Internship guideline

Guidelines for credit transfer

Guidelines for credit transfer

Here you will find all relevant information on the crediting of the internship of the degree program in Political Science.

Preparation of the internship

The independent search for internships relevant to the social sciences and making contact with potential employers are part of the internship-related requirements for students. The potential fields of activity are wide-ranging and can be geared towards personal interests, provided that the social science relevance of the activities can be justified. However, it should be noted that activities in the field of social work and social pedagogy in the narrower sense are not sufficiently relevant. The Internship Office advises students on all questions relating to potential fields of activity and provides support in the selection process. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of further offers from the university.

Registration for the internship

The internship must have an objective connection to the degree course or to a potential professional field for social scientists. It must therefore have a social science focus. The application for the internship must be accompanied by an informal description of the activities agreed or planned with the internship provider. The application form must be submitted to the Internship Office by e-mail or printed out together with the description of the planned activities. After checking these documents, the Internship Office will confirm whether the planned internship is eligible for recognition by the faculty. If you have any questions or uncertainties about possible internships, the internship reports archived in the Internship Office provide a good insight into possible fields of activity. In addition, the Internship Office will be happy to advise you on relevant questions as well as on questions regarding the recognition of relevant activities already completed. 

Please find the registration document "Anmeldung" attached below

Accompanying seminar

The accompanying seminar is an obligatory part of the internship module. This course supports students in the preparation and follow-up of the internships and serves in particular to work out and reflect on the differences between an academic and a (professional) practical examination of problems that arise in the respective field of activity. The dates of the respective semester will be announced in the ekvv.

Find a mentor

You will need to find a mentor to accompany you during your internship and to read and evaluate your internship report. Unlike in the Master's degree program, the internship report in the Bachelor's degree program is an ungraded examination, but must be signed off as passed by the mentor. Mentors are also a possible point of contact for questions and problems in all phases of the internship. Any person in the Faculty of Sociology who is authorized to conduct examinations can act as a mentor, i.e. any lecturer. Lecturers (without a position) should only be chosen in justified exceptions. Due to the mentoring function, we strongly recommend that the mentor is approached and appointed at an early stage. It is essential to have a mentor at the latest for the completion of the internship and the associated submission of the signed internship certificate.

Completing an internship

As soon as the formalities have been clarified in advance (successful search for an internship, registration of the internship, search for a mentor/ a mentor), you can start your internship. From a university perspective, you have a high degree of autonomy in terms of the time period and weekly workload. You can therefore work full-time or part-time (if necessary in consultation with your employer), complete the internship during the lecture period or during the lecture-free period and attend university courses according to your individual wishes or requirements. The only decisive factor is that you stick to the agreed activities that you have communicated via the registration form. Should any problems or questions arise during your internship, please contact your mentor/ or the internship office in good time. Also remember to remind your employer as early as possible that you need a work or internship certificate. This is a mandatory part of the documents to be submitted.

Internship report and internship certificate

Apart from the internship certificate and the work reference, the internship report is the most important part of the documents to be submitted. In the Bachelor's degree course, this comprises approx. 8-10 pages and includes a description of the organization and activities as well as an academic reflection on the internship. The report is based on the standards of academic work and writing. Further details can be found in the module handbook or discussed with the mentor/ . Below you will also find a guide to writing the internship report. As soon as you have completed the internship report, have it evaluated by your mentor. To do this, you fill out an internship certificate (link below) and give it to your mentor together with the report. They will confirm that you have passed the internship on the internship certificate. Please note that you will receive the internship certificate and the report back .

Please find the guidelines for internship reports in Bachelor's degree programs "Leitfaden für Praktikumsberichte in Bachelor-Studiengängen" and the document internship certificate "Praktikumsschein" attached below.

Submission of documents

The following documents must be submitted in full for the internship module to be recognized:

• the completed internship certificate signed by the mentor ( )
• Confirmation from the employer or internship position about your work, e.g. in the form of an employer's reference (please only submit copies and not originals)
• the internship report. If you are not prepared to make your internship report available for other students to view anonymously at the internship office, please state this explicitly when submitting it. 

You can either send the complete documents by e-mail to pbuero@uni-bielefeld.de, hand them in personally during the open office hours (current office hours, see contact) or post them in the post box of the internship office (building X level C2 no.: 327; near the examination offices). The subsequent examination of the documents and booking by the Examinations Office usually takes two working weeks. If you need an urgent booking, please let us know.