Global Michigan Web Portal This portal is designed to help you access all manner of opportunities abroad, including study abroad, internships, and relevant funding opportunities. It also provides easy access to departments, centers and student organizations on campus with an international theme, and is the gateway for international students and scholars interested in the University of Michigan.
Study
Abroad
Note:
for questions regarding credit toward a German major
or minor from a study abroad program, please contact Kalli Federhofer.
In particular, if you participate in the Academic Year
in Freiburg (AYF) program, all of your AYF credits will
count toward a major (30 hours of German courses) or
a minor (18 hours), whichever you choose. But
you will probably take at least 30 credits while in
Freiburg anyway, so you can easily fulfill the requirements
for a German major, which is what we would recommend
if you participate in this program (this is what most
AYF students do). When you return to Ann Arbor,
you may well qualify for the German Honors Program,
which entails enrolling in German 491 (honors proseminar)
and 492 (honors thesis), and would put you well beyond
the required 30 hours.
University
of Michigan Study Abroad Resources
For more general questions about transferability
of credit, I would suggest contacting CGIS or the Office
of International Programs at the School of Engineering listed below, and/or asking
your academic advisor.
Compilations
of Info on Study Abroad Programs
- DaF-Unterricht
im In-und Ausland [DaF = Deutsch als Fremdsprache]
A fantastic compilation of resources to help you find
German courses in Germany and elsewhere (and courses
in lots of other languages while you're at it).
In German, but even if you're just starting you'll
probably find enough English in the sites referred
to to make this worth a look.
Information
on Studying in Germany
- Study-in-Germany.de A comprehensive site produced by Deutsche
Welle, available in German, English, and other languages.
- DAAD [=Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst] The official
German Academic Exchange Service
- "Put Germany on your Resume": Listing of short-term programs in English in the sciences, Engineering, business and other disciplines
- Hochschulkompass
Information über deutsche Universitäten
Specific
Study Abroad Programs [before you enroll, be sure the
credits will transfer to Univ. of Michigan!!]
- CAMPUS
AUSTRIA Site collecting info on over 20 language
schools in Austria by region; endorsed by the Austrian
Federal Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs
- ABC-Zentrum
Sprachinstitut Austria
Located in the university quarter in Vienna, they
offer a wide range of courses taught by instructors
with university degrees. They emphasize individual
attention and willingness to help course participants
also in overcoming bureaucratic obstacles.
- Actilingua
Academy They describe themselves as: "the leading
organization in Austria specializing in the instruction
of German. Offering a successful range of courses,
our expertise in teaching and hosting has already
satisfied more than 10,000 students from more than
50 countries. At our homepage you can find more
information about Vienna (city map, cultural events,
etc), our program, or our "Virtual Classroom".
- Alpha
Sprachinstitut Austria They offer intensive courses
modelled on the Goethe Institute's methodology, located
in Vienna and including accommodations.
- Studienforum
Berlin Offers intensive 4 and 8-week summer courses
on language and culture in Berlin. 4-week courses
have a total of 96 hours of instruction, and cost
roughly $1,850 [11/2000 estimate]; 8-week courses
will have a total of 176 hours of instruction.
Prerequisite is one year of college German, i.e. you
need to have completed at least German 102 or 103.
They are also just starting a Winter semester program
running from mid-January to early May and costing
roughly $11,750. Cooperating schools include
the Universities of Hawaii, Richmond and Rochester
and Nazareth College, but any student interested in
obtaining US credits is eligible to apply.
- Wayne
State Junior Year in Munich Program America's
oldest academic year abroad program in Germany; officially
affiliated with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
of Munich.
Scholarship Resources Note that many of the above links will include some scholarship info, but here are some additional places to look
- UofM Global Portal - Funding An excellent summary of scholarship resources available to University of Michigan students and others wishing to study abroad
- DAAD [=Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst] This link takes you specifically to their scholarships for undergraduate students wishing to study abroad. The navigation bar lets you access scholarships for other categories of applicants.
- Fulbright The link takes you to the homepage for Fulbright programs for US students
Internships
We
cannot recommend this opportunity highly enough!
