Funding options for internships abroad

Erasmus+ ICM supports internships at foreign partner universities, on the labour market or in areas of general and vocational education or youth. Examples of possible internship organisations:

• Universities (also International Offices)
• Public and private, small, medium-sized and large companies (also socioeconomic companies)
• Local, regional or national posts
• Social partners or further agencies of the labour market (e.g. chambers of commerce, trade/labour associations and organisations as well as trade unions)
• Research institutions
• Charities/trusts
• Schools, institutes, centres of education (including pre-schools-secondary schools, and institutions for vocational and adult education)
• Non-profit organisations and unions
• Information centres for career and vocational guidance

The following institutions cannot act as internship organisations in order to avoid any conflicts of interest and double funding:

• EU institutions and other EU institutions including specialised agencies (see full list under https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/agencies_deExternal link);
• Institutions managing EU programmes.

German permanent representations in Brussels can act as internship organisations for Erasmus internships.

Especially eligible for funding are internships focusing on digital competences. The following activities fall into this category: digital marketing (e.g. social media marketing, web analysis); digital graphical, mechanical and architectural design; development of digital applications; creation of websites; installation, servicing and administration of IT systems; cyber security; programming and training of robots and artificial intelligence.

Erasmus+ ICM funding includes

• a monthly grant of currently 700 EUR (for every full month of 30 days)
• a one-off travel allowance according to the distance band calculator of the European Commission (see Distance Band Calculator)External link

Who can apply: all regularly enrolled students (of all study programmes, including PhD) of Friedrich Schiller University Jena. These can be either mandatory internships as part of your study programme or voluntary internships. They should, however, fit into your study programme.

Duration: There is a minimum duration of two months (60 days). The maximum is usually four to five months, depending on the available budget. Please see our current call for applications in the forms de section.

Recognition: After your successful internship abroad there needs to be a recognition process at Jena University either in ECTS (for mandatory internships) or as a record on the diploma supplement (for voluntary internships).

Double funding: A combination of EU funded grants and PROMOS is excluded.

01.11.2024, 23:59 Uhr, for internships abroad from 01.01.2025

01.05.2025, 23:59 Uhr, for internships abroad from 01.07.2025

01.11.2025, 23:59 Uhr, for internships abroad from 01.01.2026

• Application form for internships abroad ('Praktika Erasmus+ ICM', see forms de section)
• Letter of Motivation
• Official acceptance letter from the institution/organization the internship takes places at; including information regarding internship period, type of occupation and internship remuneration (if not available yet, proof of establishing contacts with the institution/organization)
• Letter of recommendation from a professor (template see forms de section) 
• current Friedolin excerpt including all marks
• Master: Bachelor's certificate; PhD: certificate (Magister, Master, Staatsexamen etc.)
• Europass CV (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/de/documents/curriculum-vitaeExternal link)
• Language certificate (at least B2 level in the working language and/or language of the intended country) either via
  
  • Language certificatepdf, 362 kb · de (of the (main) language spoken in the intended country or working language of the organization/institution): to be filled in by a university lecturer or the Jena University's language centre. A-Level certificate is not sufficient!
  • other certificates, geared to CEFRL (not older than two years!)
• Proof of student status

You will need to hand in the application documents on paper (without folders) at the International Office by the stated deadline. Please only hand in complete applications. The application form can be found in our forms de section.

The International Office then selects potentially eligible scholarship holders and informs all applicants about the outcome of the application process within four weeks after the deadline. Should your application have been successful, you will be sent an attestation of the scholarship and all further documents (Grant Agreement, Learning Agreement for internships etc.) will be discussed and filled in.

On account of the limited amount of available scholarships for certain countries, we also recommend a simultaneous application for a PROMOS grant de (see below).

For the current academic year a number of Erasmus+ ICM grants for internships can be awarded.

Jena University can offer grants for self-organized internships (minimum duration: 60 days) in: Canada, Israel, Japan (Fukuoka University, German as a foreign/second language or other self-organized internship), Korea and the USA. The selection process is based on the below stated criteria as well as available funding.

• Qualification/performance (15%)
• Explicit statement regarding the grounds for the intended stay and rationale relating to previous studies as well as motivation (40%)
• Letter of recommendation (20%)
• Existing language skills, which are necessary for a successful execution of the internship abroad (15%)
• Further criteria (10%):
  • Extracurricular commitment (e.g. honorary offices, membership in organizations/clubs/associations)
  • Further extracurricular experience
  • Form and correctness of the application documents
  • Further criteria: mandatory stay abroad as part of your curriculum, participation in our Buddy programme or our Career Planning Certificate Programme

Extra funding: participants with a disability or students with child(ren) can apply for extra funding. Please contact your International Office for further information (see below).

Do you have any questions? Please do not hesitate to send us an email to: erasmusplus_international@uni-jena.de.

The funding includes:

• travel allowance based on the funding rates of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The amount of the travel allowance depends on the host country and corresponds with the standard travel allowance rates of the DAADpdf, 192 kb · de.

