Pre-internship

To ensure that students have practical knowledge of agriculture at the beginning of their studies, a pre-study internship of at least 13 weeks is required for enrollment. This internship can be completed before the start of the course.

Documentation (see below) is required for recognition of the internship.

The university particularly recommends that prospective students who do not come from an agricultural background complete a full year as a pre-study work placement in order to get to know all the seasonal particularities on a farm.

Proof is provided in the form of a certificate from the training company stating the start, end and content of the internship and a report. If possible, the certificate should be written on the company's letterhead and/or stamped. The company is briefly introduced and the time completed and activities described.

A contract is not a substitute for a reference or certificate. It can be helpful when it comes to proving that an internship is intended or in progress.

The report comprises the following parts:
Farm description(form)
a summarized description of activities (approx. one page)
and the execution on a special topic of the farm (e.g. milking, soil cultivation, haymaking..., length approx. three pages).

Please upload these documents with the online application in eCampus. Subsequent submissions of certificates and/or reports should be sent to Andreas Kleinlein.

• Training as a farmer or animal farmer (not beekeeping or pond farming), dual study program in agriculture, internship examination: Exemption from pre-study internship
• Horticultural or forestry assistant examination, LTA training: An additional one-month internship on a livestock farm is required.
  In the case of horticultural training in areas other than vegetable and fruit growing and forestry training, an eight-week internship on a livestock farm is recommended.
• Parental main agricultural business: Confirmation from the parents about the previous practical training period and an additional 1 month on an external farm
• FÖJ: Is recognized if it took place on a recognized agricultural training company and the activity took place in agriculture. This must be stated on the certificate.
• Internship abroad: Is recognized if it took place on a farm with arable farming and animal husbandry and it can be proven that the farm meets the criteria of a main occupation or training farm. A prior agreement is required for this.

Bafög can already be granted for the 13 weeks of the pre-study internship. For this purpose, you can receive a confirmation of recognition when you send an internship contract to the university and submit it to the responsible Bafög office(Studierendenwerk Witzenhausen).