Internship
For the successful completion of your studies, you must complete 6 weeks of work experience.
Please send us your internship/training certificate as early as possible to praktikum.sfbl[at]tum.de – even if you already submitted it with your application. Please note that the job reference cannot be submitted in person. As soon as we have received the internship certificate, you will receive an automatic confirmation from us that we have received the documents. NB: This is not a recognition of the internship. The processing of your internship certificate may take some time. Please be patient and refrain from asking about your application status. We will confirm the recognition separately as soon as the documents have been processed. You can also check the status in your TUMonline account (marked with a green P).
A fundamental component of this course is the independent search for an internship. In addition to notices at the university, you can also find other internships in our Careers section.
A prerequisite for the recognition of a professional internship is a thematic relevance to pharmaceutical bioprocess technology and a sufficient technical reference. Internships in the areas of production, laboratory work, quality assurance, research and development, and related areas in companies in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries are generally eligible for recognition. This applies analogously to the relevant supplier companies (mechanical engineering, chemical industry, automation technology, etc.). Technical relevant vocational training that has already been completed before the commencement of studies is recognized as a professional internship. Internships in one's own or parental/relative companies are only recognized in exceptional cases and must be clarified in advance.
Internships in companies whose fields of activity are not relevant to the respective degree program are not eligible for recognition. Internships at universities in Germany and abroad are also not recognized. Please be aware of this. No recognition is possible for internships in canteens, restaurants, mail order companies, online trade, warehouses, logistics, vehicle fleets, sales, distribution, administration, marketing or pharmacies. Internships connected with online research, literature reviews or the management of brewing courses cannot be recognized either.
Example of non-recognition:
"I would like to do an internship at a bakery in sales. Will this be recognized?"
No, an internship in sales or distribution does not meet the requirements of a professional internship and therefore cannot be recognized, even if it is a food production company.
Example of recognition:
"I would like to do an internship in a bakery in the field of pasta production. Will this internship be recognized?"
This internship can be recognized because it takes place in the field of food production.
A formal prerequisite for the recognition of internship achievements is the internship certificate, which is issued by the company in the same way as a work certificate. This certificate must contain at least the following information: Duration of the employment with the beginning and end dates of the internship, exact description of the activities, and evaluation of the work performed.
An internship report is generally not required, unless the internship certificate does not clearly indicate the nature and scope of the activity, in which case an internship report must be prepared as a substitute. The accuracy of the contents must be confirmed in writing by the company.
As a general rule, professional internships are to be completed in consecutive periods. Internships shorter than three weeks cannot be recognized. Longer periods of absence (e.g. illness) during an internship must be made up for. Furthermore, the company's holiday arrangements should be included in the employment contract.
Please note that in the case of international companies the certificate must be issued or translated into German or English for recognition.
If you have found an offer for an internship position that suits you, but you are not sure whether recognition is possible, you are welcome to have the possibility of recognition checked in advance by the Study Office (braulemi.co.wzw[at]tum.de).
The completion of internship or employment contracts is the responsibility of the students, i.e. the Office of Student Affairs does not offer sample contracts and does not check the contracts. The contracts should be issued directly by the relevant company’s internship office.
The completion of internships during the lecture period is generally not recommended, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. An internship completed during the lecture period can also be recognized without any problems.
More information on practical experience during studies
Shuttle bus
In order that you can attend your chosen courses in Garching without problems, we provide a free shuttle bus from Weihenstephan to Garching.
Weekly timetable