Please note that the funding cannotbe granted for internships in the EU member states, countries within the EEC, in the EU candidate countries, and in Switzerland. For these countries you may apply for funding options within the Erasmus+ internship programme.

Applications can be submitted by students enrolled on any full-time study programme at our university who are:

1. German citizenship or
2. persons with an equivalent status to German citizens in accordance with the section 8 subsection 1 (2ff) as well as subsections 2, 2a and 3 of the Act on the Promotion of Education (Federal Act on Individual Promotion of Training, BAföG) or
3. non-German students and graduates enrolled on a study programme at a German institution of higher education who aim to graduate at that German institution of higher education.

The groups of persons as defined in 2. and 3. cannot apply for a stay in their home country. A student’s home country is considered to be the one in which they spend the majority of their life, nationality plays a minor role.

Students may only complete a stay abroad during their studies at the University of Jena. Doctoral candidates cannot apply for funding in this programme.

Duration: 1 month to 6 months

Please note that internships at international organizations (e.g. EU, UN), at the institutions administering EU funds, in the German foreign missions (e.g. embassies, consulates), at German schools abroad, at Goethe Institutes, and at the offices of the Max Weber Foundation, are still funded by the DAAD (Ref. 514) as scholarships for short stays abroadExternal link. These type of internships cannot be funded by the PROMOS programme. If you are interested in doing an internship at one of the international organizations, please visit this list of UN- and EU-related organizations External link(source: DAAD).

Applications for stays abroad from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025 must be submitted by 1 November 2024, 23:59.

Applications for stays abroad from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025 must be submitted by 1 May 2025, 23:59.

• application form (see below)
• motivation letter, incl. exact description of the internship or project plan*
• CV (in tabular form)
• letter of reference from a member of the teaching staff at the University of Jena
• approval of the foreign internship provider (This document should include your complete name, date of birth, the exact data of the internship, and furthermore information about the working language and the salary.)
• Transcript of Records (available in Friedolin)/grade certificates (if available)
• valid certificate of student status
• proof of proficiency in the official languageExternal link(or working language of the host institution). This must be issued by a foreign language assistant or the Language Centre of the University of Jena. Secondary school leaving certificates does not suffice.Other certificates, based on the CEFR, are acceptable alternatives.

*Motivation letter

Write a brief description (about 1‒2 pages, A4): explaining why you have decided to undertake the planned stay abroad, outlining your academic and professional goals, and stating how the stay is relevant to your course of study. Indicate whether and how you are preparing for your stay (e.g. language courses and specific seminars).

You can submit your application for the PROMOS programme online. Using the online form, you can upload your application documents (as a single PDF file).

If you would like to apply for the PROMOS programme using the online form, you must register with MoveON portal first. You can save your details at any time and complete the registration process later if any information or documents might be missing.

When you complete the registration process, a PDF document will be generated and you will receive a confirmation e-mail.

Please submit complete applications only: via online form as a PDF file.

• explicit description of your plans and their usability
• exact description of how your stay abroad will be integrated into your studies
• best possible academic performance
• language skills
• other (extra-curricular) experience
• completeness and appropriate form of your application
• letter of reference

If you submit your application via the MoveON online portal successfully, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. It is therefore not necessary to check the status of your application again. If your application documents are not complete, we will contact you and set a deadline for the submission of the missing documents.

Please do not submit any documents via e-mail, unless asked to do so.

Secondary school leaving certificates are not considered sufficient as proof of language proficiency.

You can expect to receive a reply within 7‒8 weeks after submitting your application.

Do you have any questions? You are welcome to write us: promos@uni-jena.de.

Link for application:

https://unijena.moveon4.de/form/64117547211857572907e9f3/engExternal link

The funding programme is financed by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and includes:

• a one-off travel allowance 

• and a daily-based calculation of a partial scholarship.The amount of the partial scholarship and travel allowances (by countries) may be found in this listExternal link.

Information: The funding can only be granted provided there are sufficient budget funds available.

Applications can be submitted by students enrolled on any full-time study programme (2nd semester or higher) at our university who are:

1. German citizenship or
2. persons with an equivalent status to German citizens in accordance with the section 8 subsection 1 (2ff) as well as subsections 2, 2a and 3 of the Act on the Promotion of Education (Bundesgesetz über individuelle Förderung der Ausbildung, BAföG) or
3. non-German students and graduates enrolled on a study programme at a German institution of higher education who aim to graduate at that German institution of higher education and

German students abroad who tend to do an internship in other country, however, not in Germany or in the country in which they are currently studying.

Internships abroad, which you must organize yourself, may be funded for the following organizations:

• German missions abroad (embassies, consulates, and permanent missions)
• international organizations recognized by international law (e.g. EU, UN, NATO, World Bank)
• German schools abroad (except DSD and FIT schools)
• Goethe Institutes
• German Archaeological Institute
• institutes of the Max Weber Foundation
• selected institutions of the foreign cultural policy.

Duration: from 40 calendar days to three months

Do you want to know more? Please visit the DAAD websiteExternal link.