Outgoing Students
Many students dream of spending a study-related period abroad during their studies. The motivation for this is manifold. Students wish
- to acquire new academic knowledge
- to get to know other teaching and learning systems
- to experience the working world in another country
- to improve their knowledge of foreign languages
- to immerse themselves in foreign cultures
- to make new friends
- to develop their personality
- ...
No matter what your motivation is, whether you plan to study in Argentina or write your thesis in Norway, whether you want to do an internship in the USA or in China: The KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering maintains numerous partnerships worldwide, within the framework of which you can implement your plan and carry out a study-related stay abroad.
All information relevant for a semester abroad such as program offers, partner universities, application processes, deadlines can be found on the following pages.
Exchange within Europe
ERASMUS+ |
1. General information
The KIT Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has concluded exchange agreements (Inter-Institutional Agreements) with more than 50 partner universities within Europe. These agreements regulate student mobility according to the guidelines of the ERASMUS+ program. Students decide themselves on the timing (BSc from the 5th semester on, MSc and PhD) and the duration of their stay (one or two semesters) and can go abroad in Europe for up to 12 months in each study phase (BSc., MSc and PhD). ERASMUS+ offers the following benefits:
- Exemption from tuition fees at the partner university
- Recognition of achievements successfully completed abroad after appropriate prior consultation (recognition agreements)
- free online language courses in the "major" languages and/or low-cost intensive language courses at the partner university
- Mobility grant based on the cost of living in the host country
The first point of contact for all questions regarding partner universities, application requirements or recognition of achievements abroad is
- ISIM - International Service in Mechanical Engineering (Building 10.23, R.706)
Head: Sarah Witte
Office hours: Tue 9 am - 12 pm and by individual arrangement; e-mail: isim ∂does-not-exist.mach kit edu
Furthermore, you can get information about the ERASMUS program at:
- IStO - International Students Office of KIT. In regular events the ERASMUS team there informs about the basic features of the program, the organization of the stay and the administrative procedures. The dates can be found here.
- Information and experiences from a student perspective are provided by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Karlsruhe.
2. Application for ERASMUS+
Before you apply for an Erasmus spot, you should consider what else you want to achieve with the study abroad besides the acquisition of language skills and social competences. Should the stay abroad specifically serve your academic further education, do you want to attend courses not offered at KIT for the purpose of broadening your horizons, or do you even plan to do a project, BSc or MSc thesis abroad? Check out the websites of our partner universities to find out which university is best suited to achieve your goals. You can receive funding for a maximum of 12 months in each of the Bachelor's and Master's programs as well as in the doctoral phase.
Selection criteria include:
Performance, language skills, motivation, personal commitment, completeness of documents, timely submission.
| The Presentation on the application procedurefor the academic year 23/24 can be found in the ILIAS course: International Exchange Programs - Outgoer (in German) |
Documents
The following documents are required for the Erasmus application:
- one to max. two-page letter of motivation in German. Please also explain your study plans for your first desired university.
- Curriculum vitae in tabular form
- high school diploma
- current transcript of grades of your previous studies (BSc and MSc, if applicable)
- current proof of knowledge of the language of instruction (for required level, see list of partner universities). Additional knowledge of the local language may be advantageous for the application. As proof of a B2-level English according to the European Framework of Reference, the highschool diploma is sufficient for the faculty-internal application if it shows that the language was also taken during high school and the grade is at least equivalent to 10 points refering to the German grading table. For a C1 level, at least 13 points must have been achieved. Notwithstanding the above, the partner university may require more recent/other evidence as a prerequisite.
- Learning Agreement: Complete only your personal information and use Table A to outline your proposed studies at your first priority university. The final LA must be prepared only after a confirmation of the exchange place. Therefore, no recognition agreements need to be attached to the application.
Application Procedure
- Please complete this application form and submit the completed form. For this you have to log in with your u-account.
- Please fill out the application form completely and in one go.
- Please do not change your provided student email address(uxxxx∂student.kit.edu).
