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Faculty 6
Study programme Heritage Studies Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Financing your Doctoral Studies

BTU currently charges a semester fee of around 165 EUR for university services. This also covers the costs for the Student Services Organisation (Studentenwerk) and the Student Council (StuRa).

Living in Cottbus

When applying for your visa, you must prove you are able to finance your studies in Germany. You must be able to prove you can fully support yourself for at least the first 12 months. The exact living expenses depend on your lifestyle. Further information can be found here.

Living expenses in Cottbus are generally lower than in big cities such as Berlin, Leipzig or Dresden. Accommodation and other essential living expenses will amount around 610 to 980 EUR/month.

As for accommodation, doctoral students at BTU can – contrary to many other universities in Germany – apply for a place in a student dorm. Our Welcome Centre provides a list of accommodation options in Cottbus and can you support at every stage of your study at the BTU. Please note that student accommodation is managed by the Studentenwerk – an entity separate from the university – and student dorms are open to students on all levels (Bachelor, Master, PhD).

Financing your doctoral studies

Apart from your living expenses, your doctorate, of course, entails manifold costs for your research - e.g. field trips, experimental and lab work, software etc. For the financing of your doctoral studies, there are various options to choose from:

Grants and Bursaries of External Sponsors

To find out if you are eligible for a scholarship or support from other funding organisations, we recommend the following websites:

Deutsches Stiftungszentrum
Scholarship Database of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD
EURAXXES
Research in Germany

The BMBF-supported scholarships for gifted students are awarded on the basis of above-average performance and social commitment. You can find an overview of the current scholarships offered by the participating organisations on StipendiumPlus. You are welcome to find out more about the individual scholarship organisations before you start your search for a scholarship:

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes - Flyer
Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft
Hans Böckler Stiftung - Flyer
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung - Flyer
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung - Flyer
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst
Avicenna-Studienwerk
Cusanuswerk
Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk

We recommend using scholarship search databases to find specific funding opportunities:

ELectronic Research Funding Information System ELFI
myStipendium
Scholarship Portal
Academics
e-fellows

This list does not claim to be exhaustive - we will be happy to add more links as they become available!

Grants and Bursaries of the BTU Graduate Research School (GRS)

The Graduate Research School (GRS) is a central facility for the promotion of young academics at BTU. The GRS funding model is based on three pillars incorporating individual (e.g. individual grants and bursaries) as well as structural funding instruments (e.g. doctoral programmes). For doctoral students at BTU, GRS offers e.g. grants for conference participation and short research-related stays. GRS also awards a limited number of individual doctoral grants in accordance with the graduate funding regulation (GradV) of the state of Brandenburg. Furthermore, GRS also awards doctoral grants within the context of clusters. Clusters are structured doctoral programmes of limited duration which offer doctoral students a high quality academic and international research programme. International students also have the opportunity to receive teaching and research assistance from GRS. This GRS funding instrument is financed with funds of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and serves the improved skilled integration of international doctoral students at BTU.

For more information on the GRS funding schemes please visit the GRS website and subscribe to the GRS newsletter.

Central Equal Opportunities Office of the BTU

 

 

In addition, young academics may also apply for bursaries and travel allowances from the Central Equal Opportunities Office. For further details on announcement periods and requirements for approval please visit the websites of the Equal Opportunities Office.

 

Career Center of the BTU

The BTU Career Centre's comprehensive Online Job Exchange offers student and research assistant positions as well as BTU staff positions. In addition, you can find numerous part-time jobs, working student positions, internships and regional and national job offers.