FAQ Germany Scholarship Answers to frequently asked questions

No. Each university decides for itself whether to offer the Deutschlandstipendium. If it decides to do so, the scholarship holders are selected by the committees of the universities on the basis of the established criteria. The university must make its selection on the basis of the legal requirements.

Special social, family or personal hurdles, the overcoming of which should be taken into account in the selection process, also include experience of flight or political persecution.

Students with a refugee background can also receive the Deutschlandstipendium if they are enrolled at a state-funded or state-recognised university in Germany that participates in the Deutschlandstipendium.

The Scholarship Programme Act (»Stipendprogramm-Gesetz, StipG«) and the Scholarship Programme Regulation (»Stipendienprogramm-Verordnung, StipV«) stipulate the funding criteria that the universities can develop. The Deutschlandstipendium is intended to support talented and capable students. School and academic performance are important criteria for assessing the ability and talent of applicants. However, the eligibility criteria also include awards and prizes, previous employment and internships, extracurricular or extracurricular commitment and overcoming biographical obstacles, such as those caused by origin. The application and selection process should take into account the applicant's entire personality.

Funded students should have their backs free for as long as possible and be able to concentrate on their education. The sponsorship usually lasts at least two semesters and covers a maximum of the standard period of study. After one year, the university checks whether the scholarship holder still meets the eligibility criteria.

Similar to BAföG, participation in a university committee or in a committee of student self-administration can be a reason for extending funding. This only applies to elected members. The duration of the extension depends on the amount of time the activity causes.

The scholarship is aimed at students and applicants for Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

Please remember that you must have at least two remaining semesters of standard study time ahead of you. In the case of university Bachelor's programmes, this usually means that you are in your 4th semester at the time of application (and in the case of university Master's programmes, in your 2nd at the most). For application-related degree programmes, corresponding standard periods of study apply.

Doctoral students and students in PhD programmes are not eligible to apply.

Yes. Please enclose an admission certificate for a Bachelor's or Master's degree programme at the BTU with your application. You can submit the certificate of study later.

Yes, in addition to the admission to the Master's programme, please enclose a certificate with your application stating that you expect to finish your studies at the end of the semester. You can submit the certificate of study for the 1st semester of the Master's programme later.

Yes, the standard period of study is also the maximum funding period. Bachelor's and Master's degrees are independent degrees, each with its own standard period of study.

This simply means that other applicants have been selected as scholarship holders this time. That is not a bad thing! First and foremost, you will gain experience in the application process and it is an ideal exercise for subsequent application processes in general, not just for the Deutschlandstipendium.

The earlier in your studies you start applying for the Deutschlandstipendium, the more chances you have of applying again in subsequent years. Just apply again - every application is a new chance!

Besides the financial incentive, there are many reasons to apply for a scholarship. Here are just a few:

• Contacts to sponsors (usually companies) enable insights into professional life.
• If desired, sponsors can support scholarship holders in their search for an internship, the topic of their final thesis or offer them a future job (scholarship holders are not obliged to accept such an offer).
• Being a Deutschlandstipendiat is a quality feature in your CV, potential employers know about the programme.
• Networking with students from other programmes and with sponsors
• In a nutshell: You are doing something positive for your professional future!

The BTU only awards Deutschlandstipendien in the winter semester. In general, the call for applications is published on the BTU website at the end of June.

You apply online via a special portal: to the online application portal

You have three weeks between the publication of the call for applications and the application deadline to get all the documents and fill in the online form. Please start your application in a timely manner! There are only a few documents involved, which you can usually obtain easily.

Uploading the attachments takes some time, so we recommend a step-by-step upload. Please avoid uploading all documents only on the last day of the application period. It would be a pity if you are too late and the application is not accepted.

You can find all the important information about the application documents in our checklist.

The certificate of study or certificate of admission for the winter semester specified in the advertisement for the Deutschlandstipendium must be submitted (for students already enrolled after re-registration).

Submission of the certificate of study for the current summer semester certificate leads to formal rejection of the application.

There is no form for the letter of motivation. Please explain briefly and concisely (max. one page) to the selection committee of your faculty why you are applying for a Deutschlandstipendium and why you are suitable for the scholarship. Please include your contact details, date and sign the document.

Formal rejections (e.g. incomplete application, exceeding the standard period of study) are usually sent by e-mail in July.
It is up to you not to receive such a message! It is better to ask beforehand if there is any uncertainty or ambiguity.