- After you submit the application form, you will receive a confirmation email. Included in the email is a link. Please open this link and log in with your u account as usual. You are now in the Mobility Online portal.
- Complete all the necessary steps displayed in Mobility Online to finalize your application.
- From here on, you can access your application and correct errors until you perform the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted" (see step 5).
- Make sure that the information (including typos) is correct.
- In the Mobility Online Portal you can now also upload all required documents (certificates*, language certificates, letter of motivation, CV, etc.).
- Here, too, you can update or re-upload documents until you perform the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted".
- Please note that you can only upload language certificates if you have answered the question "Language certificate available" in your master data with YES.
- *Master's students must upload both their Bachelor's and Master's grade transcripts.
- Tip: If you are applying to the partner university, you should also submit both grade statements.
- Once you have filled in all required fields and uploaded documents, submit your application by performing the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted".
- From here on, you will not be able to change your application and especially the data you have provided. Make sure that the information is correct.
- Errors can no longer be corrected. Incorrect information can lead to exclusion from the application process.
- In any case, you must complete this step before the application deadline. Only then will your application be considered submitted on time and considered.
- From now on, the subject coordinators will be able to view and process your application. An advantage of the new system is that you can be asked to upload incomplete documents again. So you will not be eliminated directly. For this reason, it is advisable to submit your final application before the application deadline.
- Iteratively, we will now check whether your submitted documents are complete. If necessary, you will be asked to upload improved documents again via the exchange e-mail. However, this only affects the submitted documents and not your personal data/information.
- If you are not contacted by ISIM, your application documents are complete, subsequent steps:
- You will be informed by e-mail about the offer of an exchange place.
- You must bindingly accept or reject the place in the system.
- You decline: Your application will be cancelled and no further place will be offered to you.
- You accept: The exchange place will be reserved for you and you will be nominated by IStO at the partner university. The partner university will again request application documents from you. All further procedural steps, especially the scholarship payment, will be regulated by IStO.
- If we unfortunately could not nominate you for this exchange cycle, please apply...
- for the remaining places.
- again next year.
The complete application documents for the next academic year 2025/26 must be submitted by January 15, 2025 at the latest. Please also apply by this date if you do not intend to go abroad until the summer semester 2026 to ensure that you will be allocated an Erasmus mobility grant.
Allocation of remaining Erasmus spots for SS 2025
Mobility Online is open for the second application round for summer semester 2025 from April 1st till July 28 2024. Please note that the Erasmus grant can not be guaranteed at this point. A list of the remaining spots can be found on Ilias.
What is a Learning Agreement?
The Learning Agreement is a study agreement listing the courses you would like to take at the host university and which you would like to substitute for courses at KIT. You can compile your Learning Agreement with the help of the module handbooks, online course catalogs or course descriptions, which you can find on the homepage of the host university. You should - just like at KIT - take about 30 ECTS credits in each semester, which may include language courses. Please note that you have to achieve at least 20 ECTS abroad in order to receive your scholarship. However, you are free to decide if and how much of the achieved achievements you want to have credited after your return. It is common that there are deviations from the original Learning Agreement on site. There is a change form for this purpose. Changes are usually possible without any problems within the first 4 - 6 weeks after the start of studies at the host university.
4. ERASMUS+ Partners
An overview of all ERASMUS cooperations of the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering can be found here (Only available in the German webpage).
In addition to the exact name of the partner institution, its EU code, the code for the field of study (MACH = 0715) and the link to the respective homepage, the listing also contains information about the number of exchange places, the required study level (First Cycle = Bachelor; Second Cycle = Master) as well as the language skills expected by the partner university. Please also note that some partners have different "schools/institutions" where mechanical engineering is taught in different specifications. You should take this into account when selecting your host university.
Faculty-specific exchange programs are programs that are offered exclusively in the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and are tailored specifically to its students. In close consultation with the partners, a clear framework is defined with regard to the timing, duration and objectives of the stay. The recognition of the work done abroad is also usually arranged in advance. For faculty-specific programs there are financial aids - e.g. the waiving of tuition fees or mobility grants for travel and/or living expenses. Details about this can be obtained from the person responsible for the respective program.
