DW International Journalism Traineeship 2028

Once again, DW is looking for creative people, who are interested in a comprehensive, high quality journalism program with an international broadcaster and who want to help shape the journalism of the future.

The 18-month paid journalism program is considered one of the most prestigious of its kind in Germany – and beyond. It covers a range of fields and skills, such as TV-moderation, multimedia storytelling, data journalism and working with AI-tools. The topics are explored in seminars and workshops at DW's editorial offices in Bonn and Berlin, along with our regional bureaus across the globe.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineNovember 17, 2026
• Study LevelTraining
• SponsorDeutsche Welle (DW)
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• The journalism trainees earn a monthly salary.

Requirements

For our traineeship, we're looking for inquisitive, open-minded and critical candidates who view journalism as a passion rather than a profession. Talent, creativity, languages and team skills are also important

1. Language skills

For our bilingual (German-English) traineeship we have certain language requirements:

• Native speakers of a DW program language (list of the languages below) with excellent knowledge of English (C1/C2) and a good knowledge of German (B1/B2)
•  Native English speakers / Proficient English users (C1/C2) with a good knowledge of German (B1/B2)
•  Native German speakers / Proficient German users (C1/C2) with excellent knowledge of English (C1/C2)

Good language skills in German are equivalent to a B1/B2 level, according to the CEFR:https://europass.europa.eu/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills

Excellent language skills in English are equivalent to a C1/C2 level, according to the CEFR:https://europass.europa.eu/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills

We ask you to honestly evaluate your personal language skills. Of course, we would be happy to receive your language certificates, but it is not mandatory. During the assessment center the exercises will be conducted in German as well as English. Journalists from language departments will test if you are proficient in other languages. The final interview will also be conducted in German and English.

The DW program languages: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Dari, English, French, German, Greek, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Kiswahili, Macedonian, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu

2. Qualifications

To apply, you will need to have completed a university/college degree, an apprenticeship or have graduated from a journalism school prior to the start of the traineeship. All applicants are required to include certificates of their qualifications (in digital form).

3. Journalistic experience

Applicants who can demonstrate extensive expertise in the journalistic application of artificial intelligence will be given preference. Relevant competencies include, among others, AI literacy, tool literacy, agentic AI, and vibe coding.

Our trainees work with DW editorial departments right from the start, so it is certainly an advantage if you have experience working in journalism. But we are also looking for applicants from other fields, whether you are an IT specialist, lawyer, physician, mathematician, nurse, chef, pilot, football player or referee. As long as you have a keen interest in journalism, like to work in a team and would like to explore a new field of work, we want to hear from you. Please also include samples of your work which has been published or broadcasted. You can upload all documents onto our application system. Please do not send any print copies, mails or apply via social media unless you are asked to do so. Otherwise your application will not be considered.

Application Documents

Please do not send any print copies, mails or apply via social media.   

Before you start with your online application, please make sure that you have all necessary documents available:

• Letter of motivation only in German or English (max. 700 words, font: Arial, font size: 10, spacing: 1,5, date and signature)
• One current CV using Europassformat
• And another CV in a freely chosen format
• University diploma or training certificate(s)
• Samples of your work (max. 3) - you can upload your work samples in one (or more) format(s) of your choice (video, audio, text, social media posts). Pay attention that the work samples should be in one of the DW program languages. You are welcome to upload your work samples in more than one language if they are DW program languages. A certified translation of your work samples is not necessary. The work samples may already be published or not. The must be the author of all works you sent us
• For non-EU citizens who are currently living in an EU country: a copy of your passport, as well as your residency permit

Application tasks:

To complete your application, you must complete the Questionnaire and Video Task and upload them to your applicant profile within the application period (13 October 2026 at 12:00 noon (German time) / (12 p.m. UTC+2) and 17 November 2026 at 12:00 noon (German time) / (12 p.m. UTC+1). Please make sure you allow enough time and do not leave your application until the last minute.

• Once you have registered in our application portal, you will recieve a registrationmail in which you will be informed about further steps in the application process.Please read this mail carefully.

• With the registrationmail, you will recieve a link to the application-tasks. The mandatory tasks are completing the questionnaire and creating a short, self-recorded application video. Please read these documents carefully, as they contain instructions on how to upload your completed tasks to your applicant profile.

• Please do not email us your edited questionnaire or the link to your video. You will need to upload these on your own in your user profile, otherwise your application will not be considered complete!
• You can only submit your application via our online application portal. Please Do not send application documents, the questionnaire, or video links by email. They will be automatically deleted by the system.

If available:

• Proof of your language skills according to the CEFR: https://europass.europa.eu/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills
• Internship certificate
• Employment references
• Letter of recommendation in german or english(with letterhead, stamp of the organization, signature and date)

Never send us your original documents, except for when we specifically ask you to do so.

Application Deadline

November 17, 2026

How To Apply

For more information, kindly visit the DW webpage.