Types of traineeship

There are three different types of Erasmus+ traineeship that can be undertaken. Which is the right one for you depends upon your curriculum and the point at which you wish to undertake the traineeship.

If your employer requires the University of Vienna to sign a Traineeship Agreement/Convention de Stage for your Erasmus+ traineeship, please read the information given here.

Compulsory traineeship

In some fields of study undertaking a traineeship is compulsory. If you wish to undertake your traineeship abroad, you can apply for an Erasmus+ grant.

Compulsory traineeships are recognised as academic achievement in the form of ECTS credits and are recorded in your transcript of records. The traineeship is also listed in your Diploma Supplement. Recognition of achievement must be proven by submitting your notification of recognition or your transcript of records after your traineeship abroad. The number of ECTS credits recognised will be determined by the number of ECTS credits stipulated in the curriculum. Please discuss the details of this with your directorate of studies and read the Details on Recognition and the Diploma Supplement (“Details zu Anrechnung und Diploma Supplement”).

In the case of compulsory traineeships, you must earn at least 3 ECTS credits per month of your stay (e.g. 6 ECTS credits for a two-month stay). If the curriculum allocates fewer ECTS credits than this, the traineeship will only be partially nominated as a compulsory traineeship. However, this does not affect your eligibility for an Erasmus+ grant.

Please note that a compulsory traineeship must last at least two full months (even if the curriculum only stipulates a six-week traineeship, for example).

In the case of compulsory traineeships, please select the section traineeship embedded in the curriculum in the Learning Agreement.

Voluntary traineeship

If no traineeship is included in your curriculum, then this is a voluntary traineeship. Voluntary traineeships are listed in the Diploma Supplement. They can also be recognised as academic achievement (e.g. in place of another course). Whether your traineeship can be recognised as academic achievement is decided by your directorate of studies. There are no specifications on the number of ECTS credits to be earned for voluntary traineeships.

In the case of voluntary traineeships, please select the section voluntary traineeship in the Learning Agreement.

Traineeships for recent graduates

Students can also apply for an Erasmus+ mobility grant for traineeships related to their studies undertaken within twelve months of completing their studies.  For traineeships for recent graduates the following apply:

  • Students may not be admitted to study during their traineeship
  • The application must be submitted before taking your final exam
  • The traineeship may only be started after you have completed your studies
  • The traineeship must be completed within twelve months of finishing your studies
  • Applications cannot be accepted after you have completed your final exam.

Traineeships for recent graduates are not recognised as academic achievement, nor are they listed in the Diploma Supplement. Nonetheless, a signature from your directorate of studies is still required in the Learning Agreement.

In the case of traineeships for recent graduates, you must upload a scan of your diploma and the official notification to Mobility Online upon completing your studies. This can be done after the start of your traineeship.

In the case of traineeships for recent graduates, please select the section traineeship for recent graduates in the Learning Agreement.

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  • Undertaken within twelve months of completing your studies

    Traineeships for recent graduates must be started and finished within a year of completing your studies. You may undertake multiple sequential traineeships during the course of this year, but the applications for all of them must be submitted before taking your final exam.

  • Traineeship to start after completing your studies

    Students may only start a traineeship for recent graduates after completing their studies. Studies are deemed to have been completed when the last examination was passed, not at the time that the diploma certificate was issued. The scan of the diploma required as one of the documents for application may be submitted after starting your traineeship.

  • The application must be submitted before taking your final exam

    The application for a traineeship for recent graduates must always be submitted before taking your final exam. The final exam may, for example, be a written exam on a lecture course, a thesis, a diploma or master’s exam, etc.

    This means that it is not the mark being recorded but the time at which the last exam was taken that matters.

  • No admission for studying during the traineeship

    The traineeship for recent graduates is intended for students who have completed their studies. Consequently, the Erasmus+ guidelines stipulate that students may not be admitted to study at a university, either at home or abroad, during their traineeship.

    This also applies for second degrees at the University of Vienna. You must de-register from these whilst undertaking your traineeship for recent graduates.

    As a result, where a traineeship is undertaken between a bachelor’s and a master’s programme, you may only enrol for your master’s course after completing your traineeship.

Language assistant placements within the framework of an Erasmus+ traineeship

Students who are going to a school in another European country as a language assistant can also apply for an Erasmus+ mobility grant provided that the stay is relevant to their study programme. Language assistant placements are available from weltweit unterrichten, among others.

A period as a language assistant can be undertaken as a compulsory traineeship, a voluntary traineeship or as a traineeship for recent graduates.

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  • Application

    You can apply as soon as you have been accepted for a place as a language assistant. It may be that at the time of applying it is still not clear which school you will be working at. In the case of placements as a language assistant, information on the receiving institution can be submitted at a later date.

    The Learning Agreement can likewise be submitted at a later date in the case of a placement as a language assistant, as it is often only possible to contact schools abroad towards the end of the summer. 

    Please take note of the detailed information on applications by language assistants in our fact sheet.

  • Receiving institution

    Please note that an Erasmus traineeship can only be undertaken at a single receiving institution, which confirms the entire stay in the Learning Agreement.

    Placements as language assistants in countries outside of Europe cannot be funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

  • Scope of employment

    The traineeship must entail a full teaching commitment, which usually means 12-16 hours/week (varies by host country). The minimum level of employment requirement of 30h/week does not apply for language assistants.

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