Types of traineeship

Source: https://international.univie.ac.at/en/student-mobility/outgoing-students/erasmus-traineeships/types-of-traineeship/ Parent: https://international.univie.ac.at/en/student-mobility/outgoing-students/erasmus-traineeships/

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.

• Compulsory traineeship (a compulsory traineeship which is embedded in the curriculum)
• Voluntary traineeship (a traineeship undertaken on your own initiative)
• Traineeships for recent graduates (a traineeship undertaken after completing your studies)
• Language assistant stay abroad

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

As of 15 January 2026, applications for traineeships for recent graduates are permanently discontinued and no longer possible. Applications will be accepted until 14 January 2026.

For traineeships for recent graduates with applications before 15 January 2026 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.

Graduate internships are neither listed as coursework in the transcript of records nor entered 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, please select the section traineeship for recent graduates in the Learning Agreement.

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 or as a voluntary traineeship.

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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.

#### What should I do if I don’t yet know which school I will be going to?

Since you must already select a host institution in Mobility Online when submitting the application, you can use a dummy record. This is called, for example, “Gastschule SPANIEN”. If there is no such record yet for the country you are going to, please create one in this format: “Gastschule Country.” As soon as the actual host institution is known, please update the information in Mobility Online.

When submitting the application, you must also provide the names and contact details of contact persons at the host school. If you do not yet know these at the time of application, please enter “NN” and provide placeholder contact details. - 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.