Information for Companies

The gap year of the University of Mannheim is a structured internship program for bachelor's graduates who have successfully finished their studies in business administration and who want to gain some professional experiences before starting their master’s degree.     

The Gap Year was launched in the summer of 2019 as a pilot scheme in the field of Accounting & Taxation. First collaborations started with the “Big Four” of the accounting firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC as well as some other industrial companies BASF, Bosch and Merck. They who provided internships for an exclusive number of graduates in business studies who interned both in-country as well as abroad.

With the growing interest of graduates in gaining such professional experience, the gap year has continually expanded: Now, almost 60 companies are collaborating with the University of Mannheim, Business School by offering internships with a large-scale of opportunities in the field of business administration. These are, for example, audit, tax consultancy, operations & supply chain management, finance, marketing, strategy or controlling.

The gap year is the answer to a widespread challenge of giving graduates a broad overview of current topics and career opportunities and enabling them to build a professional network. It consists of three internships, each lasting 4 months. Interested students, who have completed their bachelor’s studies in business studies are allowed to apply for the gap year program with one single application.

After that, successful applicants will be offered three internships, perfectly tailored to their interests. The collaborating firms will then have the opportunity to get to know the applicants and to recruit them for internships as part of the gap year. While doing the gap year, all participants will be enrolled as a student. During the gap year, students will also have the possibility to participate at an academic program, held at the University of Mannheim.

Are you a company representative and interested in participating in the Gap Year? Please contact Stefanie Burgahn.