In a summer, you can dramatically improve your language
skills, get a first-hand view of what it's like to work
in a German-speaking country, add something very impressive
to your resume that shows your independence and experience,
and even make some money (not very much in most [but not
all!] cases, but still better than paying tuition...).
Study abroad is obviously a wonderful way to improve your
German and learn about the culture, but there is increasing
evidence that compared to short-term study abroad (e.g. for a summer), internships are an even better way to achieve
this. Students returning from summer internships tend to report greater
gains in foreign language, in
knowledge of the society, work-related knowledge, and
personal knowledge.
If you're a University of Michigan student, your first step towards an internship in a German-speaking country (even if you're not planning to go for another year or two) should be to contact Peggy Wunderwald-Jensen about the UofM Summer Internship Program in Germany, a collaboration between UofM and Cultural Vistas (see the first link below). Many of our students have also had excellent experiences with the International Cooperative Education Program (see the link further below). This program charges higher fees and is not officially affiliated with UofM, but offers more flexible deadlines and a different selection of internships, often higher-paying.
If you're looking for more general information, here's a great website to get you started: The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas Topics include acquiring international experience, the international job search, professions abroad, and various international career directories. This service is paid for by the UM International Center and is free for the UM community. Click on the link to register and get started!
University
of Michigan Resources
- University
of Michigan German Department Summer Internship Program
in Germany This program is a collaboration with
Cultural Vistas.
- More
info on internships arranged by the University Of
Michigan German dept.
- University
of Michigan Education Abroad Office Provides info on work, study, and travel abroad. Click here to go directly
to their very thorough and helpful information on working
in German-speaking countries.
- Office of International
Programs at the School of Engineering - Info on Work Abroad
IAESTE IAESTE is a competitive work abroad program aimed at students in
the fields of Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics,
Natural/Physical Sciences, Architecture and Agricultural
Science, and administered through Cultural Vistas. Contact Peggy Wunderwald-Jensen in the German Dept. for more info!
University of Michigan Chapter of AIESEC AIESEC is a global, non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education, whose goals include helping memebers find internships.
University
of Michigan Scholarship Resources for Internships
Other
Scholarship Resources for Internships
- Heinz
Prechter Tribute Scholarships The "Heinz
Prechter Tribute Scholarships" are sponsored
and administered by the Michigan Chapter of the German
American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, and provide
financial support to students from Michigan who have
been offered an internship in Germany by a German
company. Scholarship recipients will be selected through
an application and interview process open to all interested
students who are currently enrolled in good standing
at a public or private college or university in Michigan,
who have attained at least junior-class status, and
who possess German language proficiency adequate to
the meet the requirements of their overseas assignment.
The first Prechter Scholarships of $2,000 each were
awarded in 2002 to two University of Michigan students,
Erin Krumrei and Jennifer Kokko.
Organizations
Providing Internships for Students
- Cultural Vistas Cultural Vistas (formerly CDS International) administers a variety of marvellous
internship programs, including the University of Michigan German Dept. Summer Internship in Germany program, and the Congress Bundestag
Exchange. Cultural Vistas' Midwest Representative Peggy Wunderwald-Jensen has her office in the MLB!
- International
Cooperative Education Program Dr. Seefeldt, who
runs the program, maintains close links with our German
Department and visits the university of Michigan once
or twice each year to interview candidates.
Placements range from jobs in supermarkets to jobs
with BMW and Porsche.
- German
American Chamber of Commerce Internship Program
Internships primarily for students in business and
engineering.
- VolunteerGermany Program (Amity Institute) [Website seemed to be under construction 8/2012, but may return] This non-profit organization finds 6- or 12-month internships (starting in September) for high school and college graduates (ages 18-26). Fees are currently (5/2011) $950 for 12 months and $650 for 6 months, and you need to pay your own airfare. The program provides food, housing, some insurance, and a small stipend. Administered by Amity Institute, a U. S. State department-designated visa sponsor (founded 1962), with German social and environmental service non-profits. For more information, check out the website.
