Possibilities for Students: Going Abroad

When studying abroad, you spend one to two semesters at a university outside of Germany. You have the option of studying at one of our partner universities as an exchange student or finding a suitable institution on your own as a free mover.

If you would like to study at one of our partner universities as an exchange student, you must apply for an exchange spot at the International Office. Many of our partner universities are ERASMUS partners, so that the study place is associated with financial support. However, you almost always have one advantage as an exchange student: You usually do not pay tuition fees at the partner university!

Application deadlines for studying abroad at a partner university 2024/25

Deadlines for the academic year 2024/25 to...

...study at a non-European partner university (i.e. overseas or outside the EU area, e.g. England, Brazil, Thailand)

  • Application deadline: 24.11.2023
  • Application period: October 6th to November 24th,  2023
  • Link to the application plattform: Bewerbungslink (deutsch), Application Link (english)

Financial support at RWU: Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM

...Study at a European Partner University (i.E. within the EU, E.G. Spain)

  • Application deadline: 31.01.2024
  • Application period: December 1st, 2023 to January 31st, 2024
  • Link to the application plattform: closed

Financial support at RWU: ERASMUS+Stipendium (is always awarded together with the study spot!)

Application steps for studying abroad at a partner university

  1. Students inform themselves about possibilties to study abroad
    • Research Partnerhochschulen (Course offers, Academic calendar, ...)
    • Attendance of information sessions
    • Consultations (please make an appointment by e-mail outgoing@rwu.de)
  2. Students apply on time via mobility online for max. three partner universities and upload all required documents in the application process
    • Passport photo
    • signed application form (will be provided in mobility online)
    • Letter of Motivation in English (1-2 DIN A4 pages)
    • Resume in English
    • Course list (will be provided in mobility online)
    • Language certificate for the language of instruction at the host university - usually English (please check CLIC's test dates in good time so that you can submit all documents by the deadline)
  3. The International Office will assign a spot at the partner university according to the specified desired universities. The allocation process takes place after the application deadline. Students are usually informed about the result within 4 weeks.
  4. Students accept/reject the offer of a study place.
  5. The International Office nominates students at the assigned partner universities. The students then receive information on the application process at the partner university.
  6. Students apply at the partner university and upload further documents in mobility online.
    • Learning Agreement (will be provided in mobility online)
    • Letter of Acceptance of the partner university
  7. Students complete the data and upload additional documents in mobility online
    • only ERASMUS: Declaration of Honor for Top-Ups
    • Insurance form (will be provided in mobility online)
    • Certificate of Enrollment at RWU
    • only ERASMUS: Grant Agreement (will be provided in mobility online)

We wish you a successful and exciting study abroad!

Selection Criteria

All applications are evaluated according to an objective point system by employees of the International Office. For selected partner universities (e.g. overseas) or if the applicant situation exceeds the places at a partner university, selection interviews may be conducted. The following criteria are included in the allocation to partner universities:

 

  • Grade Point Average
  • Language test result
  • Letter of Motivation
  • Volunteering

 

During an internship abroad, you work actively in a company or institution for a few weeks or several months. The stay can be voluntary or part of your mandatory internship.

Job search and Application

You look for the internship position yourself. However, you can ask your internship office or your professors for tips, look at the notices on the bulletin boards, read the testimonials of former interns/scholarship holders in the International Office, or search in the KOOR job teaser.

There are also scholarship programs that award an internship in combination with financial support:

  • RISE Weltweit: Research internships arranged and financially supported by the DAAD for bachelor's students in engineering and natural sciences
  • Carlo-Schmid-Programm: DAAD-sponsored and financially supported internships at international organizations and EU institutions
  • Go East – Russland in der Praxis: six-month internships for students of all disciplines in Russia arranged and financially supported by the DAAD
  • ASA-Programm: Project internships arranged and financially supported by the non-profit organization Engagement Global in countries of the global South and Southeastern Europe
  • Deutsches Komitee der IAESTE:free placement, paid internships for students from science and engineering disciplines

If you need to apply in English you can contact the Career Service der RWU for a consulation.

