. Image: Leipzig University

The International Centre’s German-language app “entdecker – Abenteuer Ausland” supports students from Leipzig University before, during and even after their time abroad. Whether you head to another country to study, for an internship, or for a subject-related or language course, the “entdecker” app is your mobile companion for your adventures abroad. More information is available on the German entdecker website. You are welcome to download the app and start planning your time abroad.

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