Erasmus+ Internship

Funding Period

The mobility allowance is based on the destination country in the academic year 2025/2026 (internship start date between October 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026).

Funding Rates and Important Information

* Internships in the United Kingdom are only eligible for funding under certain conditions; please consult with us.

Furthermore, students can apply for additional funding:

Exceptional costs for "expensive travel"

All participants who are entitled to travel support according to the program guidelines are eligible (students and graduates with a degree of disability of at least 20, with chronic illnesses, and students with children).

What does the actual cost subsidy include? If the travel allowance according to the distance category does not cover at least 70% of the actual costs for sustainable travel, participants can receive a reimbursement of 80% of the actual costs for sustainable travel.

Travel Allowances

Travel allowances based on straight-line distance^* will be paid from the academic year 2025/26 to all students participating in a long-term mobility:

^{* Cologne - destination of the stay abroad, according to the EU Distance Calculator}

Overview of Travel Cost Allowances

Travel Days

Additionally, funding for travel days will be paid (travel day = daily rate of the funding allowance):

For a sustainable journey, the entire route, i.e., the entire outward and return journey to and from the destination of the stay abroad, must be traveled using sustainable means of transport.

Social Top-Ups

Furthermore, the following additional funding can be applied for:

Social Top-up for

(1.) Students with a chronic illness/degree of disability (GdB) of at least 20

(2.) Students completing their stay abroad with child/ren 

(3.) First-generation students (FGS)

(4.) Working students

The groups mentioned above can apply for a top-up of 250 EUR/month in addition to the Erasmus+ scholarship mentioned above. The Social Top-Up is calculated analogously to the funding period.
The Social Top-Ups cannot be combined with each other; meaning that even if you belong to two of the social groups mentioned above, we can still only pay the top-up once.

Criteria for Social Top-ups:

1.) Students with a chronic illness/degree of disability (GdB) of at least 20

• The chronic illness or impairment (on which the GdB is based) leads to additional costs related to the stay abroad (e.g., purchasing medication abroad).
• Neither the type of illness nor the degree of disability needs to be specified.
• Possible proof (e.g., a medical certificate confirming the additional financial requirement) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

2.) Students completing their stay abroad with child/ren

• The students are accompanied by at least one child during the stay abroad.
• The amount of the Social Top-up is independent of the number of children; meaning that even if two children travel along for the semester abroad, only 250 EUR/month will be considered.
• Students can also apply for the Social Top-up if they are accompanied by their partner. If the partner also receives an Erasmus+ scholarship, the Social Top-up can only be applied for by one person.
• Possible proof (e.g., birth certificate or travel documents of the child) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

3.) Students from a non-academic family background (First-generation students)

• Neither parent/guardian has obtained a degree from a university or university of applied sciences.
• Degrees obtained abroad by parents/guardians count as academic degrees – even if they are not recognized in Germany. If this is the case, students cannot apply for the Social Top-up.
• Possible proof (e.g., informal declarations from the respective parent) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

4.) Students who are employed (Working students)

• Students must have worked continuously in an employment relationship for at least six months prior to starting their mobility.
• Students earned a monthly average of at least 450 EUR and a maximum of 850 EUR during this employment (net earnings).
• The employment period may end a maximum of two months before the start of the mobility. Example: Mobility starts on October 15, 2025. The employment relationship may end no earlier than August 15, 2025, in order to maintain a temporal link to the mobility.
• The activity is not continued during the stay abroad, meaning the work is not continued online from the host country but is paused. A termination of contract is not required!
• Possible proof (e.g., payslips, tax returns) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

Funding Period

The mobility allowance is based on the destination country in the academic year 2024/2025 (internship start date between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025).

Funding Rates and Important Information

* Internships in the United Kingdom are only eligible for funding under certain conditions; please consult with us.

Furthermore, students can apply for additional funding:

Exceptional costs for "expensive travel"

All participants who are entitled to travel support according to the program guidelines are eligible (students and graduates with a degree of disability of at least 20, with chronic illnesses, and students with children). 

What does the actual cost subsidy include? If the travel allowance according to the distance category does not cover at least 70% of the actual costs for sustainable travel, participants can receive a reimbursement of 80% of the actual costs for sustainable travel.

Social Top-up for (1.) Students with a chronic illness/GdB 20; (2.) Students completing their stay abroad with child/ren; (3.) First-generation students; (4.) Working students

The social groups mentioned above can apply for a top-up of 250 EUR/month in addition to the Erasmus+ scholarship. The Social Top-up is calculated analogously to the funding period, i.e.
- for a semester abroad: 3 months x 250 EUR = 750 EUR
- for a year abroad: 6 months x 250 EUR = 1,500 EUR
The Social Top-ups cannot be combined with each other; meaning that even if you belong to two of the social groups mentioned above, we can still only pay the top-up once.