- CIEE:
Council on International Educational Exchange
Info
on Specific Internships
Useful
Sites for Finding an Internship or Job with a German
or German-American Company on Your Own
-
Job Boards with Current Openings that require German Language Compiled by Wayne State University - excellent resource!
- CareerJet This site consolidates search results from multiple internet sites. The link takes you specifically to a listing of job postings including the keyword "German" and located in the U.S. You will typically get a list of several thousand jobs at a time, which can be further narrowed down to e.g. several pages of jobs in Michigan.
- You can also search for jobs directly on the German version of the site at www.careerjet.de.
- Germany-USA Career Center Find jobs with American companies active in Germany, and German companies doing business in the US!
- Jobmensa.de Currently the most popular internship job-search site for students in Germany. Fill in a profile with your application info (presumably including a "Lebenslauf," i.e. a German-style resume) and info about what kinds of jobs you want. The site then emails you relevant job postings, you click on the ones you want to apply to, and (only) then your data are sent to those employers. Note: the site tries to generate a list of jobs near you, so when you visit the home page from a U.S. city, it will enthusiastically but mistakenly tell you that several hundred jobs are available in this city. Nevertheless, it should work properly if you look for jobs in actual German cities.
- GoAbroad.com
Info on study abroad and internships
- InternAbroad.com
Seems to be the same site as GoAbroad.com, but specifically
devoted to internships.
- germany-info.org
Try a search for "internships" to find lots of announcements
for specific internship opportunities. The site
also has a very informative section for students interested
in study abroad etc.
- Absolventa Here is some information on this site from Pascal Tilgner, the Managing Director/Co-Founder of Absolventa: "As one of the most famous German job boards with more than 735 German and international companies cooperating with us, ABSOLVENTA.de now provides its service to international students. Our focus is to support foreign students, graduates and young professionals who are interested in getting jobs or doing internships in Germany. We assist them in applying for a visa, getting in contact with prospective employers or in other general challenges that arise if they like to stay abroad. I feel confident that our cost-free service will be very attractive for students of the University of Michigan. ABSOLVENTA accompanies interested students during the entire process of getting jobs in Germany, working abroad or doing internships in Germany.
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit
This is the central German job placement agency.
- Escape
Artist This site is a goldmine of information
for anyone wanting to live and/or work abroad.
The site identifies its intended audience as: "Escaping
Americans ~ Expatriates ~ Overseas Job Seekers ~ Tax
Exiles ~ Adventurers & Freedom Seekers"
Travel
Deals
Flying to Europe
- Kayak Great site that searches multiple airlines and sites for your best flight deal.
- cheapflights.com Another great site that searches multiple airlines and sites for your best flight deal.
- airninja.com Specializes in finding low-cost flights between small airports by local carriers, and links you to more mainstream travel sites when no low-cost flights are available.
- WebFlyer:Deal
Watch - Airfare Cyberdeals Might help you find
a cheap last-minute flight
- Travelocity
- Expedia
- Priceline
Name your own price--save up to 40%. You choose the
date but not the time, if an airline agrees your credit
card is billed, and you are permitted only one bid
per route. This is the one Captain Kirk recommends
- Hotwire
- Orbitz
Getting around in Europe
- Eurail Pass This allows you to visit multiple European countries by train (provided you are not a resident of a European country). Various packages are available (depending on how many travel days you want, and how many countries you want to visit). You should plan carefully to buy the one that's right for you. "Youth Passes" are available if you are under 26.
- German Rail Pass The German Rail Pass, created jointly by eurail.com and Deutsche Bahn, allows for unlimited second-class rail travel within Germany. As with the Eurail pass, a Youth Pass is available if you're under 26. The price for this was $211 on 8/2/2011 - a great deal if you're planning to explore Germany.
- Trabi-Safari If you like the idea of taking a tour of Berlin or various other cities in former East Germany while driving a Trabi (and if you can operate a stick-shift!), this site is for you. While you are enjoying the sights passing by the windows of your personal Trabi, your guide provides you with information via radio. On 8/2/2011, "The Wall Ride" through Berlin cost €89/person (or less with more than two occupants per car). If you have a Eurail or German Rail pass, you may be eligible for a €10 discount on a Trabi tour.
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