Internships at Schools Abroad

The Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (PAD) gives you the opportunity to contribute to German language classes at a school abroad for 6–10 months as an assistant foreign language instructor.

• Which countries participate in the exchange program?
  The program is based on international agreements on the exchange of assistant foreign language instructors. Participating countries are Australia, Belgium, China, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, and the USA.
• Who can apply?
  The program is mostly aimed towards students in the Teacher Education programs in German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. Depending on the host country, students from other Teacher Education programs can apply as well.
• Financial support
  Assistant foreign language instructors will receive a monthly grant for living expenses from the relevant authorities in the host country. This grant covers the necessary cost of living. In France, for example, this amounts to approximately EUR 790 per month.
• Application deadlines
  For the USA: 1 November
  For all other countries: 1 August to 1 January
  Please note: The application deadline is the date of receipt. This means that your documents must be received by the PAD by the date specified above at the latest.
• Where can I find more information?
  All information and application documents are available on the PAD website. For most countries, applicants are likely to be accepted. Apply now!

The SCHULWÄRTS! program offers you the opportunity to complete a two- to four-month internship at a school abroad as an assistant instructor in your major subjects.

• Which countries participate in the exchange program?
  Currently, 16 predominantly non-European countries are participating.
• Who can apply?
  Students of all teacher education programs are eligible to apply, regardless of whether they are pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or state examination degree. Prospective teachers between graduation and Referendariat and teachers who have already started working at schools are also welcome to apply. Enrollment is not required.
• Financial support
  Interns will receive a basic payment of EUR 1,000 plus a monthly payment of EUR 500.
• Application deadlines
  There are three to four application rounds per year.
• Where can I find more information?
  All information and application documents are available on the website of the Goethe Institute.

Of course, it is also possible to organize your internship at a school abroad yourself. Contact the schools you are interested in, introduce yourself, and ask about completing an internship there. Organizing your internship yourself and not through the programs of PAD or Goethe Institute, can be beneficial in terms of flexibility.

In addition to the national school types in each country, there are also schools with a direct connection to Germany, such as about 140 German schools abroad, about 590 FIT schools, and about 1,100 schools offering the German language diploma (DSD). At these schools, the language of instruction is German. If you are proficient in a foreign language such as English or French and the school does not need a German language instructor at the moment, teaching other subjects such as Mathematics in the foreign language is also an option.

Especially for internships within Europe, financial support is available through the Erasmus internship program or the DAAD scholarship program Lehramt.International.

Information on the recognition of the internship abroad as a placement semester for students of the programs in Teacher Education and your contact persons can be found on the School of Humanities' webpage on placement semesters.