Criteria for Social Top-ups:

1.) Students with a chronic illness/degree of disability (GdB) of at least 20

• The chronic illness or impairment (on which the GdB is based) leads to additional costs related to the stay abroad (e.g., purchasing medication abroad).
• Neither the type of illness nor the degree of disability needs to be specified.
• Possible proof (e.g., a medical certificate confirming the additional financial requirement) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

2.) Students completing their stay abroad with child/ren

• The students are accompanied by at least one child during the stay abroad.
• The amount of the Social Top-up is independent of the number of children; meaning that even if two children travel along for the semester abroad, only 250 EUR/month will be considered.
• Students can also apply for the Social Top-up if they are accompanied by their partner. If the partner also receives an Erasmus+ scholarship, the Social Top-up can only be applied for by one person.
• Possible proof (e.g., birth certificate or travel documents of the child) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

3.) Students from a non-academic family background (First-generation students)

• Both parents/guardians have not obtained a degree from a university or university of applied sciences.
• Degrees obtained abroad by parents/guardians count as academic degrees – even if they are not recognized in Germany. If this is the case, students cannot apply for the Social Top-up.
• Possible proof (e.g., informal declarations from the respective parent) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

4.) Students who are employed (Working students)

• Students must have worked continuously in an employment relationship for at least six months prior to starting their mobility.
• Students earned a monthly average of at least 450 EUR and a maximum of 850 EUR during this employment (net earnings).
• The employment period may end a maximum of two months before the start of the mobility. Example: Mobility starts on October 15, 2024. The employment relationship may end no earlier than August 15, 2024, in order to maintain a temporal link to the mobility.
• The activity is not continued during the stay abroad, meaning the work is not continued online from the host country but is paused. A termination of contract is not required!
• Possible proof (e.g., payslips, tax returns) must only be submitted upon request by Department 93.

As an enrolled student at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, you can apply for internship funding from Erasmus+ funds at the International Office. All other students please contact the ZIB (Center for International Relations) of your faculty directly!

The internship must last at least 2 months and be completed in another European country. You find your internship placement yourself in companies, vocational training institutions, research centers, and other organizations (e.g., also Goethe Institutes). Excluded are: National diplomatic missions as well as EU institutions and those that manage EU programs (complete list here).

You can start the internship at any time, regardless of semester periods. It must be either mandatory or recommended in the study regulations, or be classified as a professional qualification.

In addition, graduates can receive funding for an internship abroad for up to 12 months after graduation. At the time of application, you must still be enrolled. Furthermore, the same provisions apply (application, selection, mobility allowance) as for students.

Please apply at least two months before the planned start of your internship. Early application is recommended due to limited funding. Please submit your application via the online portal in MoveOn.

Application documents:

• Letter of motivation
• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Certificate of enrollment (copy)
• List of all graded certificates/examinations (Transcript of Records)
• Job description of the internship position (written by yourself)
• Confirmation from the internship provider (e.g., email correspondence) specifying the exact internship period

Selection criteria:

• Motivation
• Relevance to your field of study
• Academic performance
• Quality of the internship placement and the internship project

The funding amount depends on the respective country group of your destination country (see above). If your internship is paid, you can still apply for an Erasmus+ scholarship.

Erasmus+ aims to promote equal opportunities and inclusion. For this reason, special funding is available for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses, as well as for students with children. We would be happy to advise you on this. Please feel free to contact us.

By accepting the scholarship, you commit to signing a grant agreement as well as a Learning Agreement for Traineeships. Furthermore, you are required to complete an online language test in the working language both before the start and after the completion of the internship.

After the internship abroad, you commit to submitting an internship report and participating in an online survey (EU Survey) by the European Commission.

Internships abroad funded by Erasmus+ should generally have a recognizable connection to your studies. However, there is no legal entitlement to Erasmus+ funding.

The online language test is available for the various official European languages. However, it is not a selection criterion for funding in the Erasmus+ program. Native speakers do not need to take the language test. Once the participants to be funded under Erasmus+ have been selected, the language test is intended to serve as a placement test to document their current language proficiency. It should take place both before their stay abroad and at the end of the respective stay abroad in order to obtain comparable results and, if applicable, to track the progress made by the funded participants in language acquisition.

If you are interested in an internship abroad, you have certainly set yourself the goal of enhancing your intercultural skills and improving your language proficiency. At the very beginning, you should make a list of what you can contribute, your interests, and your academic focus. You should also form a clear picture of the industry and the working environment in which you want to work and learn, so that your internship abroad can be a success. The more precise your own ideas are, the easier it will be for your employers as well.

For those funded by Erasmus+, the Learning Agreement for Traineeships is designed to provide guidance. Once you have received approval for Erasmus+ funding, this agreement must be signed by you, the host institution, and the University of Cologne as a mandatory requirement for the scholarship. A detailed job description also serves as a helpful guide for you in advance.

Furthermore, if the internship is not documented in the Diploma Supplement or the Transcript of Records, you will receive a Europass Mobility, which certifies your performance during the internship.

Upon completion of the internship, you are required to submit an internship report that summarizes your experiences abroad in a continuous text.

Important information that should be included in the internship report:

• Your approach: How did you find the internship placement, and which criteria were important?
• Characterization of the company
• Was there a project description beforehand?
• Tasks and activities
• Qualifications, new knowledge, feedback from the employer
• Comparison of expectations vs. experiences
• Practical tips on organization and implementation

The recognition of the internship abroad is agreed upon in the "Learning Agreement for Traineeships." You can obtain advance information from your faculty or the ZIB (Center for International Relations).

Please note that you must have health, accident, and liability insurance for the duration of your internship abroad! If no insurance coverage is provided by the internship institution, you must arrange for sufficient insurance coverage yourself. One option, for example, would be the DAAD group insurance (Tariff 720, currently €32/month). You can find the registration form here.