Funding Scholarship Programmes

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), based in Bonn, is the largest funding organisation for the international exchange of students and academics and offers various scholarship programmes for German and German-equivalent students, graduates and doctoral candidates. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic qualifications and personal suitability. Application papers should be sent directly to the DAAD; as a rule, the application for a place to study abroad does not go through the DAAD, but is carried out in parallel with the scholarship application on the applicant's own initiative.

Information on the individual DAAD programmes and advice on preparing the application can be obtained from the International Relations Office.

The PROMOS programme provides funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for short-term stays abroad of up to six months. All German and international students from Heidelberg who are enrolled in a Bachelor's, Staatsexamen or Master's degree programme (with the exception of short-term or exchange students) are eligible to apply. For international applicants, sponsorship to the home country is generally excluded. Doctoral students can also apply for the “Language Courses” and “Subject Courses” programmes. Depending on the funding line, travel expenses, subsistence costs and course fees can be subsidised; the DAAD's award criteria apply.

The following activities can be funded within the framework of PROMOS:

• Semester stays abroad (outside the EU)
• Research stays (also for dissertations)
• Language courses
• Specialised courses
• Internships outside the EU/EEA and Turkey
• Competitive trips by student groups

Online application (Individual)

Online application (Wettbewerb)

Important:

There is only one deadline per year for applying for a PROMOS scholarship. Therefore, please consider in good time which activities abroad you are planning for the respective year and whether you would like to apply for PROMOS scholarship support for them. The place to apply is the Department of International Relations at Heidelberg University.

Students who have been nominated for an exchange programme at Heidelberg University can apply to the International Relations Department for a scholarship from the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung to support their studies abroad.

The funds of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung are used to promote international exchange between universities. Since these exchanges must always be reciprocal and require a waiver of tuition fees at the host university, it is primarily participants in exchange programmes (with the exception of the ERASMUS programmes) who can apply for a Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM.

The Fulbright Commission awards scholarships for study and research stays at US universities. The general requirement for application is German citizenship.

Study Scholarships

One- to two-semester study scholarships serve to deepen and supplement previous studies. Application requirements are a Bachelor's degree or, as an equivalent, at least the intermediate examination and two successfully completed semesters in the main study programme at the latest when the scholarship begins. The scholarships include partial payment of tuition fees and living costs at the American university, transatlantic travel costs and health/accident insurance.

Application period

• Mid-June to mid-August for studies to begin in the autumn of the following year.

Travel grants

Fulbright travel grants are aimed at students (Bachelor's and Master's) who plan to spend at least one semester studying at an American university. The stay must be arranged and (partially) financed through German-American university partnership programmes, German-American associations or foundations. The travel grants cover the costs of travel from the home country to the American place of study as well as health/accident insurance.

Application period

• Beginning of December to mid/end of January for studies to begin the following autumn.

Research stays

Doctoral students at the beginning of their doctorate can also be funded by the Fulbright Commission for research stays of four to nine months at American universities.

Application period

• 01 April for a stay beginning in October
• 01 August for a stay beginning in February
• 01 November for a stay beginning in May

Students who go to a European partner university within the framework of ERASMUS are exempt from paying tuition fees at the host university. In addition, each student receives a grant to cover the extra costs of a stay abroad. For further information, please visit the website of the Erasmus Coordination of Heidelberg University.