Internships are an integral (as a rule compulsory) part of the bachelor's and master's degree programmes at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The requirements with regard to duration or scale, timing, objectives and contents of the internship vary from programme to programme and can be found in the module descriptions of the corresponding Study Regulations. All internships can also be completed abroad.

1. Looking for an internship

Students must look for a suitable internship themselves. Current advertisements for internships are circulated on a regular basis via the student newsletter. Individual advice on internships is also available. We recommend that you allow sufficient time to prepare and apply early. You can find here advice and information on how to find an internship.

You do not have to register for the internship in advance at the Examination Office or have it approved. The deciding factor for its recognition is your Internship Report.

If you need a certificate for your internship provider that the internship is a compulsory part of your degree programme, you can obtain this from the Examination Office.

2. Timing your internship

You can undertake your internship during the lecture period as well as during the lecture-free period and complete it at home or abroad. In the case of part-time work, the duration of the internship is extended by the time needed to complete the prescribed number of hours. You can also complete your internship in several stages (as well as with different internship providers).

It is advisable to undertake your internship once you have already acquired some knowledge of your subject and can apply it within your internship. It is therefore recommended that bachelor's students undertake their internship from the third subject-specific semester onwards.

3.1. Internship Report (for all students who started their program before Wintersemester 2022/2023)

You must prepare and submit a report on your internship to the Examination Office together with the module sheet for internships, which you and the internship provider must complete.

The Examination Office forwards the documents to a member of the faculty authorised to conduct examinations, who issues the module certificate on the basis of the report and returns the documents to the Examination Office. The Internship Report does not count as an examination achievement, but it can be rejected with a request for revision if necessary.

If you divide up your internship, you have to combine these parts or activities in one Internship Report and reflect on them comparatively or contrastingly from a political science or sociological perspective.

You can find the module sheet in the downloadcenter under your field of study. 

3.2. Study Day (for all students who started their program in Wintersemester 2022/2023 or later)

Students perform a study activity within the framework of a study day, for example in the form of a poster presentation or a reflection report. The study days are announced for each semester in the course catalogue. The form of the study activity is always up to the lecturer. There will be at least three possible study days to choose from per semester.

4. Special rules for the MA Sociology degree programme

You can complete an internship as part of the specialisation module and, upon application (see right-hand column), earn up to 9 CP. In this case, you must state your reasons in advance as to how the internship contributes to your specialisation and to which focus area it should be assigned thematically. You must complete the module with a written or an oral examination (5 CP). In addition, you must write an Internship Report.

If you are unsure whether an internship fits into your degree programme in terms of content, you can first check for yourself whether it is suitable on the basis of the criteria listed below. If you are then still unsure, you are welcome to contact Academic Advice. Please note that the purpose of an internship is to consolidate in practice what you have learnt in your studies. In any case, you should be able to establish a connection to your studies.

We strongly advise against presenting part-time jobs unrelated to your subject as an internship. We are aware that many students cannot forego their part-time jobs for financial reasons. Nevertheless, you should not replace the internship with jobs entirely unrelated to your subject and should see the internship as an opportunity for your future career.

General (for all Political Science and Sociology degree programmes):

Research activities: Internships at social science research institutions outside universities are accepted.

Non-academic internships: There should be no activities involving routine interactions between two people (e.g. cashier, private tutor, waiter/waitress, flight attendant).

There should be interaction in groups, where working together needs to be coordinated and conflicts have to be managed.

Additional criteria for Political Science degree programmes:

The internship must have something to do with agreement on or implementation of binding collective decisions in a political context (a sports club or small business is not enough, a lobby or larger company is)

or

the activity must be aimed at influencing politics or public opinion (e.g. public relations in a company or sports association).

Please check beforehand whether these conditions are met, especially in the case of activities in the business sector.

You can find here an overview of potential internship providers.

The list is intended as guidance.

Information on the requirements for the internship report can be found in the downloadcenter under your field of study. 

The following applies to students under the new study regulations of 2022:

Other professional activities (e.g. positions as student assistants, working students, activities in the business world), voluntary work and internships completed before the start of your studies will be recognised in future. You no longer need to submit an application for recognition as equivalent credit. The assessment will then be carried out by the teacher on the study day. Rejection based on the type of position is no longer possible. The decisive factor is your reflection on your work during the study day.

The examination board is thus accommodating the many students who have to work alongside their studies and therefore do not have the opportunity to do an internship.

In future, it will therefore suffice to fill out the module form, have it filled out by your employer and then bring it with you to the study day. If you no longer have contact with your former employer, you can alternatively submit a previous certificate (service certificate, employment reference or similar). It is essential that this proof includes the hours worked, as you must fulfil the specified number of hours and the number of hours will still be checked by the examination office.

The following applies to students under the old study regulations of 2014 and 2015:

If you wish to have equivalent achievements credited as an internship, you must complete the application for recognition of professional/voluntary activities as equivalent achievements to an internship and submit it to the Examination Office. The form can be used for the recognition of the following professional/voluntary activities. 

• Professional experience during or before your studies that was not gained in the form of an internship.
• Internships completed before the start of your studies.
• Voluntary work

The application must be accompanied by a certificate of employment and a current overview of your performance. 

The examination board decides on the applications. If the examination board approves the application, you can then write the internship report (old study regulations) or participate in the study day (new study regulations) and submit it to the Examination Office together with the confirmation from the examination board on the form. 

If you have any further questions, please contact the academic advisory service, which is also available to assist you in all phases of the internship (preparation, organisation, implementation and follow-up). The contact details for the academic advisory service can be found in the right-hand column.

You can find the application form in the downloadcenter under your field of study.