Compulsory internship

You must register your internship via the internship coordination of the FB05 of the University of Kassel. To do this, download the form "Registration for internship", fill it out legibly and hand it in to the internship coordinator, signed by the supervising teacher.

To "register" for the internship, you need a teacher who will supervise your internship and read and evaluate the internship report. In principle, all teachers in your major subject are eligible for supervision. However, a few restrictive rules apply: In history, the supervising teacher must have a doctorate. In politics and sociology, all full-time lecturers may supervise as well as all academic employees who have completed four semesters or more of teaching.

It is best to contact the teacher of your choice by e-mail and briefly describe where you would like to complete an internship and whether the teacher can imagine supervising your internship.

You can find a list of all authorized examiners for the Bachelor's degree course here:

www.uni-kassel.de/fb05/studium/pruefungen/pruefungsberechtigte/pruefungsberechtigte-lehrende-in-den-bachelorstudiengaengen-des-fachbereichs-5

Before you start your internship, you must register it using the "Internship registration" form. After successfully completing your internship, you must either hand in the "Internship certificate" form or submit an internship certificate together with your internship report to the supervising teacher.

You can also support us and your fellow students by submitting the "Internship brief information" form to the internship coordinator. By providing feedback on your experiences during the internship, we are able to pass on valuable information about internship positions to your fellow students and improve our future advice.

You can find all forms under Downloads on this page.

As part of your practical module, you will have to write a report in History, and in Sociology and Political Science you will have to submit a course assignment and a term paper. You can find the formal requirements in your examination regulations. Talk to the teachers of your practical module about the requirements for your coursework and discuss your examination performance with the supervising teacher. Depending on the module, different requirements will be placed on your performance. You can find general guidelines for writing reports in the downloads. You can also find more detailed tips on writing reports and term papers in our Guess What handbook.

You may have to attend and complete an accompanying course for the compulsory internship as part of your internship module. It may happen that the period of your internship and the time at which the accompanying course is offered do not fit together perfectly. If you are unsure about the best time to attend the course, it is best to ask the module coordinator or write to the person who is currently holding the accompanying course. At the end of the course, you usually have to hand in a piece of coursework. The form of the coursework can also vary and should always be discussed with the person with whom you are doing the coursework. You must register for the accompanying course in the same way as for other courses.

Before starting a compulsory internship, some companies or businesses require a certificate from you that "proves" that the internship is a compulsory university internship that you have to complete as part of your studies. You can easily obtain this certificate from us, the internship coordinator at FB05.

To prepare such a certificate, we only need the following information from you: Full name, date of birth and details of what you are majoring in and under which examination regulations. We will then send you the completed certificate by e-mail.

You can complete your internship part-time. Depending on the reasons why you should opt for a part-time model, your mandatory internship will be extended. For example, if you work 20 hours a week, your internship will last 16 weeks instead of 8. At the end, you must have completed 320 hours.

You can complete the internship at two internship locations or at different times. However, please note that both internships must not be less than 6 weeks each.

If you fall ill during your internship, you must submit a sick note to your internship supervisor. Please also follow the respective regulations of your internship provider. You should make up for any absences to a reasonable extent so that the workload required for the internship to be recognized is fulfilled.

Granted vacation days and public holidays are not absences and therefore do not have to be made up.

For an internship abroad, you should always plan a longer preparation time and check the financing options. The International Office offers a wide range of information and advice for all of you who can imagine doing an internship abroad. The Career Service can also advise you on planning an internship abroad. There are a variety of funding opportunities available to you for an internship abroad. You can find an overview at the DAAD, for example. It is also worth contacting lecturers directly who have international interfaces in their teaching. Department 05 at the University of Kassel also offers information on the topic of international affairs.

Compulsory internships as part of your studies are not treated as employment relationships, but are part of your training (this is different for voluntary internships). You do not have to pay social security contributions for a paid internship. However, free co-insurance in the statutory health insurance scheme may not apply if your income is too high (find out about the current income limit for compulsory internships). The German Trade Union Federation, among others, has published a brochure on the topic of "Rights and obligations during an internship".

While you are on your compulsory internship as stipulated in the study and examination regulations, you are generally insured against accidents during this period with your internship provider. As this internship is part of your training, you are not entitled to remuneration or vacation. If you are paid for your internship, this is considered income. If you receive BAföG, the internship pay will generally be deducted in full from your BAföG payments. The allowance for income from gainful employment etc. does not apply in this case. However, you do not have to pay social security contributions. You should always contact your BAföG advisor before starting your internship.

Advice on BAföG is available at the University of Kassel, for example from the AStA or the Studierendenwerk.