FAQs Stay Abroad
Dear psychology students interested in studying abroad, below you will find a list of common questions about studying abroad, as well as the corresponding answers. Perhaps these can help you in your search for the right study abroad experience! If you have further questions, would like to know something more detailed or would like to talk about it personally, feel free to contact Ms. Susana Condado (Erasmus Counseling) or Ms. Mona Oelfke (Study Abroad Tutor). This FAQ was created by study abroad tutors and is addressed to psychology students at the University of Kassel. Therefore, the "you" has been used as a form of address. All information is as of April 2021.
Possibilities and general
There are many ways to go abroad:
First, you can study one (or even two) semesters abroad at a university abroad. This works, for example, through the Erasmus program, where you can go to one of the partner universities of the Institute of Psychology and do not have to pay tuition fees there. But also as a "Freemover" you can apply to a university of your choice.
Another option is to do your mandatory internship, or even another voluntary internship abroad.
Other options are summer schools (shorter courses abroad), study trips (usually excursions as part of a seminar), or language courses abroad. You can also plan your stay abroad as part of a doctorate, or write your thesis abroad.
Here the University of Kassel offers a small test to find the right stay abroad:
Yes, in addition to the European partner universities in the Erasmus program, there are, for example, Hessen programs that allow you to study in the U.S. or Australia for one semester without paying tuition fees. Furthermore, there are scholarships for study stays in the U.S. through the Fulbright Commission. As a freemover, you can go virtually anywhere if you find a suitable university, and the same is true for internships. Some summer schools also take place outside of Europe and a language course can of course take place anywhere where the desired language is spoken and where there are offers.
You can find more detailed information on the pages of the institute and the university.
In general, the rule is that a stay abroad is possible from the third bachelor's semester onwards. For the master's degree, it is recommended to plan it after two semesters. However, it is also possible to see individually which time is favorable for you personally.
Yes, this is possible, but it requires a bit more organization than writing it on site. It would be possible to write the thesis during an Erasmus stay abroad, at a company, or even self-organized. A thesis abroad must then also be agreed with the examination office and the respective module supervisor who will supervise it.
Application process
As a rule, you should start taking care of your stay early so that you have enough time to take care of language courses, housing, financial support, etc. There is no specific application deadline at the Institute of Psychology. For an Erasmus stay, it is best to express your interest in a study place at your desired university as early as possible to Ms. Condado, since here, as a rule, "first come, first served" applies. In addition, you should ask the host university about any application deadlines.
Erasmus
Start preparing as early as possible (one year before). First of all, inform yourself on the websites of the institute, the university or the International Office and also on the websites of the universities abroad that interest you.
Important questions are for example: Which university do I want to go to? What courses are offered there and can I have them recognized here? Are there any language requirements? Can I attend a language course? What is the housing situation like?
Of course, you can also get information personally from Ms. Susana Condado, who is responsible for Erasmus advising and from the tutor for stays abroad, as well as from the International Office. During the personal interview with Ms. Condado you will receive further information, including whether a stay at the desired time at the desired university is possible. Once this has been clarified, you can complete the online application via the International Office.
Afterwards, you bring this online application in printed form, as well as further documents (current passport photo and certificate of enrollment) to the next interview with Ms. Condado.
Now you will be nominated by the University of Kassel and will receive news and further information if the host university has accepted you.
Internships
You can do the compulsory internship or a voluntary internship abroad. If you would like to have your internship recognized, you should contact the person responsible for the module.
It is important for a compulsory internship abroad that it meets the requirements that are also listed on the above-mentioned page. The supervision should be done by a person with a degree in psychology, it should be a relevant psychological field of activity and there, of course, you should work according to common psychological concepts (depending on the country, this may have to be checked). This information is important in order to apply for the internship and to get it recognized.
For the application you can look for places at different internship exchanges, look on your own at job exchanges of the respective country, or ask directly if an internship is possible. For more information, see the question "How do I find an internship?". In addition to the internship itself, you can also look for funding through various programs such as Erasmus, PROMOS, SHOSTA and other scholarships, e.g. from the DAAD.
Here are two checklists from the DAAD that can be helpful as an orientation for the application process and preparations:
For Study Abroad
For the internship abroad
Erasmus Program
A current list with the cooperations of the Institute of Psychology and the available places can be found here
Yes, you can also go to another university as a "freemover". However, you will not automatically receive the Erasmus grant (Mobility Grant), but you have to take care of the financing (e.g. a scholarship) and contact the university on your own. You also have to pay any tuition fees that may be incurred, which are not applicable with Erasmus places. A study place can be financed e.g. via an intermediary organization, self-financed, as a guest student or via BAföG abroad.
Of course! The institute or Prof. Reinhard and also Ms. Condado are always open for new cooperation possibilities. So it is great if you have ideas and if you have already contacted universities. You can then contact Mr. Reinhard and we will see if both universities are interested in an exchange. Unfortunately, the conclusion of a cooperation takes a while, so this does not necessarily mean that you can immediately go to your desired university, but also future Erasmus students will be happy about it.
Unfortunately, this is not possible within the framework of the Erasmus cooperation, because the partner agreements are always concluded for the specific places. So if there are only Bachelor places at the university, but you are in the Master, you would either have to ask whether an extension of the agreement is possible, or you could go to the university as a freemover.
The Erasmus funding rate depends on which country you will go to. Here you can find the current funding rates by country:
On this page all cooperations of the University of Kassel are listed and you can look for cooperations of certain departments and also countries. Attention: Of course, we have priority access to the cooperations of the Institute of Psychology, but this page also offers a good general overview. In principle, it is possible to go to host universities via other departments, but then all parties who signed the agreement have to agree and the "own" students of the respective department have priority, of course!
