Clinical Elective Abroad

General guidelines

For a Clinical Elective abroad, the same rules apply as for a domestic Clinical Elective - i.e., a Clinical Elective abroad can be derived in an outpatient care facility under medical direction or in a suitable specialist practice (Practice or Outpatient Clinical Elective) as well as in a hospital, a university hospital or an academic teaching hospital (Hospital Clinical Elective). It is mandatory that the Clinical Elective be directly related to patient care.  

The only exception is the family doctor clinical traineeship: This can only be completed in Germany. It should be noted that a complete certificate must be issued in German. If this is not possible, a certified translation in German must be attached.  

Notes on insurance coverage

During your stay abroad you are not insured by HHU or UKD. You must clarify your insurance status abroad in advance with the respective foreign institution. If necessary, you must take out the appropriate foreign insurance (health, liability, accident insurance, etc.) before your departure.

Federal Representation of Medical Students in Germany (bvmd)

Many medical students use the services of the Federal Representation of Medical Students in Germany (bvmd).
The bvmd is a member of the international umbrella organization IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students' Associations) and helps medical students organize their worldwide internship abroad within the framework of the Famulantenaustausch.
Find out more on the bvmd website and ask the Düsseldorf local representative (Exchange Department of the Medical Student Council) for detailed advice.

•     Website of the bvmd
•     Information of the bvmd about the exchange of medical students
•     Information of the Medical Student Council on the exchange of clinical trainees

Clinical Elective at our partner universities and institutions

You are welcome to apply for a Clinical Elective at one of our partner universities and institutions. Please note the information under the following point "Announcements".

Organization on your own initiative

Of course, you can also organize your clinical traineeship abroad yourself. Inform yourself extensively on the internet, read the experience reports in ILIAS, written by your fellow students, and contact Mr. Yiliqi in the Office of the Dean of Studies if you need a signature for your application form, a Letter of Recoomendation and/or help with the application.

Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine

Through an exchange program with our partner university "Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine" in Japan, you have the opportunity to complete a 4-week Clinical Elective in the Far East.
Please note: Before starting the Clinical Elective abroad, you should have already completed a 4-week Clinical Elective!

Application deadline: 15.7. for stays in the following calendar year.
Application documents:

•     Letter of motivation (approx. 1 page)
•     Tabular curriculum vitae
•     English language certificate (Japanese language certificate is an advantage)
•     Current Transcript of Records (overview of achievements) including grade of the Medical Intermediate Examination (if available) → available from Ms. Wacker at the Student and Examination Administration Office.
•     Proof(s) of Clinical Elective(s) already completed → can be submitted later, if not already available

Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences

The program is still under construction - no application possible at the moment.

Faculty Scholarships for Clinical Electives Abroad of the Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine sponsors Clinical Electives abroad with a one-time payment of €420. The scholarships are awarded partly according to academic performance and partly according to extracurricular commitment. For more information and application deadlines, click here.

Erasmus+ Internship Funding Program

The funding program "Erasmus+ Internship" requires a minimum duration of the internship abroad of two full "Erasmus months" (one month corresponds to 30 days). For this reason, only the 60-day hospital clinical traineeship completed in one piece in one of the "Erasmus program countries" can be funded under Erasmus+ Internship. Due to the minimum duration, the 60-day hospital clinical traineeship abroad can only be completed without interruption during the lecture-free period of the summer semester (August and September) or during a semester off or vacation.  

HHU Mobility Grants

If you will complete your hospital clinical traineeship without interruption for six weeks at a time in a country outside the Erasmus area (e.g. Switzerland) and/or overseas, you can apply for financial support through the HHU Mobility Grants or the PROMOS scholarships at the International Office of HHU. Detailed information can be found on the International Office page.

DAAD Scholarships

Funding opportunities from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) can be researched in the scholarship database or can be found in the current announcements.

Further external funding opportunities

Other external funding opportunities are presented in our Medicine goes abroad event series. The presentation slides can be found in Ilias (folder "Slides Medicine goes abroad").

Regular course of study:

Your Clinical Elective abroad will be recognized by the Landesprüfungsamt für Medizin, Psychotherapie und Pharmazie (LPA).
Therefore, it is important to inquire at the LPA already when choosing a hospital or practice whether your Clinical Elective can be recognized.
On the websites of the LPA you will find information about the (foreign) famulatur guidelines, application forms for recognition in several languages as well as contact persons.

Model study program:

Your clinical traineeship abroad will be recognized by the Student and Examination Administration of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
On our website you will find information about the (foreign) clinical traineeship guidelines, application forms and certificates in several languages as well as contact persons.

Do you have further questions?
Do you need a Letter of Recommendation/Dean?
Do you need help with your application - seal and signature?

Then please use the form via this online portal.

A transcript of records in English is available from Mrs Wacker in the Examination Administration. You can download a certificate of study/certificate of enrollment in English here: Digital Study Organisation.