Erasmus+ Internship Funding

Erasmus+ internships present a distinctive opportunity for students as well as doctoral students and graduates across all disciplines. They provide a platform to translate theoretical knowledge acquired during your academic journey into practical, real-world applications. Furthermore, these internships immerse you in the culture, language, and operational environment of the host country, significantly enriching both your academic and personal experience.

To qualify for funding, the internship must span a minimum of 60 days and be a required or voluntary component of your degree program. Additionally, final projects and papers that are either prepared or completed at universities or companies in Europe can also be funded under the Erasmus+ program.

The funding for Erasmus+ internships is contingent upon the budget allocated by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to RWTH Aachen University. This budget and the associated funding guidelines are subject to annual variation. Typically, these guidelines are established and disseminated in early summer each year, providing sufficient time for you to plan and organize your internship. Presently, funding is structured as follows:

• Internships lasting 60 to 119 days are eligible for two monthly scholarship installments.
• Internships spanning 120 to 239 days qualify for four monthly scholarship installments.
• Internships extending from 240 to 360 days are eligible for eight monthly scholarship installments.

This implies that you may receive funding only for a portion of your internship duration. The monthly scholarship amount, ranging between 690 and 750 euros, is adjusted according to the cost of living in the host country, as detailed below.

Example: For a six-month internship in a country classified under Country Group 1 (without additional funding for equal opportunities and inclusion or travel expenses), you will receive four monthly scholarship installments of 750 euros, totaling 3000 euros in funding.

German and international students in any course of study and all study cycles can apply as long as they are enrolled in a degree program at RWTH Aachen and have an internship place in a Erasmus+ program country that is not their permanent residence. Internships and research stays in the UK are also possible in the academic year 2025/26 via Erasmus+ funding.

Graduates can also get their internship, to be completed within twelve months of completing studies, funded through Erasmus+ as long as they apply for funding during their last academic year. Furthermore, PhD students of RWTH Aachen University can apply for an Erasmus+ internship.

Participants can be funded by Erasmus for a total of twelve months per academic cycle (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate), whereby Erasmus+ study abroad stays and Erasmus+ internships abroad are calculated together. In courses of study with only academic step, such as Staatsexamen, Erasmus+ funding is possible for a total of 24 months.

Erasmus+ promotes equal opportunities and inclusion and makes special funding available for the following student groups:

• Students with disabilities or chronic illnesses (degree of disability must be 20 or more)
• Students with a chronic medical condition that has been shown to cause additional costs abroad
• Students who take their child abroad with them for the duration of their stay
• Employed students
• First-time graduates

Detailed information can be found on the “Equal Opportunities: Everyone Can Study Abroad” page in the “Erasmus+ Special Funding” section and in the info sheet special funding.

Learn more on the DAAD website here. You can also contact us. We will be happy to provide you with more information on the possibilities of special funding under Erasmus+.

Starting in the 2025/26 winter semester, all Erasmus+ participants will receive a travel allowance.

More information on the funding amount and its calculation.

For more details on eligibility and the application process, please refer to the information sheet.

The countries participating in the Erasmus+ program are categorized into three groups, each comprising countries with similar living costs.

The DAAD determines the monthly scholarship rates for these groups.

Country Group 1

750 euros in funding per month: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Country Group 2

690 euros in funding per month: Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Cyprus

Country Group 3

690 euros in funding per month: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey

Erasmus+ funds qualified industry internships from two months (60 days) to twelve months. Eligible host companies include businesses in the public and private sector, regardless of size, legal form, or industrial sector, including social economy. Research internships at universities, including as part of a final project or thesis, can also be funded through the current Erasmus+ partial program. The new education program Erasmus+, part of Erasmus Mobility for Universities, is also open to teacher training students, who are completing internships at European universities, making it possible for them to apply for assistance from Erasmus+ internship funding. Internships at EU institutions and institutions that administrate EU programs – here is a complete list – cannot be funded by Erasmus+.

• Sufficient language skills in the working language must be documented - at least Level B1 of the European Framework of Reference
• If you would like to take a language course at the RWTH Language Center to prepare for your internship, you may receive preferential treatment in being placed in a course if you have already officially applied for Erasmus+ internship funding. For language courses in the winter semester, you must have the International Coordinators register you with the Language Center by September 30. For language courses in the summer semester, you must be registered by March 31. You can find more information on the Language Center’s website here.
• You cannot be simultaneously funded by other EU programs. You must sign a contract stating that you are not receiving double funding

How can you apply?

Please apply online and upload the requested documents – as listed below – as PDF files. Please have the enterprise that you'll be visiting – the receiving organisation – and your faculty – the sending institution – fill out or sign the Learning Agreement for Traineeships. Here you can find an overview of the appointed contact persons within different faculties.

Please upload your complete application at least six weeks before the start of your internship. It is not possible to submit any documents later. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please also note that your Learning Agreement for Traineeship must be fully completed and signed when you upload your application. Late applications will only be considered in exceptional cases where the student is not at fault. Funding cannot be granted in retrospect, for example after the start of the internship. If you want advice in advance regarding the application process or potential internships, please contact Ms. Nadja Fabian at the International Office to make an appointment.

Students, who complete a graduate internship within a year after their completing their degree and would like to be funded through Erasmus+, must apply during their last academic year, following the procedure described above. It is important that the application documents are submitted no later than six weeks before the internship begins.

Notes

Graduates, who register as unemployed and are looking for a job after they graduate, must arrange their internship with the Federal Employment Agency.

Just like the funding (see above), application requirements can also vary. They are usually specified and communicated in the early summer of each year.

• Learning Agreement for Traineeships
• Current transcript of records
• Certificate of enrollment
• Resume
• Proof of language skills
• Statement of motivation, maximum of two DIN A4 pages
• Declaration of honor on special promotion and Green Travel (Internship)

You are personally responsible for sufficient insurance coverage, that is health, accident, and liability insurance, during your stay abroad. Check early on to make sure whether or not your insurance is valid abroad and for what.

DAAD offers Erasmus+ funded students affordable group insurance tailored towards internships abroad. Here you can find more information about the DAAD group insurance Tarif 720. Tarif 726 applies to graduates.

If you are granted funding, you must sign a grant agreement, which regulates all of the funding conditions, such as the funding amount and payment method. Furthermore, each scholarship recipient recieves a student charter before their stay abroad. This charter contains all of your rights and obligations as an Erasmus+ student. All Erasmus interns will also receive access to the OLS platform, which provides digital support for learning the local language.

If your internship is going to be extended, you can request an extension to the Erasmus+ funding, provided that the extension shifts you into a new funding category (as outlined above). The extension is subject to the availability of scholarship funds and can be granted if the extension period immediately follows the current stay and does not exceed the permissible total funding period of 12 months per academic program stage.

To apply for an extension, you must upload a fully completed and signed Learning Agreement – During the Mobility to the designated online portal no later than one month before the conclusion of the current funding period.

Please note that if you do not meet the obligations and to not submit the required documents in time, you will have to pay back your Erasmus+ stipend.