In­tern­ship at Hum­boldt-Uni­ver­sität

The following internships can be completed at Humboldt-Universität:

• Internships as part of a programme funded by the EU or the bilateral development cooperation (for example, Erasmus+)
• Internships as part of the Humboldt Internship Program.
• Voluntary internships with a maximum duration of three months (90 days)
• Mandatory internships: internships that are completed for the purpose of the academic education or the studies and are a prescribed component of the education or demonstrably necessary to achieve the educational goal

Students of partner universities

For international students of a partner university of Humboldt-Universität who are interested in an internship, the first step is to find a supervisor. Consult the pages of the faculties for suitable fields of work and research, and contact persons for your request.

All international students

As part of the Humboldt Internship Programme, students and doctoral students of partner universities and other universities worldwide can gain work experience in selected research projects of HU and start-ups of Humboldt Innovation. The programme is centrally located in the International Department as part of the Humboldt International Campus. As part of the Humboldt Internship Programme, students and doctoral students of partner universities and other universities worldwide can gain work experience in selected research projects of HU and start-ups of Humboldt Innovation. The programme is centrally located in the International Department as part of the Webseite des Humboldt Internship Program.

Exchange students

An internship can also be completed before, during or after an exchange semester at HU if it is prescribed by the Study and Examination Regulations. The internship can be included in the existing Learning Agreement. Ensure that you clarify the conditions with your home university at an early stage, as approval of the combined internship by your university is a prerequisite for the confirmation by HU.

Excluded: those who are not students and doctoral students who are not enrolled

Persons, including doctoral students, who are not officially enrolled at a university abroad for full-time studies cannot have an internship approved as part of their education. An internship is therefore not possible for them.

Internships prescribed by Study and Examination Regulations are possible at no charge at HU without further ado. The prerequisite is acceptance by a supervisor. The internship may not exceed a period of twelve months during the entire length of studies.

Consult the pages of the faculties for suitable fields of work and research, and contact persons for your request. Please clarify the content directly with the contact person responsible there.

Only unpaid internships that do not exceed 90 days in a period of twelve months are possible at Humboldt-Universität. The duration of three months can only be exceeded for Erasmus internships. For other internships, a longer time period is not possible because the internship would then be regarded as employment.

You may have the possibility of applying for funding via the Erasmus+ programme at your home university. It is therefore best to obtain information in good time from your International Office.

The following documents are necessary for all forms of internships:

• Enrolment approval document from your home university
• Additionally for a mandatory internship: proof that the internship is an obligatory part of your studies (for example, an excerpt from the respective Examination Regulations, confirmation by your home university, “Mandatory internship document”)
• Additionally for an Erasmus internship: Erasmus+ Learning Agreement for Traineeship If you wish to be enrolled for your internship, you must forward the specified documents to our Incoming-Team. You can find more detailed information on enrolment below.

You can find the information on the necessary documents for internships as part of the Humboldt Internship Program on the programme website.

Enrolment is possible under certain circumstances, but is not obligatory. The following must be observed in order for enrolment to be possible:

• The internship period may not exceed one semester and the internship must therefore take place in its entirety in the summer semester (1 March to 30 September) or in the winter semester (1 October to 31 March).
• You must be fully enrolled at a foreign partner university of HU.

Advantages of enrolment:

• Student status (leads to discounted tickets for cultural institutions, for example)
• Semesterticket for public transport
• Campus Card
• Accident insurance
• Possibility of applying for a place in a hall of residence

The administrative support during enrolment is provided by the International Department, and the academic guidance continues to be provided by the respective faculty or facility. If you wish to be enrolled, the Incoming-Team requires the following information for further processing: name, email address and contract or Learning Agreement. You will then receive all the further information on the next steps by email.

In the Humboldt Internship Program, all the participating students are enrolled.

The guidelines for a visa for the internship are very strict. Here, you can read a short extract from the relevant law – and, at the end, what this could result in for you.

The Act on the Residence, Employment and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal Territory 1) (Immigration Act – AufenthG) Section 16e Study-related EU training programmes provides for the following:

“(1) A foreigner may be issued with a residence permit for training purposes in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/801 if the Federal Employment Agency has granted approval in accordance with section 39 or it has been determined by the Employment Regulation or by intergovernmental agreement that such training is permissible without the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, and

5 . if the host institution has undertaken in writing to bear the costs incurred by public authorities up to six months after termination of the training agreement for

a) the foreigner’s subsistence during an unauthorised stay in the federal territory, and

b) deportation of the foreigner.

(2) The residence permit is issued for the agreed duration of training, but for no longer than six months.”

Please note that HU cannot agree to the terms of section 16e, para. 5 a, b. If you require a visa, you should not therefore apply for a visa for training purposes, but rather for a visa for study purposes. For this purpose, enrolment is necessary, for which you should contact our Incoming-Team as early as possible.

The legal framework for an internship is very important and must be fully clarified. Many internships require a permit from the Federal Employment Agency, but study-related internships are an exception. If at least one of the following aspects applies, you do not require a permit from the Employment Agency:

• You hold nationality of an EU member state or of one of the following countries: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland.
• The internship will take place as part of a programme funded by the EU (e.g. Erasmus+).
• The internship will take place as a research visit as part of the Humboldt Internship Program.
• You will be coming to HU to write a thesis. Students who are only writing their thesis do not complete a workplace internship. If, however, you are actually carrying out practical work for this purpose at HU and are writing a thesis additionally, you may be covered by this regulation.

All other internships must be reported to the Federal Employment Agency by the employer (in this case, the faculty, not the International Department)! Generally, only internships that do not require approval by the Federal Employment Agency are made possible at HU.

Please ensure that you have sufficient insurance cover during your internship at HU. The insurance conditions may differ from those for an exchange semester as a result of your work. Consult your insurance at home at an early stage and read the insurance information on our pages carefully, which applies generally for exchange students at HU.

Please note: You must ensure independently that you have sufficient insurance cover. HU and the supervising facility are not obliged to check this cover. An exception applies for health insurance if you will be enrolled for your internship.

Here is some general information on safety and insurance cover during the internship:

Health insurance

If you will be enrolled at HU for your internship, you require sufficient health insurance cover, as this is a legal prerequisite for enrolment. A German statutory health insurance will confirm your insurance status and inform HU of it directly.

Even if you will not be enrolled for the internship, you should ensure that you have sufficient health insurance cover and clarify your tasks in the internship with the insurance specifically.

Accident insurance

Your supervisor is legally obliged, at the beginning of your internship, to provide you with information on possible hazards during the internship. He/she should also inform you of the respective facility’s organisational regulations regarding occupational safety and health protection.

Liability insurance

HU is not generally liable for students. Students must ensure independently that they have sufficient insurance cover. This also applies to students who are at HU for an internship.

If you are enrolled for your internship, you can also apply for a place in a hall of residence. Please bear in mind, however, that only very limited numbers of these are available and that sufficient places for all exchange students are not generally available. Priority for the places in the halls of residence is given to students who are at HU for a whole semester. If your internship is shorter, you can nevertheless ask if there are any available places in the halls of residence and we will provide you with details.

For an accommodation search on the free housing market, you can also use information and offers by our Welcome Team. You can find important information and tips on our pages about accommodation for international students.