In veterinary education, internships constitute the practical part of students’ studies pursuant to the German Veterinary Medical Leicensure Law (Verordnung zur Approbation von Tierärztinnen und Tierärzten – TAppV); this means they are an integral component of studying veterinary medicine.

Students complete the following internships as part of their studies:

• Agricultural Internship

• First section of the practical training in the curative veterinary practice (short curative internship)

• Second section of the practical training in the curative veterinary practice (long curative internship)

• Practical training in ante-mortem and post-mortem meat inspection

• Practical training in inspection activities, methods, and technologies for the foodstuffs sector

• Training in Veterinary Public Health (Veterinary inspection offices)
  

Further information on extramural internships, learning objectives, evaluation and certification can be found in the brochure "Extramurale Praktika im Studiengang Veterinärmedizin".

pursuant to section 23 (1) (3) and para. 2 TAppV

First section of the practical training in the curative veterinary practice 
(in short: short curative internship (kleines kuratives Praktikum) pursuant to sections 57(1), 58 and 59 TAppV)

Second section of the practical training in the curative veterinary practice (long curative internship)
(in short: long curative internship (großes kuratives Praktikum), sections 57(2), 58 and 59 TAppV)

Practical training in ante-mortem and post-mortem meat inspection
(in short: slaughterhouse internship (Schlachthofpraktikum) pursuant to sections 55 (2) and 56 (2) TAppV)

Practical training in inspection activities, methods, and technologies for the foodstuffs sector
(in short: hygiene and food inspection internship (Hygiene- und Lebensmitteluntersuchungspraktikum) pursuant to sections 55 (1) and 56 (1) TAppV)

Training in Veterinary Public Health (Veterinary inspection offices)
(in short: veterinary medicine internship (Praktikum Veterinärwesen) pursuant to sections 61 and 62 TAppV)

Elective Internship
(section 60 TAppV)

Practical training in ante-mortem and post-mortem meat inspection and Practical training in inspection activities, methods, and technologies for the foodstuffs sector

To help students find suitable internship spots, the Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology provides information on the hygiene and slaughterhouse internship and on specific operations.

List of certified “Veterinary Training Practices” from the Federal Association of Practicing Veterinarians (bpt)

To ensure the quality of training and education students receive during their programs, the Bundesverband praktizierender Tierärzte (bpt) has joined with students, institutions that provide training and education in veterinary medicine, and the Veterinärmedizinischer Fakultätentag in developing quality standards that a practice is required to meet in order to receive the bpt quality seal as a practice providing veterinary training and education and be included as a recognized practice providing training and education in the list of practices.

Overviews with internship places in the fields of curative practice, university institutions, public authorities, research institutions, the Zoological Gardens and industry of the German Veterinary Medical Society (DVG)

The German Veterinary Medical Society (DVG) provides students with an overview of internship sites in the areas of university institutions, government agencies, research institutions, zoos, and industry.

For the guide “Arranging the EPT" by the Federal Association of Practicing Veterinarians (bpt), please click here.

As a basic principle, internship certificates in German in accordance with the annexes to the TAppV must be submitted to the examination office. The department’s website offers translations of the internship certificates along with the internship requirements in English, French, and Spanish.

It is recommended that interns have both the foreign-language certificate and the German one signed by the person responsible for the internship.

Students at general higher education institutions or universities of applied sciences complete an internship required pursuant to their study or examination regulations before, during, or after completing their study programs. Internships that are not required, but are completed in connection with a degree program for practical purposes or reasons of expediency, are also conceivable.

In the case of internships completed for a general higher education institution or university of applied sciences, the educational institution does not have any direct influence on the manner in which the internships are conducted or the internship process. Students integrate themselves into the flow of work within the operation during the internship, so they meet the requirements to be considered dependent employees (abhängig Beschäftigte) pursuant to section 2 (1) (1) of the German Code of Social Laws (Sozialgesetzbuch – SGB) VII. It is immaterial in terms of evaluating the internships for purposes of accident insurance law whether the internships are necessarily required pursuant to the study or examination regulations or are completed voluntarily. The party responsible is the accident insurer responsible for the enterprise where the internship is completed (section 133 (1) SGB VII). If a participant engages in practical activity in another country in connection with his or her studies or doctoral candidacy, whether this activity is required or voluntary, there is generally no longer any accident insurance coverage unless the social insurance laws in the host country afford a claim to benefits for these kinds of activities as well.

In summary: If the internship takes place directly within the Department of Veterinary Medicine, you have accident insurance through the university. If it takes place outside the department, you need to be insured through the enterprise where the internship takes place. You need to report this to the relevant accident insurer.

For the learning objectives, please see the learning objective catalogue.

The Department of Veterinary Medicine at Freie Universität Berlin provides its students with catalogues of learning objectives for the extramural internships. These lists encompass important activities that the students should see or perform under supervision as part of their internship.

The lists serve as guidelines for the specific internship for both students and internship supervisors. Because the settings where the internships are performed have different structures and emphases, not all of the learning objectives listed can be achieved during the time allotted for one internship. 

The lists of learning objectives form the basis for the evaluation of internships by students and internship supervisors as required by the EAEVE.

• Link to the Internship Certificates

If you have any questions about the internships, please contact the internship officers.