Argentina
China
- GEARE: Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (Jiaotong, University of Shanghai)
- Tongji University Shanghai
France
Canada
South Korea
- KAIST Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
- UNIST Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
USA
Exchange programs and other funding opportunities/scholarships worldwide
1 Exchange programs worldwide
In addition to the faculty-specific programs already described, there are exchange programs administered by IStO that are generally offered across faculties and are thus open to all disciplines. (Any restrictions can be found in the cooperation list on the IStO website). These programs offer a complete tuition waiver at the host university and some can be combined with scholarships. Important: Check with scholarship providers to make sure that the cumulation of scholarships is approved!
Applications for these programs are made directly to IStO, electronically and through an online application portal. Applications are possible for a semester as well as for an academic year, but for some programs, year-long stays are given preference.
1.1 Special partnerships
Within the framework of KIT's direct cooperations, the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has maintained particularly intensive relations for several years with the
Since both sides are interested in an intensification of the student exchange, students of mechanical engineering at KIT who are interested in a study stay in the USA or China are particularly recommended to apply to one of these universities. For Georgia University up to max. 10 exchange places KIT-wide are available (each depending on the balance of the exchange). BIT also accepts up to 10 Karlsruhe students per year, SJTU a maximum of 5 students.
Applications should be sent to IStO, which, as with all direct collaborations, has the final decision in the selection process. The application process (documents to be submitted, deadlines, acceptances) therefore also follows the guidelines of IStO 
.
1.2 Baden-Württemberg Program and Direct Cooperations
The Baden-Württemberg program enable students to study at a university in a partner region of Baden-Württemberg. Currently, such state programs exist with various universities in Canada and the USA; a current compilation can be found on the IStO homepage .
Direct cooperations are bilateral agreements of KIT with various partner universities worldwide. For many of these partners, engineering sciences are not specified and therefore show a special affinity to mechanical engineering as the classical engineering science. A complete list can be found in the cooperation list of IStO .
The administrative support of the Baden-Württemberg programs as well as direct cooperations is the responsibility of the IStO, which also provides detailed advice. The same application modalities and funding opportunities specified by IStO apply to the programs:
- Funding exclusively for KIT students
- Complete waiver of tuition fees (university fees may apply)
- Selection criteria: good academic performance, very good knowledge of English (TOEFL test) and a good general education
- Application procedureandApplication deadline
2 Other funding opportunities/scholarships worldwide
In contrast to the overseas programs described above, which provide tuition waivers only, are the scholarship programs/funding opportunities, which primarily provide a subsidy towards the
living expenses. In some cases, funding opportunities can be combined and a scholarship can be a welcome addition to tuition remission. In any case, it is advisable to inquire with the scholarship
provider.
2.1 DAAD Annual Scholarships
The "Jahresstipendien für Studierende aller Fächer" (annual scholarships for students of all subjects) supports one-year study visits worldwide by (partially) financing the costs of the stay/travel and covering insurance costs. The tuition fees must be paid by the student. Other scholarship programs can only be used for this purpose if both scholarship providers approve the cumulation. The DAAD provides information on application requirements on its homepage. Application deadlines vary depending on the destination country and are often up to one year before the start of the stay abroad. The application documents must be sent online, the professorial report by normal mail directly to the DAAD.
2.2 PROMOS
Within the framework of the DAAD program PROMOS, KIT supports study and research stays as well as internships outside Europe for a maximum duration of 6 months by means of a monthly partial scholarship and/or a travel allowance. The support serves exclusively for living expenses; tuition fees cannot be covered by the scholarship benefits. Applications are open to all students enrolled at KIT who have German citizenship or who are German nationals. Selection criteria are academic performance, motivation, and extra-curricular commitment. Currently, there are three selection rounds per year throughout KIT.
Application deadlines can be found on the homepage of IStO: https://www.intl.kit.edu/ostudent/3616.php
Further information can be found here .
