Internships Abroad

Every major course of study at the social sciences department schedules professional orientation through an internship in its curriculum. The certificate of confirmation attesting that you are going to complete a mandatory internship is issued by the examination office of FB 03 (pra.fb03@soz.uni-frankfurt.de).

Internships - regardless of whether it is a compulsory internship or a voluntary practical phase during your studies - can be done by all students and in all subjects abroad. An internship abroad helps you to be certain about possible career aspirations and prospects. It also forms the starting point for creating an international network in areas that are relevant to your career after graduation. In addition, professional experience abroad enriches your résumé and is a clear plus point for any subsequent application. Finally, yet importantly, an internship abroad enables you to get to know another country in a particular way and expands your personal experience and horizon!

If you are interested in an internship abroad, the Global Office of Goethe University offers an initial overview of organizational matters, funding opportunities and current internship offers on its website.

The number of possible international internships is almost unlimited. The search for an internship, like the application, is entirely in your hands. In order to have an internship abroad recognized as part of your studies and to receive funding from the Erasmus+ program, the internship must, however, be related to your studies. In the following, we have compiled a brief overview of internship providers in the social sciences - but this list does not claim to be exhaustive and is just intended to offer a starting point during your search for possible internship positions:

German government organizations abroad

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• Goethe Institute

European Union

• European Commission
• European Council
• European Parliament: The Secretariat, as well as all political groups and most of the Members of Parliament offer internships, which you can find on their respective websites.
• Representation of the federal states, city states and the German economy in Brussel

International organizations

• United Nations
• Various UN-affiliated institutions
• International Courts of Justice
• IMF
• The World Bank
• The Federal Foreign Office has put together an overview of paid internships in international organizations under this link

Non-governmental organizations and foundations

• Foundations affiliated with parties (FES, KAS, HBS, FNS, HSS, RLS) - the international offices of the foundations often advertise internship positions directly on their respective websites, so it can be worthwhile to search directly for a specific target country
• International NGOs

Structured internship programs

• Partnerships of the German Bundestag for parliamentary internships in Armenia, France, Israel, Latvia, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Hungary

General internship pools

• Erasmusintern.org
• The DAAD put together a very comprehensive overview of international internship pools under this link.

Please note that internships in the organizations listed here do not automatically have a professional reference to all subjects at Faculty 03 and are therefore suitable for funding. However, a professional reference must be certified as described below!

Internships in an EU member state, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey, and Macedonia can be financially supported under the Erasmus+ program. This applies to compulsory internships as well as to voluntary internships as part of your studies. It is important that you apply for funding at least one month before the start of your internship at the Global Office of Goethe University. You will also find further important information on the application process on the website of the Global Office.

Please always contact the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences early, as the subject-specific relevance of your internship must be confirmed there. This is absolutely necessary in order to receive Erasmus+ funding. Please fill out this document in advance and send it electronically to international@soz.uni-frankfurt.de.

If you have to submit a confirmation attesting that you are going to complete a mandatory internship, please request it directly from the examination office of FB 03 (pra.fb03@soz.uni-frankfurt.de)

For current traineeships starting from October 1st, 2022, it is possible to apply for funding if you travel in a sustainable way, if the criteria are met. Students can find more detailed information on the Global Office website.

In addition to the European Commission's Erasmus+ program, numerous other institutions offer support for internships abroad. You can find a small selection of programs that may be of interest to you below. Please note, however, that some of the programs listed here only offer funding in certain areas and may have significantly longer application deadlines than the Erasmus+ program. You should also be aware that a combination of several funding programs is often not possible.

• Carlo Schmid program to promote internships in international organizations
• Go East program of the DAAD to promote internships in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South Caucasus
• ASA
• DAAD short-term scholarships
• Franco-German youth agency
• PROMOS scholarship by the DAAD
• Foreign BAföG