International Office

Legal basis for work and work placements

Regardless of your future status at your university, there will never be a guarantee that you will find a job to support yourself during your studies. You should therefore be aware of the fact that you might have to live off your own personal funds, support from your family or scholarship resources only!

Furthermore, in Germany, students who have a contract for work with monthly incomes over € 538 have to pay social contributions. Students have to pay taxes for yearly incomes over € 10,908 (as of 2023).

If a student works more than 20 hours per week for more than 26 weeks per year, they loose their student status regarding the tax and social contributions law.

On-campus work regulations

  • Students are allowed to work on campus in a field related to their study programme for a maximum of 85 hours per month at Ulm University. The German term for this kind of work is “studentische Hilfskraft”. Most jobs offered at the universities are for advanced students and may require German language skills.
  • Doctoral students (Doktorand*innen) may be employed on campus as academic assistants (wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft). The amount of hours is set by the supervisor of their doctoral thesis.
  • Scholarship holders receiving their scholarship form a German organistaion should follow the guidelines of their scholarship provider.

Off-campus work without a work permit

All EU citizens have unlimited permission to work in Germany. Students from outside the EU without a work permit are allowed to work for a maximum of 140 entire (= 8 hours/day) or 280 half days (= 4 hours/day) per academic year. You are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week during lecture periods, otherwise you will lose your student status regarding health insurance. Therefore in order to avoid any interference with your studies, it is recommended to work during the lecture-free periods. Recent graduates are allowed to work under the same conditions as students during the first 18 months after graduation as they search for a job.

Off-campus work with a work permit

Degree students who plan to work more than the above given time limits need a work permit from the Agentur für Arbeit and the Ausländerbehörde. Usually, a work permit is only given to advanced students for work related to their field of study and after presenting a so-called Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung (certification of no objection) from their university. This certificate has to confirm that the student has been studying successfully so far and that the university has no objection to them working in a study-related field.

Information on current job offers (all websites only in German!):

Please note that students from non-EU countries are not likely to get an off-campus work permit!

Internships (Praktika / Praxissemester)

Information about internships can be found on the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (job centre) website; more specific information about internships can be found on this German-only website also from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit.