As you start to plan your stay abroad, there are a number of issues to keep in mind. Ask yourself the following questions to work out which options are available to you and what you really want to do!

• What do you want to do? Would you prefer to study abroad, or are you more interested in working/doing an internship?

• Do you receive BAföG? (This has an impact on study abroad options in particular.)

• How long do you plan to spend abroad? A semester? A year? Only twelve weeks? (eg. If you want to do a short school internship, you will have to find it yourself – the assistant teacher programme only sends students for a full academic year.)

• When are you able to go abroad? Are you prepared to be ‘beurlaubt’? in Oldenburg? Can you only go during the semester break? Are you studying a degree programme that can only be started in the winter semester (eg. GHR 300?) Are their other scheduling issues to keep in mind (eg. ASP in September, FP/FEP in February?) [Don't forget to check when you need to complete the preparation course for a compulsory internship as well as the internship itself!]

• Where do you want to go? Does this match your timeframe? (eg. You can’t do a school internship for three months in Britain in summer – it’s the school holidays! However, this would be an option in Australia/New Zealand, where it is winter then.)

• If you are planning to study abroad, what are your interests? Which Oldenburg modules have you completed/do you still need to complete? (Some universities do not offer linguistics, for example.) Do you want to get credit for the courses from the overseas university? Would you also like to do courses in your second subject? (Only possible at certain partner universities or as a direct applicant.)

• If you are planning to study abroad, can you get credit for courses? MEd GHR students only have one module for which credit is possible - studying as a bachelor student therefore makes more sense. On the other hand, MEd SoPäd and WiPäd students have all the Aufbaumodule to complete - study abroad as a Masters students (or doing these modules early) can be a very effective strategy!

• How is your second subject organised? Are their courses that can only be taken in a particular semester? Will this affect the timing of a stay abroad? (For example, experience suggests that Sonderpädagogik students may find it easier to complete their stay abroad during their master's degree due to course scheduling in that subject. Equally, Elementarmathematik has quite a rigid course structure and students will need to look carefully at options for going abroad.)

• Can you combine the compulsory stay abroad with a compulsory internship?