"Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away with all one's prejudices." - The Remarkable Rocket (Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900)

• Acquisition of various "soft skills":
  • Intercultural competence and sensitivity
  • Personal development: flexibility and personal responsibility
     
• Foreign language:
  • Improvement of language skills
  • Handling of & self-confidence in the language
     
• Implementation of learned theoretical concepts in international settings
   
• Competitive advantages over other students
  • Professional competence
  • Potential employer
  • Building your own network
  • Meanwhile a „must-have"

• Semester abroad with a Learning Agreement (e.g. Erasmus)
  • In the Learning Agreement, courses which the student will perform during a study stay abroad at the foreign university are agreed upon. Thus, this is an agreement between universities on the recognition of academic achievements at the home university
  • ECTS points can be obtained for the study at the KIT
  • The Erasmus program also provides financial support & established organisational structures
• Internship abroad –with collaboration with partners of the IfSS or self-organised
• Writing the Final Thesis abroad – with collaboration with partners of the IfSS or self-organised
• Research project (Master) abroad – with collaboration with partners of the IfSS or self-organised

Recognition regulations

In general, it is possible to get credits for academic and examination achievements, as well as study periods completed in courses of study upon request by the student, if they have been acquired at state or state-accredited universities, and universities of cooperative education in the Federal Republic of Germany or at foreign state or state-accredited universities. The prerequisite is that there be no significant difference in terms of the acquired competences compared to the achievements or degrees that are to be replaced at the home institution.

In general, applications for recognition are reviewed by the departmental coordinator, the head of the program and/or module coordinator. In order to avoid problems with the recognition after the stay abroad, the Learning Agreement or the application for recognition should be filled out in advance and submitted together with corresponding descriptions of the content and qualification goals of the work planned abroad (e.g. using a module handbook) to the departmental coordinator for review and approval. Students should plan for at least 6 weeks for this process, which might be extended if revisions are necessary. Performances that have been achieved at external university institutions will be fully recognised in accordance to the Learning Agreement. Performances that have been achieved at external non-university institutions will be recognised as attendance. In this case, the examination achievements have to be completed at IfSS.

Bachelor's

• A stay abroad is not recommended before the orientation exams are passed (§8 KIT Study and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor Program in Sports Science). Recommendation: 4^th semester or later
• Keep in mind your course of study: planning of practical basic and major courses is often difficult
• Requirements of the target organisation/institute need to be considered: can the desired academic and examination achievements be provided?
• A stay abroad can be credited as an internship in the Bachelor’s program (§14a KIT Study and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor Program in Sports Science)
• The final thesis may also be completed abroad, if supervisors and responsible persons can be identified abroad and agreed upon (§14a KIT Study and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor Program in Sports Science)

Master's

• Research project and internship are each considered to be carried out in the 3^rd semester and can be completed abroad. If a student has been responsible for different projects and has spent enough time on these projects, both research project and internship may be credited (§14a KIT Study and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor Program in Sports Science)
• Final thesis abroad: Refer to Bachelor’s (§14a KIT Study and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor Program in Sports Science)

General considerations

• The research project must be approved in advance by the head of the Master of Science Sports Science program
• Internships must be approved in advance by the respective responsible lecturer: Internship offers
• A stay abroad (internship or research project) is also possible during the semester break/ lecture-free period (3 months) in order to comply with the standard period of study

In the following, all international cooperations of the Institute of Sports and Sports Science are listed. In addition, here you can find more information about the destinations and student reports on their experiences.

For other destinations (self-researched) the stay has to be supported and supervised by staff members of the IfSS.

Erasmus, Erasmus+ :

Forschung & Praktikum

Preparation time:

• Between 6-18 months before the start of the stay
• Language certificates are often required – The KIT Language Center offers various possibilities
• Visa, language certificates and bureaucratic processes take a lot of time

Stay abroad:

• Usually between 3-12 months
• A minimum duration of 3 months is recommended due to the organisational effort of the preparation
• Additional travel time should be planned for

Step 1: Decision-making 

• Which topic/research area am I interested in?

• Where would I like to go?

• Have I sufficiently informed myself about the institution?

• What kind of stay best fits into my studies?

• When and what time period do I consider suitable?

Step 2: Contact & application 

• ​To make first contact, enter your personal information in the registration system so that you can be invited to an in-person meeting

• First, an internal application to the departmental coordinator of IfSS is advised (please bear in mind the application deadline)

• For this, proof of academic achievements, a letter of motivation (in English or, if applicable, in the national language), and a language certificate are usually required - the KIT Language Center offers various possibilities

• An application should only be submitted to the host institution after you have received feedback from the departmental coordinator

Step 3: Clarifying funding/financial support

• For ERASMUS there are financial support programmes, the so-called Erasmus mobility grants. The International Students Office (IStO) of KIT provides information on financing/mobility grants.

• Internships, research projects & final theses are usually not remunerated by the collaboration partners of the IfSS

• Costs vary from country to country, and city to city

• Example of costs: USA
           Onetime costs: Approx. 300€ Visa + 800-1300€ flight
            Regular costs: 600-800€/month rent + 80€/month bus ticket + 400-500€/month food
            Book your flights and accommodation well in advance

• We strongly advise against working at another place during your stay, because:
            Usually no work permit is included in the visa (example: J1-Student Visa USA)
            An internship/research project is a full-time job (40 hours/week)
            You may want to use your free time to explore the culture and the country

• Unfortunately, the IfSS cannot provide financial support

• However, there are various scholarships available for studying & internships abroad. The IStO of KIT offers a good overview of common scholarships

Step 4: Visa and precautions

• Students are responsible for their own health and liability insurance

• Check vaccination specifications

• A valid passport is required for each visa and it should not expire during your stay

• Visas must be applied for at the respective embassy or consulate and oftentimes are only approved after a personal interview

• There are costs associated with a visa

• Visa procedures differ from country to country, so you need to do some research for each application (https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/vertretungen-anderer-staaten)

• There are no additional application deadlines for internships, research modules & final theses if you want to complete them abroad
• When applying for an Erasmus semester, the application must be received by the departmental coordinator for the following winter semester & summer semester by February 10th. If there are remaining spots, applications for the following summer semester will be accepted until July 10th. However, Erasmus funding cannot be guaranteed at that point.
• Please keep in mind other application deadlines for scholarships

The registration system may be used for contacting the departmental coordinator and in order to ensure the standardised archiving of IfSS outgoers.

Please use the following form to register if you:

• Do not yet have a destination for a stay abroad and would like to get some advice
• Have already made all the arrangements and will soon be going abroad
• Have already completed a stay abroad during your studies at IfSS