All you need to know about internships

Internship semester, shorter compulsory internship, school internships

Compulsory internships

Through an internship at home or abroad, you can lay the foundation for your future career whilst still at university. Which compulsory internships are foreseen depends on which area of specialisation you choose.

Area of specialisation - Quantitative Economics, International Financial Economics and Applied Economics

  • An internship lasting 4.5 months in the flexible semester
  • 6-week internship if you have not undertaken a long internship in the flexible semester

Area of specialisation - Business and Economics Education

  • 6-week internship in an enterprise
  • 4-week school internship
  • Special provisions apply for teacher training for higher teaching posts

Area of specialisation - Corporate Education, Psychoeconomics

  • 6-week internship

You can find further details in the examination regulations, §10.

Have your internship recognised

To have your internship recognised, you must complete the form “Application for Recognition of an Internship”.

Learn more

Please include with your application a reference letter from your employer with the following information: Employer, internship period, regular weekly working hours, department/field of activity, your superior’s signature or that of the HR department.

Please hand in your application and a copy of your employer’s report via email from your university's account in PDF-format to the study advisor.

You can see on ZEuS if/whether your internship has been recognised.

Your career prospects after university

 Studying at our department opens up many different doors for you. Which doors these are depends on how you specialise and what you want to get out of your studies.

Master

Depending on your area of specialisation, you can go on to study for a master’s degree. Here we offer the following English-language master's programmes: Economics, Political Economy and Social and Economic Data Science - in some cases you can also acquire a second degree from a university abroad (double degree programme). The master's programme in Economics and Business Education opens up career opportunities in teaching or the private sector.

Career entry

In the bachelor’s programme, you will acquire sound and fundamental skills which will allow you to enter a career in many areas, for example in the private sector, public administration, international organisations and academia (master’s degree required). The areas of specialisation Corporate Education and Business and Economics Education open up career opportunities in business schools (master’s degree required) and corporate education management for their graduates.

Good prospects with all areas of specialisation

Quantitative Economics

If you want to continue your studies in this area, study programmes which focus on political economy or econometrics might be interesting for you. Graduates with skills in quantitative economics are particularly in demand in public administration (e.g. in ministries and statistical offices) as well as with providers of financial services. Graduates with a solid background in econometrics are, however, also more and more sought after for example for evaluation of corporate or customer data.

Business and Economics Education

This area of specialisation forms a particularly suitable basis for a master's programme in Business and Economics Education (but is not a mandatory requirement for it). Following such a master's programme (and having completed various internships and teacher training) there is then the possibility to become an economics teacher at a business school. However, you can of course also complete a master’s degree in business administration or more general economics.

Corporate Education

Like the area of specialisation Business and Economics Education, Corporate Education also qualifies you for a master's programme in Business and Economics Education or more general master's programmes in economics. A position in the area of human resources development might be an interesting career option for you.

International Financial Economics

Finance! Regardless of whether you opt for a master's programme in finance or direct career entry (banks, insurance companies, corporate financial departments, ministries), you can apply your know-how in all areas which touch on the financial markets.

Psychoeconomics

You can apply and expand your skills in particular in scientific research, for example within a master's programme in the field of business psychology. You can make concrete use of your knowledge of human decision-making processes in sales and marketing. You will also profit in all other areas in which psychology and economics come into contact (e.g. in management functions).

Applied Economics

As the potential options in this area of specialisation are very broad, it is difficult to name specific applications. In principle - and depending on your priorities - all doors are open. Depending on the employer, you could start your career with or without a master’s degree with an interest group (political party, trade union), think tank, consulting group (corporate consulting, public sector consulting), auditing firm, multinational, SME, bank or insurance company.