Before starting

Costs for:

• visa
• internship agency (possibly)
• medical exam or vaccination(s)
• health insurance policy
• travel (flight)
• accommodation
• transportation
• living expenses
• free-time activities

You can apply to the following organizations for grants, assistance, and scholarships:

• Foreign BAföG (Information from Student Services)
• DAAD travel grant
• DAAD short-term scholarship
• Educational loan
• The ERASMUS program offers a grant of up to 400€ per month.
• IAESTE: International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience
• Carlo-Schmid Program

You can get detailed information on these and other funding possibilities from the Office of International Affairs.

One of the most important steps in preparing for an internship abroad is finding accommodation for the duration of the program. There are essential two ways to go about doing this:

The first option involves searching for accomodation in Germany prior to beginning your internship. The advantage of this is that since you've taken care of it, you can fully concentrate on your program. Of course this means that you cannot inspect the flat beforehand and any shortcomings will only be visible after moving in.

The other option is moving into a youth hostel or a cheap hotel for the beginning and then to search for a flat in the city you`ll be working in. The advantage of this approach is that you can choose the flat which best suits you and you can shop around (e.g. on the bulletin board at the university) before making a decision. But it requires you to live out of your suitcase for a while.

Tips for finding a flat:

In addition to searching on various online platforms (see below), you can ask your employer for help. Large firms which employ many interns may already have a list of available flats.

It pays to have a look at the bulletin boards of the local universities (and perhaps hang up an ad yourself) or to look through the local newspapers. Also ask at the universities whether or not they provide accomodation in the student residence halls for interns from abroad.

Internetvaddresses for finding a flat abroad: