Internships and More

• 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 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

End of traineeship funding from 1 August 2025

• 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.

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. 

• 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.

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.

You will receive the first instalment of your Erasmus+ financial support at the beginning of your traineeship abroad. This will be the total amount minus one monthly instalment of funding (including any special funding). If you have applied for the 'Green Travel' special grant, you will receive this at the end of your stay as soon as you have uploaded the relevant documents to the portal for stays abroad.

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:

• The original letter of intent signed by the person responsible for Erasmus+ for your subject
• Certificate of enrolment at Leipzig University
• Signed registration in the portal for stays abroad

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.
• ‘Green travel’ top-up
  If you have applied for the top-up while registering online, we need the following proof: Tickets and/or receipts clearly showing your name, the date and the mode of transport. For additional days of travel: Proof of use of the means of transport that clearly proves the duration of the journey of more than one day for arrival and/or departure without interruption
• Write an Entdeckerstory about your experiences abroad to inform and motivate other students.

After your traineeship ends, you will receive any outstanding amount of Erasmus+ financial support as well as the special ‘Green Travel’ grant (also for additional travel days).

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.

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.

• Economics and management science
  AIESEC Global Talent
  New Kibbutz
• Computer science
  AIESEC Global Talent
• Engineering and natural sciences
  RISE Worldwide research internships
  Vulcanus in Japan
• Teacher training degrees
  PAD language assistant programme
  DAAD Lehramt.International for teacher training students
  DAAD Lehramt.International for teacher training graduates
  SCHULWÄRTS!
• Medicine
  bvmd – Deutscher Famulantenaustausch
• Law
  ELSA Student Trainee Exchange Programme

• AIESEC
  Global volunteering projects
• ASA
  for working and studying in Africa, Latin America, Asia and South Eastern Europe
• German Academic Exchange Service
  Carlo Schmid Programme: Internships in international organisations
  Short-tern scholarships for internships
• Franco-German Youth office 
  Scholarships for study-related internships in France
• German-Polish Youth office 
  Scholarships for internships in Poland
• Gemeinschaft für studentischen Austausch in Mittel- und Osteuropa
  Scholarships for internships in the Czech Republic
• kulturweit
  global volunteer service
• weltwärts
  global volunteer service

• AIESEC
• Arbeitskreis Lernen und Helfen in Übersee e.V.
• Arqus Alliance Internships
• Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Brussels
• Bundesverband der Pharmaziestudierenden
• Campusjäger
• Career Centre at Leipzig University - Job portal
• College Council
• Deutsche Auslandsvertretungen
• Deutsche Archäologische Institute
• Deutsch-Französische Juristenvereinigung e.V.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• DFJW Job portal
• Erasmus Student Network
• European Youth Portal
• German-Canadian Association
• German-Japanese Association of Jurists
• Goethe-Institut
• IAESTE
• iAgora
• Institutes of Max Weber Stiftung
• International Placement Service (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency
• Job portal at Leipzig University’s Career Service
• KOPRA
• PASCH-net
• studieren weltweit
• Worldwide Classroom

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.

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

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:

• in Taiwan and India (via TU Dresden) and
• in the Republic of Uzbekistan and Mongolia (via TU Freiberg).

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.