2.3 Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg
At KIT, scholarships of the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg are awarded to KIT students planning a study stay (not internship) at a partner university overseas. This funding serves to finance the stay in the host country. Attention: The Baden-Württemberg-PROGRAM and the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM are independent. Therefore, you can apply for this additional scholarship in parallel to your application for a study place within the framework of the Baden-Württemberg Program or the direct cooperations of KIT. The application is made about half a year before the planned stay via IStO.
2.4 BAföG Abroad
For a study stay abroad, it is possible to apply for Auslands-BAföG. As a rule, the prerequisite for this is BAföG eligibility in Germany. In individual cases, students who do not have BAföG entitlement in Germany can also be supported. The BAföG abroad includes the following benefits:
- Payment of the necessary tuition fees (up to EUR 4,600 per academic year).
- Allowance for travel expenses
- If applicable, an additional amount for the costs of health insurance abroad
- Outside the member states of the EU, a foreign supplement, the amount of which is determined according to the country (between 60 EUR and 450 EUR per month), to cover the increased cost of living.
For more information, please visit the BAföG Office website: www.bafög.de/bafoeg/de/home/home_node.html
2.5 Fulbright
The Fulbright Commission awards annual scholarships as well as travel grants for the continuation, extension or completion of studies at a U.S. university within the framework of the German-American Fulbright Program. The purpose is to promote mutual understanding between the U.S. and Germany through academic and cultural exchange.
For more information, please visit the IStO website .
2.6 Scholarships/Foundations in general
References to further scholarship providers can be found, among others, in the DAAD's funding bank and on the IStO's pages .
Internships abroad
General Information
A professional or research internship offers an opportunity to complete a study- or work-related stay abroad. In order to carry out an internship abroad, more initiative and independence are usually required, not only in the search for the internship position, but also on site, than is the case with studies. Comprehensive information can be found on the following homepages:
A professional internship is a prerequisite for admission to the Master's program in Mechanical Engineering at KIT and can be carried out abroad in parts or completely. Consultation with the Studierenden Center Maschinenbau (Internship Office) is required to clarify the recognition of the internship. In addition, voluntary internships and research internships can also be completed abroad.
Internship search
As a rule, the interested party must look for the internship position himself/herself. In doing so, s/he can make use of internship offers in the corresponding internship exchanges worldwide or start direct applications.
Internship offers abroad can be found on the following sites, among others:
For direct applications to a company, foreign branches of large German companies are particularly recommended. In this case, depending on the procedure of the company, the application must be sent either directly to the corresponding foreign representative office, or to a central office within Germany for further referral. Especially in the second case, it is often assumed that an internship has already been completed at a German branch of the company.
Internship funding
Generally, internships abroad are remunerated by the employing companies. In addition, many scholarship programs offer financial aid for the increased expenses abroad, travel costs or similar. A first overview of the different financial aids can be found on the above mentioned pages of the DAAD and the ISTO.
As an example, the following general scholarship programs should be mentioned:
- ERASMUS+ Placement
Internships within Europe can be funded through the ERASMUS+ Placement program - regardless of the salary. The application can be submitted to KOOR/BEST at the latest 4 weeks before the start of the internship and, according to experience, will be processed favorably. According to the guidelines of the EU, the funding is based on the cost of living in the host country. Further information
- PROMOS
Internships outside Europe are supported at KIT by the PROMOS program. As in the case of study visits, three to four selection rounds are expected to take place per year throughout KIT.
- RISE worldwide
In addition, bachelor students interested in an internship abroad are recommended to have a look at the RISE program of the DAAD, which arranges and finances research internships at university institutes or research institutions all over the world.
In addition, the following KIT programs are available for students of mechanical engineering at KIT:
- Research internship at CERN in Geneva
For students of computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, and process engineering, the KIT-Technical Student Program at CERN offers the possibility to either complete an internship in Geneva for a period of 4-12 months or to write a thesis. The prerequisite is the approval of a professor of the own faculty. The call for applications is made via ISTO. Contact is Dr. Kai Rebensburg: kai rebensburg∂kit edu.
- International MINTernship Program
This newly designed internship program is intended to create research-related exchange opportunities for young KIT scientists (BSC, MSc, and PhD students) in attractive English-speaking countries. The study or research stays at the foreign partner universities are exempted from tuition fees for KIT students and PhD students and financed by scholarships. The call for applications is also made via IStO. Contact person is Ms. Constanze Kreutzer: constanze kreutzer ∂does-not-exist.kit edu.
- Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA)
- Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Theses
Bachelor's and Master's theses can also be written abroad. However, they must always be assigned, supervised, and evaluated by a professor of the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Therefore, you should first contact the representative of the department in which you would like to write your thesis. He or she can advise you regarding a thesis abroad and often has personal contacts to foreign colleagues who can be helpful for a placement at the foreign university.
For example, the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering offers final theses with practical relevance in the field of production engineering, which are carried out at the Global Advanced Manufacturing Institute (GAMI) in Suzhou (China) . Final theses at the BIT Beijing Institute of Technology are also possible. Further information on this can be obtained from Professor Proppe.
A special offer for students of mechanical engineering at KIT is the scholarship of the Willy Höfer Foundation for the promotion of a thesis abroad.
In addition, there are often special funding programs for final theses, which you can find on the DAAD homepage. For example, funding through PROMOS is also possible. In this case, the more concretely you describe your project in your application, the greater your chances of success.
Within the framework of an Erasmus+ stay, a final thesis (BSc and MSc) can also be carried out. However, you should plan this early, as you are bound by the application deadlines for ERASMUS+ and the achievement should be included in your Learning Agreement. Furthermore, in addition to the subject representative in the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, you also need a supervisor at the partner university, i.e. you must initiate the coordination process in good time.
Recognition of achievements
Since the Lisbon Convention, it has been the general rule that, in the case of equivalence of study content, achievements successfully completed abroad are to be recognized at the home institution. In order to be sure to receive recognition after the stay abroad,it is common practice at the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering to sign a Recognition Agreement ("Anerkennungsvereinbarung") before the beginning of the study abroad in consultation with the corresponding module representative or, in special cases, with the examination board. This safeguarding is recommended for all exchange programs, but is mandatory within the ERASMUS+ program.
The following procedure is recommended:
Before the stay:
- Based on the course catalogues/module handbooks published on the internet of the host university, choose the courses you would like to attend during your study abroad. Obtain a brief description (preferably in English) of each course, indicating the content and scope of the course.
- Identify comparable courses from KIT's offerings that you would like to substitute with the study abroad program.
|
As a guide, you may refer to the overview list of recognition agreements issued by the faculty so far. |
Attention: No legal claim for recognition can be derived from this list. It is intended solely as an aid in the search for creditable courses and makes no claim to completeness. You will only find a compilation of recognition agreements that have been submitted to ISIM since 2014. Since the course content of the listed courses can change continuously, it is not possible to make a claim for recognition from this list. Only the current agreement with the subject representative and/or the person responsible for the module and/or the examination board will continue to apply.This instruction is also only available for students who are already enrolled at KIT.
- Contact the subject representative/module representative/examination board who is responsible for the corresponding course at KIT. Bring the short descriptions as well as the recognition agreement with you.
- Ask the subject representative/module representative/examination board to sign the recognition agreement for the course you have chosen or ask for advice on alternatives (e.g. forwarding to another subject representative who can recognize the course or choosing an alternative course at the partner university).
- Enter all chosen courses in your Learning Agreement and attach the recognition agreements. Finally, get the signature of the ERASMUS representative of your faculty via ISIM.
- detailed process description
After the stay:
- Fill out a corresponding recognition form for each course successfully taken abroad.
- Send the recognition agreement concluded before the stay, the recognition form, the transcript of records (issued by the partner university) and possibly a short description to the examination committee with the request for recognition of the examination or study performance.
- The faculty's examination board will send it to Student Services.
Attention:
The recognition of achievements from abroad (e.g. Erasmus, other exchange programs) must be applied for within one semester after returning to KIT (see Framework Studies and Examination Regulations §19, 2 of the Bachelor's programs or §18, 2 of the Master's programs).