Preparatory service for teachers at secondary schools

The preparatory service begins once a year at the end of the Christmas vacations (beginning of January) and lasts until the end of the following school year (18 months). Basic information on the procedure, application and contact persons can be found on the website of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs:

• Preparatory service at general secondary schools
• Preparatory service at vocational schools

The application period usually begins on March 15 and ends on June 15 of the previous year of your preparatory service. You can apply via the Ministry of Education's online portal. To apply, you will need proof of first aid training and a company or social internship. If you have chosen Informatics, Political Science or Economics as your subject, the company internship is required.

Starting the preparatory service as a guest student may be useful if you cannot submit your Master's certificate to the responsible regional council by mid-December or if you are unsure whether you will be able to meet this deadline. In this case, you must apply as a guest auditor as part of your application for the preparatory service by June 15 and provide proof of successful completion of your teacher training course by March 31 at the latest. You can find further information in your study guide. We will be happy to advise you on your individual situation. 

The information event on the preparatory service usually takes place at the beginning of May. You can find the presentations for the last information event on 07.05.2025 here.

• Infoveranstaltung Vorbereitungsdienst Seminar Heilbronn und Heidelberg (PDF, 2 MB)
• Infoveranstaltung Vorbereitungsdienst Seminar Karlsruhe (berufliche Schulen) (PDF, 556 kB)
• Infoveranstaltung Vorbereitungsdienst Uni Mannheim (PDF, 649 kB)