Internships abroad
In principle, you can do internships in any country, consequently the search options are also manifold, which is nice, but can make you a bit overwhelmed. Here are some tips on where to start your search:
There are several internship agencies linked on this page: https://www.daad.de/de/im-ausland-studieren-forschen-lehren/praktika-im-ausland/praktikumsvermittlung/
You can find the Erasmus internship exchange here: erasmusintern.org
This site is especially for research internships during your bachelor abroad: https://www.daad.de/rise/en/rise-worldwide/
If your field of interest is business psychology: https://www.aiesec.de/praktika
For internships in France, there are also scholarships available here: https://www.dfjw.org/junge-erwachsene/einen-job-eine-arbeit-oder-ein-praktikum-finden.html
And finally an overview with further pages from the University of Kassel: https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=6574&token=bbd054ee961ea2f66709607c8d03ec8798eb6b2b
Otherwise, you can also go to job portals in the country of your choice and search for internships there.
The people responsible for the module internships at the institute are the right contacts for this.
It is important that you can explain exactly at which organization you will do your internship, who will supervise you (it must be someone with a degree in psychology) and also what activities you will be able to do there. This information is relevant for the application for the internship and also for the later recognition. For more information, please see the page above or contact the person in charge.
Course enrollment and recognition
The courses you want to attend abroad are defined in a Learning Agreement, which is signed by representatives of the home and host university. A minimum number of 24 ECTS is set for this.
During a semester abroad with Erasmus funding, the question often arises as to whether courses from other disciplines can also be taken, or how many courses must be psychology courses. If possible, two or at least one psychology courses should be taken (the more the better, it is also interesting to get to know already known contents in another language and from another point of view). The rest can also be taken outside of the subject, for example, if the English-language psychology courses are not sufficient. However, it also depends on the host university and whether it allows outside courses. Some universities require a second learning agreement.
What is also important: You cannot take Master Psychology courses in the Bachelor! The other way around is allowed, but you cannot take a "higher" course.
If you would like to have a course recognized, you should discuss this with the respective person responsible for the module at the Institute of Psychology (e.g. Prof. Ralf Rummer would be responsible for approving a course that is to be recognized in the subject of General Psychology). You then submit a summary of the contents of the course abroad to him or her and then the responsible person decides whether this course can be recognized or not.
All courses that you attend will be recorded in the Learning Agreement. This can be adjusted during your stay and will then be submitted together with the Transcript of Records to the examination office of the institute and the courses will be recognized.
If you want to have achievements recognized, you must not take a semester off, as these cannot then be credited. If you do not want to have anything credited to you and consider a semester off to be useful, you can discuss this with the examination office of the Institute of Psychology.
Language skills
At the University of Kassel there are free language courses for students, if the language you need is available there, it is often practical to take a course beforehand. But also in the host country you can usually still take language courses, but they are not necessarily free.
Here is the link to the Language Center of the University of Kassel:
There is no central regulation for this, each university determines for itself whether certain language skills and proof are required for a semester abroad there. You can look on the pages of the university of interest, but this can be a bit confusing. However, the language of instruction and language requirements are also stated in the bilateral agreement between the Institute of Psychology and the host university. You can thus ask Ms. Condado for this information.
This depends on the language requirements of the university, but of course also on the language of instruction. You should keep in mind that university courses in the local language are of course even more demanding than normal everyday communication. It is always good to take a language course before or on site to refresh your language skills (this also increases the anticipation and creates new contacts).
Funding and organizational matters
Since you have to start planning your stay very early, something unforeseen can always come up. Of course, no one will force you to start a stay abroad that you no longer want, but it is very important that you inform all responsible offices as early as possible in such a case, otherwise it can have negative consequences for other applicants and also for the university cooperation or your internship company.
In most European countries, with the "EHIC" of the European Health Insurance Card (on the back of the health insurance card, if you are not privately insured) you have the same rights as a resident insured. In case of medically necessary treatments you will be treated like here (no screenings or check ups). How it is in your host country, you can often find out on the pages of the university there. The safest thing to do is to take out an additional travel insurance for the respective country.
Some universities organize or arrange dormitories, but often you have to search for yourself. Then it is best to start early and search through all possible online portals. Often there are also helpful hints on the pages of the host university, or in testimonials from students who have been there before.
The Auslands-BAföG is independent of whether you receive grants at home or not! So it is definitely worthwhile to try it out if you need further financial support abroad.
A stay abroad can be financed through various programs, e.g. the Erasmus program (for study stays at partner universities and internships in Europe), as well as programs such as PROMOS, SHOSTA, DAAD scholarships, etc.
You can find more information about scholarships and funding opportunities here:
and here
It isimportant to know that, except for the Erasmus program, an application process for the study/internship place and the financial support is necessary separately!
Other/further points of contact
For this purpose, you can contact the person in charge of the respective course of studies, for the Bachelor and the Master Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy this is Ms. Geraldine Klaus, for the Master Psychology Ms. Louise Ende and for the Master Economy, Psychology and Management this is Ms. Juliane Friedrichs.
However, this is not about questions regarding the recognition of the courses, this is always the responsibility of the respective module supervisor.
Yes, there is a Moodle course where you can find a lot of testimonials from fellow students, they are linked here:
Some students agree that you can contact them if you have questions, it will be noted there.
The International Office of the University of Kassel is an important information center for stays abroad. Here you can get advice during office hours or by phone/email. There is also a newsletter and the International Office is also represented on Facebook and Instagram, so you can always stay up to date and know about interesting offers and information events.
Click here to visit the International Office page:
https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/studium/kontakt-und-beratung/servicestellen/international-office/
Especially on the topic of scholarships and student financing, there is also the Student Financing Advisory Service of the University of Kassel: