Foreign traineeships

As a student or doctoral candidate at Södertörn University, you have the opportunity to gain valuable work experience by doing your internship abroad. During your international internship, you will have the chance to make connections, improve your language skills, get to know a foreign culture and environment, while also adding merits to your CV.

As a student or doctoral student, you don’t only have the opportunity to study abroad, you can also do your traineeship in another European country.

You apply for your traineeship independently, and it must be relevant to your education at Södertörn University. Once you have found somewhere that will host your traineeship, you may apply for an Erasmus grant. After your traineeship you can apply to have it transferred as credits or recognised as a footnote in your degree certificate.

Who can apply for an Erasmus traineeship and receive a grant?

You can apply for an Erasmus+ internship at bachelor's or master's level. Doctoral candidates and recent graduates are also eligible.

You may receive Erasmus+ funding for both study exchanges and internships more than once. However, the total funding period may not exceed 12 months per study cycle (bachelor's, master's or doctoral level).

To apply for and be awarded an Erasmus+ grant for a traineeship, you must:

Be registered and studying at Södertörn University when you apply.
Be studying with the intention of being awarded a degree from Södertörn University.
Find a traineeship within the EU that is valid under the Erasmus+ guidelines.
Do your traineeship full time for two to twelve months.
·Have your traineeship approved by your programme or subject coordinator in a Learning Agreement (LA).
Be prepared to draw up a contract – a Grant Agreement – for the Erasmus grant.
Have adequate language skills to satisfactorily complete the tasks/supervision on the traineeship.
You can also do a non-credit-bearing internship after completing your studies. You apply for the Erasmus internship during your final semester at Södertörn University. The entire internship period must be within 12 months after completing your studies. If you have completed your studies and received your diploma, you can no longer apply for an Erasmus internship, so it’s important to wait to request your diploma if you want to apply for the Erasmus internship.

For the traineeship to be approved, the following conditions must be met:

You have discussed and confirmed your plans with your supervisor before starting the application process.
You have a supervisor at your home institution,
You have a supervisor or contact person at the host institution/organisation,
The activity is approved as part of your doctoral studies.

Important:

If you are planning on applying for per diem allowances (traktamente) for your traineeship abroad, it must be approved by your head of department before you apply for an Erasmus+ traineeship, since it’s not covered in the Erasmus+ grant.

Doctoral students are covered by their employment insurance throughout the entire mobility period abroad. For questions regarding insurance, please get in touch with HR at the department.?

Examples of Dissertation-Preparatory Activities that may be eligible for an Erasmus+ traineeship:

Collecting data (e.g., fieldwork, experiments, interviews).
Conducting lab or project work linked to the dissertation.
Accessing archives, databases, or specialised equipment.
Receiving training in research methods, tools, or software.
Organise a workshop/seminar together with other PhD students and/or reseachers at a host institution
Working with a host supervisor or research group to refine methodology.
Drafting or revising dissertation chapters or articles.
Presenting preliminary results at seminars or workshops.

Note that all activities can be combined during the Traineeship period!

Where can you do a traineeship?

You can do a traineeship in the 28 EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey and Macedonia.

You cannot get an Erasmus+ grant if you want to do a traineeship at a European institution or an organisation that manages EU programmes.

Erasmusintern.org External link, opens in new window. has adverts for traineeships at companies and organisations in Europe. It is run by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) organisation.

Keep in mind that finding a suitable internship and preparing your application may take some time, so it is advisable to start planning well in advance.

Grants

If your application is approved, you will receive an Erasmus+ grant.

The grant amount is calculated based on the exact number of days of your internship and the grant rate for the country where the internship takes place. Grant rates are determined by the Erasmus+ programme and may vary between countries and programme periods.

The Erasmus+ grant is intended to help cover travel, accommodation and other costs associated with your internship. However, it is not designed to cover all expenses.

The grant is paid in two instalments. Approximately 70% is paid at the start of the internship, with the remaining balance paid after the internship has been completed and all required documents have been submitted and approved.

If you end your internship earlier than the agreed end date, you may be required to repay all or part of the grant.

The grant is paid in two parts, with 70% paid at the start of the traineeship and remaining 30% once the traineeship is completed.

Insurance

During your entire internship period, you will be insured through Kammarkollegiet. The insurance is free of charge, and you will receive an insurance certificate.

Read more about the insurance on Kammarkollegiet's website External link, opens in new window..

How to apply for an Erasmus+ internship scholarship

The application for an international internship is divided into two steps.

Step 1:
After you have found an internship and no later than eight weeks before the internship starts, you should submit the following documents:

You should also include:

A certificate of registration from Ladok for the current semester.
If you are applying as a recent graduate, a transcript of records from Ladok.

Send your application to exchange@sh.se.

Once your application is complete, an Erasmus coordinator will contact you with a decision within four weeks.

Step 2:

If your internship application is approved, the International Office at Södertörn University will contact you with further instructions on how to apply for the Erasmus+ grant.

Please note that your application must be submitted at least eight weeks before the internship start date. Grants cannot be awarded retroactively for internships that have already begun.

Applications are accepted between 1 August and 31 May. No applications are processed during the summer due to the holiday period. If you are planning to start your internship in July, August or September, we strongly recommend that you begin preparing your application well in advance.