Financing

You are not always lucky enough to receive monatery compensation for the internship abroad. Regardless of whether you are compensated or not, you have the opportunity to (additionally) apply for a scholarship. At RWU, we offer the following scholarship opportunities:

  1. Internships within the EU: ERASMUS-Stipendium
  2. Internships outside the EU: PROMOS-Stipendium

 

In addition, there are further scholarship opportunities. You can get an overview, for example, through the DAAD scholarship database: zur Datenbank.

Organisation and Recognition

According to §5 of the study and examination regulations, the organizational handling and recognition of the mandatory practical semester in the Bachelor's degree programs is the responsibility of the responsible internship offices. Please clarify everything concerning the approval of the internship, the recognition of the internship and the training agreement with the head of the internship office responsible for your study program.

Visa

EU nationals generally do not need a work permit for employment / internship in other EU countries.

For all other countries, the following applies: Find out about the respective visa regulations for an internship and apply for this in good time at the responsible offices (usually at the embassy of the destination country). For an initial overview, you can find information on the German Foreign Office.
In particular, if you would like to complete an internship in the U.S., the visa application should be approached early, as the procedure must be carried out via a so-called "legal sponsor" and is correspondingly lengthy.

Insurance Coverage

Comprehensive insurance coverage during an internship abroad is very important and partly obligatory for scholarships. As an intern abroad, you are usually not insured in any way by the company or institution!

Please clarify with your internship provider and your insurance company whether you have sufficient insurance coverage for the entire duration of your internship in the destination country. Clarification is required regarding:

  • Health Insurance (including repatriation from abroad in case of illness and death)
  • Accident Insurance (at least for injuries sustained at the internship site in the company)
  • Liability Insurance (must cover damage caused by you in the company)

IMPORTANT: Simple travel health insurance for vacation trips or personal liability insurance are not sufficient! Take out additional insurances if necessary.

A summer or winter school (also known as a specialized course) is a one to six-week stay at a foreign university. It is a kind of "study abroad light" and is offered on a wide variety of topics. Summer schools are often subject to a fee.

Search and application

Topics and contents of summer schools are very diverse and differ according to the study programs and the profiles of the universities. It is not always easy to get an overview here. However, there are two databases that help with the search:

 

Alternatively, some of our partner universities also offer short-term programs, e.g.:

 

There are also offers to receive additional financial support:

  • Go East-Sommerschulen: DAAD-supported summer schools in East-Central, Southeast and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
  • Fulbright Summer Institute: Two summer courses at selected U.S. universities for technical college students.

Once you have found the right offer, you must apply directly to the provider. The application documents usually include a letter of motivation, resume and grade transcript. However, you can find the exact information on the respective websites.

 

Financing

The costs for a summer or winter school can vary extremely - between 100 EUR and 3,000€. Sometimes the participation fee already includes board & lodging, in other cases the costs for the overnight stay or the leisure program are added.

Apart from Go East or Fulbright, there is another scholarship possibility: As a student of RWU you can apply for the PROMOS scholarship and possibly receive a course fee allowance: Informationen zum PROMOS-Stipendium.

Recognition

It is possible that you can have the credits earned through a summer school credited at RWU. Therefore, discuss your plans with your dean of studies early on!

 

 

 

Thesis abroad

You have the opportunity to write your thesis abroad. Scholarship opportunities are also available here.

If you write your thesis in a foreign company or institution, this counts as an internship abroad for which you can apply to ERASMUS- (within the EU) or PROMOS-Stipendium (outside of the EU).

If you have found a supervising lecturer at a partner university and fulfill the minimum duration of stay for the scholarships, a normal study abroad with the corresponding scholarship opportunities (ERASMUS oder Baden-Württemberg-Stipendium) might also be possible.

If, on the other hand, you are not going to a partner university or are only at the foreign university for a very short time (one to three months), the DAAD also offers a scholarship opportunity: HAW.International für Semesteraufenthalte und Abschlussarbeiten.

Participation in fairs and congresses

If you are studying for a Master's degree and are actively participating in a fair or congress, the DAAD also offers a suitable funding opportunity here: HAW.International Messe- und Kongressreisen.