StudiesStudy Abroad & Internship Option
The preparations for the mobility semester can start as early as the first semester, read below for information and students' experiences on study exchanges, joint degree programs, and internship options.
students share their experiences
Below, you will find some former and current MATS students' reports on their experiences studying abroad or interning during their mobility semester. We aim to provide you with some firsthand intel on specific universities and exchange programms. No matter, if you are undecided or you already have a university in mind where you want to study abroad, we want to share advice and personal experience that might aid you in your decision making and application process.
Exchange programs/internships coordinated by the MA Transcultural Studies Institute:
Seoul National University, Republic of South Korea
Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Jueun participated in the exchange program during her third and fourth semesters (September 2022 - June 2023) at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in Italy, one of the affiliated universities under the Heidelberg University exchange programs. She received an Erasmus grant from Heidelberg University. In addition to the courses from the Department of Asian and North African Studies, she also attended courses offered by the Environmental Humanities Department. During her stay in Italy, she lived in Mestre and commuted to the main island of Venice. If you have any questions about this exchange program, please do not hesitate to contact her via email:
hje8087@gmail.com
Kyoto University (Joint Degree), Japan
Meira participated in the Joint Degree Program with Kyoto University, which is a cooperation between the Graduate School of Letters of Kyoto University and the HCTS of Heidelberg University. Students in this program study equally at both institutions and receive supervision for their master thesis from both places. After studying the first year in Heidelberg, the third and forth semester are spent in Kyoto, where the master thesis is also written and submitted. The program receives funding through the University of Heidelberg. During her studies, Meira lived at Yoshida International House, a dormitory provided by Kyoto University right on campus. She also attended Japanese classes which are offered by the University at multiple levels and participated in the annual four university meet-up with Kyoto, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka Universities where students present their study projects.
Exchange programs coordinated by the International Office of Heidelberg Universtiy:
Chinese University Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R.
Katharina participated in one of the Heidelberg University exchange programs, which is open for all departments. The deadline for the exchange to Hong Kong is very early so she had to apply in October during her first semester. She went to Chinese University Hong Kong in her third and fourth semester of her study (August 2022 - May 2023). In addition to her courses at the Culture Studies institute at CUHK she also attended Mandarin classes at the school's Yale-China-Institute. She also received a monthly stipend from the Baden-Württemberg-Stiftung. You can find her informal newsletter, which she wrote for friends and family, below. If you have any questions about this exchange program, feel free to reach out to her via email:
The mobility semester: formalities
The module handbook of the MA Transcultural Studies describes the third semester as a mobility semester:
"Due to the transregional nature of the M.A. Transcultural Studies, spending the third semester abroad may be a valid option to further expand one’s transcultural background, to deepen one’s language skills, or to acquire research experience “in the field”. As such kinds of mobility require time and effort to plan and organise, students should consider the related options of studying at a research institution related to the M.A. Transcultural Studies, or conducting a guided, research-oriented internship at the beginning of the programme. ..."
You can read the rest here:
Master of Transcultural Studies module handbook
Basically, what this means is you have the option to use the third semester to
a) go on a study exchange, or
b) do an internship (i.e. at a museum, a foundation, an NGO, etc.)
However, all of these options will take you some time to prepare, so plan ahead! Especially the study exchange programs that are not organized via the institute tend to have very early deadlines and if you want to go during your third semester you usually have to apply by the end of October, during your first semester.