FAQ Deutschlandstipendium

Eligible for the scholarship are (first-year) students enrolled in all undergraduate degree programmes (including bachelor and first state examination in law) and master’s programmes. Citizenship does not play a role. However, doctoral students and visiting students who are not pursuing a degree can not be considered for the scholarship. Funding is awarded irrespective of parental or student income. However, only gifted students expected to produce outstanding academic and employment-related achievements will be considered for the scholarship.

Students receive 300 euros per month.

Half of the money for scholarships must be collected by the university from private donors. The other half will then be provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The number of scholarships awarded per year depends on the university's fundraising success. The yearly call for applications will publish the number.

It is awarded for at least two semesters, and no longer than standard period of study. If the study period has to be extended for serious reasons such as a disability, pregnancy, the caring for a child, or a subject-specific stay abroad, then the funding period can also be extended upon application.

You apply online via the corresponding University of Konstanz web page. The application period begins every year on 1 September and ends on 31 October (cut-off date). After the application deadline, the best applicants will be notified and invited to submit a written application for approval together with the required documentation within a two-week period (further cut-off date).

First-year students can only apply for the scholarship at the university where they will definitely begin their studies (e.g. once they have found an apartment etc.). Additionally, the University of Konstanz publishes the number of scholarships it expects to award every year in its call for applications.

Once the applications for approval have been submitted, a selection committee of the University of Konstanz comprised of three researchers, three students and three employees from the university administration selects the scholarships recipients. A ranking list is created based on the written documents. The top ranked applicants are then invited to a personal interview, after which the selection committee makes its final award decisions. The scholarship recipients are subsequently informed in writing.

The selection criteria, the selection procedure, etc. are roughly governed by the scholarship programme statute and defined by the senate in the award guidelines of the University of Konstanz in detail.

Three criteria are considered during the selection process for the scholarship recipients.

1. Outstanding academic achievements or by first-year students at school (basic value)

The academic achievements of first-year students enrolled in undergraduate study programmes will be assessed through the grade-point average documented by their higher education entrance qualification. For first-semester students in a consecutive master's programme, their final bachelor's programme grade will be used to assess their academic achievement.

For students in the second semester and beyond, the average grade of the completed coursework and academic performance assessments will be used. For students in a master's study programme, the previous final bachelor's programme grade will also be taken into account.

Note: Applicants with foreign school and/or university degrees must have these values converted to the German grading system in accordance with the resolutions of the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the States in the Federal Republic of Germany). To do this, please first enter a fictitious value of "0.8" in the online application. For us, this is again a suitable indication that a conversion of grades will be necessary on our part. After submitting your online application, please contact the relevant staff at the admissions office for foreign applicants via email as soon as possible. After the grades have been converted, the results will be sent internally and directly to the German scholarship office.

2. Community service (deduction value of -0.2) -optional-

This is understood to mean regular voluntary work, social, university or political commitment or voluntary participation in religious societies, associations or clubs for a period of at least six months. The activity may not date back more than two years.

3. Challenging personal and family circumstances (deduction values between -0.2 and a maximum total of -0.6) -optional-

These include
a) own illnesses and disabilities,
b) caring for one's own children (especially as a single parent),
c) caring for close relatives in need of care with at least care degree 2,
d) coming from a parental home as a first-graduate (both parents have no school-leaving qualifications and/or a lower secondary school leaving certificate) OR a certain migration background (the applicant has attended the German education system, but he/she or both parents were not born with German citizenship and German was not spoken in the parental home),
e) their own "financial need".
Scholarship applicants are considered "financially needy" by definition in the award guidelines if at least one of the following three categories of income sources can be proven at the time of application:
1. BAföG funds (German Federal Training Assistance),
2. Income from own gainful employment within the last 12 months totalling at least EUR 2,690* (net) before submitting the application,
3. Student loans and other loans for the purpose of financing studies.
Other sources of income or assets are not taken into account.

* This corresponds to 5 times the maximum monthly amount for marginal employment in accordance with § 8 of the Fourth Book of the German Social Code (SGB IV).

Payment requires that the scholarship recipient is enrolled at the university which awards the scholarship. Exception: The scholarship will also continue to be paid during a period of study abroad in a subject-specific study abroad stay. This applies regardless of whether you have taken a leave of absence from your studies with us or not. However, the scholarship will not be paid during a leave of absence from studies for any other reason. When the scholarship holder resumes his or her studies after the leave of absence, the approval period of the scholarship will be adjusted once the student notifies the university.

The scholarship will expire according to the provisions of the scholarship programme at the end of the month in which the scholarship holder

1. completes his or her last academic performance assessment; this is the case if the whole result of the successfully concluded study is announced to the scholarship holder, at the latest however, with the expiry of the second month after the month in which the last exam part was filed.
2. breaks off his or her studies.
3. changes the field of study.
4. is exmatriculated.

Here too, payment requires that the scholarship recipient is enrolled at the university which awards the scholarship. If the scholarship holder changes universities during the scholarship approval period, then the scholarship will be paid, in accordance to the previous authorisation, for the remainder of the semester. Decisive here is the number of semesters at the university which has awarded the grant.

This does not apply, however, when the student simultaneously changes the degree programme or field of study, because, for example, the last examination has been completed in the previous study programme or university or because of another legal reason for termination (see question 8).

Applying for a new scholarship at the new university is possible.

The Deutschlandstipendium scholarship can be awarded in addition to receiving BAföG (federal student aid). However, if you already receive gifted- or academic performance-related financial support that amounts to more than an average of 30 euros per month and per semester, you are not eligible to receive the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. A current overview (in German)  (category "Studierende, Häufig gestellte Fragen, Parallele Förderung") will inform you if it is possible to simultaneously receive scholarships in addition to the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship.

You must provide the information necessary for examining the qualification and achievement requirements as well as evidence confirming this information. You must immediately notify the university of any changes to your personal circumstances that are relevant to the awarding of the scholarship. You must also submit the documents confirming your qualification and achievements required by the university to verify your eligibility to continue receiving the scholarship.

Yes, but only under certain conditions: We recommend that students who are already at the end of their undergraduate studies, i.e. one to two semesters before graduation, submit the next possible online application (time period from 1 September to 31 October of each year) for funding during the subsequent master's programme. When considering such an application, the same selection criteria apply as discussed above in the answer to question 7. Selection committee approval in this case can only be confirmed if you are actually admitted to a master's study programme in the same field of study and start this study programme at the University of Konstanz. The same is true if you already have been receiving the scholarship during your bachelor's programme and apply for subsequent funding.

You will first receive a written notification of approval with further details on the award, payment and important legal information. Furthermore, you will be awarded your scholarship certificate during a ceremony.

To extend the funding period the University of Konstanz has granted, a written follow-up application is required. The application form is available at the earliest on 1 October or 1 April at the SSZ. The form describes in detail what you have to attach to your application. Please hand in your application for a direct continuation of funding at the Director Student-Service-Centre (SSZ) by 31 October (extension for the summer semester) or 30 April (extension for the winter semester).

Important note: For the follow-up application procedure in October 2021, each scholarship holder will receive the follow-up application by e-mail together with further formal information.