Successful applicants will receive an email at the beginning of September. Applicants who unfortunately could not be considered by the selection committee will receive a rejection letter in October.

Please wait until you receive a message. It is not possible to answer individual questions about the status of your application during the application process.

The sooner you contact us with your concerns, the sooner we can help you.
If you have any problems or questions about the conditions of the Deutschlandstipendium (e.g. standard period of study), the documents to be submitted (e.g. admission, certificate of study) or for any other questions (e.g. special cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic) - just let us know.

Contacts

Astrid Buse
T +49 (0) 355 69 3511
deutschland-stipendium(at)b-tu.de

During a leave of absence from studies for personal or family reasons, e.g. pregnancy or child rearing or to care for a close relative, the scholarship will not be paid. If you continue your studies, the grant period will be extended by the duration of the leave of absence. If a leave of absence is taken for a semester abroad or for a compulsory internship, the scholarship will continue to be paid. In this case, the period of approval is not extended.

A distinction must be made here between compulsory internships at home and abroad and other internships. Compulsory internships at home or abroad are integrated into the degree programme and do not prevent the scholarship from being paid out. The same applies to subject-related stays abroad. If the scholarship holder takes leave of absence for other internships that are not provided for in the respective study regulations, the scholarship will not continue to be paid during this time.

Whether funding can be continued during a voluntary internship for which the student has not taken a leave of absence from his/her studies must be decided by the university in each individual case. Criteria can be, for example, whether completing the internship leads to an interruption of the studies. Depending on the curriculum, this may not be the case for internships that take place during the lecture-free period or are of short duration (up to six weeks).

The scholarship will continue to be paid even if you are on a subject-related stay abroad. Provided, of course, that you go abroad for the duration of the scholarship. This applies irrespective of any leave of absence at the higher education institution that awards the scholarship. If you study abroad through the ERASMUS+ programme, the Deutschlandstipendium will continue to be paid even if you also receive a mobility grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as a scholarship holder.

In the event of a change of university to the same subject area, a transition semester is granted, i.e. the scholarship continues to be paid for one semester. This gives the student the opportunity to apply for a Deutschlandstipendium or other funding at the new university. This applies both to a transfer to a university in Germany and to a university abroad.

In the case of successful completion of studies, the scholarship ends with the announcement of the overall result, at the latest, however, at the end of the second month after the completion of the last examination. Otherwise, the scholarship ends at the end of the month in which the scholarship holder discontinues his or her studies, changes the subject area or is exmatriculated.

In principle, the scholarship ends with the successful completion of studies, i.e. also with the completion of the Bachelor's degree. Universities may set up special selection procedures to facilitate the transition to funding for Master's studies.

Only if it's financial support and is based on talent and performance. For example, programmes to teach soft skills or interdisciplinary knowledge as well as mentoring programmes do not preclude funding.

This depends on the amount and type of scholarship funding. As a general rule, anyone who already receives talent- and performance-based material support averaging 30 euros or more per month is not eligible for a Deutschlandstipendium.

No. BAföG and the Deutschlandstipendium are two complementary programmes. In principle, students can claim both funding opportunities at the same time without deductions. A deduction is only made if a total amount corresponding to a monthly average of 300 euros is exceeded due to the simultaneous receipt of other scholarships. The usual principles of asset imputation apply to saved scholarship funds, i.e. the imputation-free limit of 5,200 euros is not increased when a scholarship is received.

No. As a rule, the Deutschlandstipendium is not offset against other social benefits, such as »Unemployment Benefit II«. An exception is the receipt of housing allowance.

Yes. However, recipients of housing allowance must note that, like other scholarships, half of the Deutschlandstipendium is taken into account when calculating the annual income. For further questions on the topic of scholarships and housing allowance, please contact your local housing allowance office.

The Scholarship Programme Act (Stipendienprogramm-Gesetz, StipG) was designed in such a way that Deutschlandstipendien are generally not income subject to tax or social security contributions.

The Deutschlandstipendium has no effect on the contribution to the statutory health insurance as long as the scholarship holder is compulsorily insured in the statutory health insurance (usually until the completion of the 14th semester or the 30th year of life). The case is different if the scholarship holder is (subsequently) insured as a voluntary member. For voluntary members, the legislator has prescribed the levying of minimum contributions. If the income of the insured person subject to contributions (this also includes scholarships) exceeds an assessment basis specified by the legislator, the corresponding income is subject to contributions.