Congress Bundestag Vocational Youth Exchange Scholarhsip

  Germany

• Berlin: 
Berlin
• Munich: 
Munich (Munchen)

Durations of Program: 7-12 months and 1-2 years
Dates: July 2008 - June 2009

Description: This Full Scholarship program offers the opportunity for graduating seniors to spend an entire year abroad in Germany: learning the language, attending school, and gaining valuable real world experience through an internship with a German Company! The program is jointly funded by the United States Congress and the Bundestag of Germany and has been in existance since 1983. Each year 25 students are selected for this prestigious scholarship from high schools across the country.

About the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program:

Conceived by members of the United States Congress and the German Bundestag, this full scholarship program is designed to strengthen ties between the successor generations of each country. The friendships developed through this special program will deepen each participants understanding of the commonalities and differences in German and American social, economic and political institutions. The program provides an opportunity for the exchange students, our future leaders, to expand their perspectives and awareness of each others culture, society, history and politics. At the same time, it enables German and American families to extend their friendships across international boundaries and to relate to one another as members of the same world community.

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program provides a unique intercultural educational opportunity for American and German youth. Each year over 300 American high school students receive full scholarships to become exchange students to Germany, where they will live with host families for a year and attend German schools. Similarly, German students live for a year with American families in the United States. This program is supported, as well as funded, by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag.

About Vocational Youth Exchange Scholarship:

For the upcoming school year, a special Congress-Bundestag scholarship opportunity is being offered to 25 graduating high school seniors with a vocational background. This program is being administered by Nacel Open Door.

Program Summary: 13th Year Abroad for High School Graduates with a Vocational Background

The Congress-Bundestag Vocational Scholarship provides an opportunity for U.S. high school graduates who have undertaken vocational training to spend their 13th year abroad pursuing their vocational interests. It is important to emphasize at the outset that this is a Young Adult program which seeks to enroll students who have demonstrated maturity and responsibility and who can be entrusted to fulfill their roles as exchange students without day-to-day supervision.

1) All students will receive two months of intensive language preparation following their arrival in Germany before being assigned to their permanent host family and school. The family/school experience is meant to ensure their integration into German society, more fully prepare them to communicate in German, offer them opportunities to meet other young people their age, and prepare them for internships, wherever possible.

2) Students should be aware that Nacel Open Doors partner in Germany will make every effort to place them in a school or work situation in their field of interest or related to their field of interest. This, however, will not necessarily be possible in all cases. Students should fully understand that their international experience is the important and essential element in the exchange, rather than specific training in their given fields of interest.

3) Students are required to bring between $300-$350 per month for spending money.

4) Students will provide their own domestic round trip transportation from their home to Washington D.C.

Requirements:

* Students must be Graduating Seniors (At least 18 and no more than 19 years of age by July 1 of departure year)
* Minimum "B" Average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale)
* U.S. Citizenship
* Ability and willingness to serve as an Ambassador of the United States
* Previous study of the German Language is not required!

Highlights: This full scholarship program, which runs from July to June, includes:
- A pre-departure orientation in Washington D.C.
- Two months of intensive German language training.
- Training/School attendance and an internship while living with a German host family.
- Both a Mid-Term and Re-Entry Seminar in Berlin.
- Room and board for the duration of the program.
- Health, liability and accident insurance.
- International travel to and from Germany.

Cost in US$: Full Scholarship

This Program is open to American Participants.

Participants Travel to Germany in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups of 25

Application Process Involves:

• In-Person Interview Required
• Letters of Reference
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Resume
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad

Nacel Open Door's Mission Statement: Nacel Open Door is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting international undeerstanding and language education. We're committed to supporting parents and teachers who want to offer their children and students meaningful educational experiences outside the classroom and in the world. Our world can be made better if today's youth learn to understand and appreciate its cultural and linguistic diversity. Young people benefit from experiences which complement their classroom learning, which help them develop an awareness of their role as world citizens, and which instill in them an ability to enjoy and adapt to diversity and change. Opportunities to participate in such experiences must be accessible and affordable to as wide a range of people as possible.

Year Founded: 1957