If you want to go abroad for a research project or internship, you are not limited to our exchange partner universities. You can choose to do your research project at any university, organization or company, as long as your study programme approves.

There are no strict application deadlines for research projects or internships. However, there are other matters to take into account in your planning, such as the arrangement of practical and administrative matters and scholarship application deadlines. We therefore advise to start looking for a research project within Europe at least 6 months, and outside Europe at least 9 months, before departure.

How can you find opportunities?

• Contact a professor in your field or your study advisor, they may have recommendations for organisations which will align with your specialisation or interests. 
• Check different websites for worldwide vacancies like JobTeaser, GoinGlobal and WilWeg.nl's stage page (Dutch).
• Consult the Student Reports database to read about other students’ study abroad experiences. You can filter reports on the basis of country, faculty and type of activity abroad.  
• Check Leiden Career Services for current vacancies.
• Occasionally, opportunities are advertised on the Science International Office's Brightspace page (under Faculty of Science (FWN)). 

When you apply for a research project or internship, we recommend you send your preferred host organization the following:

• Your Motivation Letter
  Science Career Service can provide feedback on your motivation letter.
• Your CV
  Science Career Service can provide feedback on your CV. You might also want to use the Europass platform to easily create a CV.
• Letter of Recommendation
  Ask for a letter of recommendation from a professor in Leiden who knows you well.
• Transcript of Records
  You can request an up-to-date copy of your transcript via transcript@science.leidenuniv.nl  Be sure to include a conversion table for your grades (in English).

Are you welcome to join your host organisation? Ask the host organisation for an official letter of invitation. This should include the start and end date of your research project, a short project proposal (summary), the name and address of your supervisor, and a signature.

Please note: All research projects need to be supervised by a member of the academic staff and a representative of the host organization.

Send the letter of invitation and project proposal to a staff member in Leiden and ask if they are willing to act as your internal supervisor. This will almost always be a researcher. Your internal supervisor will be your research project or internship’s contact person / responsible person at Leiden University.

To include your obtained credits in your degree in Leiden, you will need approval for your research project or internship abroad approved from your study programme. This approval can be obtained via either the Board of Examiners or ProjectMAP (BSc and MSc Biology and MSc BPS). You can contact your study advisor to request permission from the Board of Examiners. They will require your official letter of invitation, your motivation and the amount of ECTS you expect to earn. In ProjectMAP, you can fill out and submit the online agreement with your supervisors.

Contact the Science International Office know where you are going via outgoing@science.leidenuniv.nl and we can assist you further with scholarships, registration in our university portal, and other questions you may have.

Read the information available on the Health & Safety page, and attend a mandatory Health & Safety session before departure. If you are unable to attend a session, please contact the Science International Office via outgoing@science.leidenuniv.nl.

Complete your uSis registration. Find the information on how to do so below, under ‘Register in the Study Abroad Portal’.

Your scholarship is dependent on the location and duration of your research project or internship.

• EU-destination (including Norway): Erasmus+ for Traineeships
• Non-EU destination: LUSTRA+ Scholarship and NL Scholarship. The NL Scholarship is a selection grant requiring motivating documents. The annual deadline is April 1 of the preceding academic year.
• USA: Dutch2USA Internship Program. This is a grant for low-income Dutch students (ontvangers aanvullende DUO beurs) with a minimum 7.0/10 GPA. Funding is for a maximum of 6 months. Start your application 6-9 months in advance. Annual deadlines are March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

Scandinavia: ULLA grant. This grant is open to MSc Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences students going on exchange to or conducting research at Uppsala University, the University of Helsinki or the University of Copenhagen.