Information on the practical training semester

During the Nautical Science and Maritime Transport study programme, you will complete two six-month practical training semesters in order to receive your nautical certificate of competency. This applies for all universities which offer this course. According to the study plan, the practical training semesters should take place in the 2nd and the 7th semester of your studies.

Practical training semester / training as a navigational officer’s assistant (NOA) during the Nautical Science and Maritime Transport degree
  • Contact: Cornelia Beelmann, Dipl.-Ing. (FH): +49 (0)491 / 92817 - 5024 or cornelia.beelmann(at)hs-emden-leer.de.
  • Submit your application to shipping companies at least six months before beginning your studies / the start of the semester – this may mean before the results of your final high school leaving examinations have been released.
  • In each case, please note the semester start dates: winter semester September 1st – summer semester March 1st.
  • Do you need tips on getting your practical training semester recognised? See the downloads below!
  • It is possible to carry out training as a navigational officer's assistant (NOA) as part of your practical training semester.
  • Please note: You must have submitted your practical training semester contract to the university before leaving for your practical training semester!

Further information on the internship semester or NOA travel time as well as internship semester contracts in German and English – required only for the internship semester, not for Navigational officer’s assistant (NOA) training – is available for you to download, see below.

You must keep a record of your practical training semester at sea using the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH)’s On Board Training Record Book for Navigational Officer's Assistant. This is available in bookshops:
ISBN 978-3-86987-787-7, BSH no. 6005, Price: €22.50

Instead of completing a practical training semester, you have the option of completing training as a navigational officer’s assistant (NOA), which will be recognised as time spent at sea in accordance with the practical training semester stipulations.

The Berufsbildungsstelle Seeschifffahrt (BBS) in Bremen is responsible for supervising NOA training. You must present the University of Applied Sciences Emden / Leer with a corresponding certificate from the BBS following your time spent at sea.

In consultation with the corresponding shipping company, this NOA training can be combined with your degree. This means that, like the practical training semester, the NOA training period can be split up into 2 6-month periods at sea and, accordingly, would take place in semesters 2 and 7.

Please note: This is not an internship, which is part of the study programme according to the matriculation regulations of the Hochschule Emden / Leer like the internship semester, and for these is not provided for in the examination regulations. Therefore for these on-board phases a leave of absence from the studies is indispensable!

Information on the Nautical Science and Maritime Transport degree practical training semester