Funding for the doctorate

Scholarships are a form of financial support that is not subject to conditions and is tax-free, paid out regularly over a predefined period to cover living expenses. In addition, many scholarship providers award grants for stays abroad, publications, and laboratory, research or printing costs. A child and family allowance can usually also be granted upon application. As some scholarships cover only short periods or one-off payments, a fundamental distinction must be made between full and partial funding.

Whilst the talent development schemes funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) award full scholarships to cover living expenses, there are also a large number of private and corporate foundations which often offer only smaller sums in the form of research grants or, upon application, cover the costs of materials, laboratory work or printing.

The advantage of a scholarship is that it allows you to focus entirely on your doctoral project; in other words, the proportion of time that can be devoted to academic work is the highest compared with other forms of funding. Furthermore, you have a great deal of freedom in terms of where you work, whereas if you were employed, you would be tied to your employer’s location.

As applicants have to go through a rigorous selection process, a scholarship also represents a certain honour. To submit an application, you will usually need to submit a research proposal, a timetable and work plan, several references, a CV, copies of your academic transcripts and proof of admission to a university authorised to award doctorates. Depending on the funding body, in addition to financial support, non-financial support may also be offered, for example through further training programmes or conferences.

One disadvantage of PhD scholarships is that they are not regarded as employment; you must pay any statutory contributions, such as health insurance, yourself. As a scholarship holder, you also do not contribute to unemployment and pension insurance, which means you are not entitled to unemployment benefit once the scholarship has ended.

As a general rule, if you are undertaking a doctorate with the help of a grant, you should endeavour to plan your dissertation project carefully and bring it to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible, as most funding opportunities only cover a period of one to three years at most.

Anyone wishing to pursue a doctorate with funding should be prepared to show a certain degree of flexibility. Although many foundations allow for extensions to the funding period in response to life events – such as pregnancy – it is not uncommon for PhD projects to have to be carried out with a fixed-term combination of funding sources. This also includes periods without a steady financial income. It is often overlooked that the period spent applying for scholarships, either during or after one’s studies, must also be financed in some way.

The thirteen organisations for the promotion of gifted students in Germany support doctoral candidates through full scholarships, which include both financial and non-financial support. These organisations, which are funded by the BMFTR, award the majority of scholarships in Germany. You can find an overview of this on the BMFTR’s website and at www.stipendiumplus.de.

Although the funding organisations are formally independent, they are usually closely associated with a political party, a religious community, or trade unions and employers’ organisations. As the support programme is designed to reflect the values of the grant-awarding bodies, short-term loans intended solely to cover final costs are not granted.

When the term ‘talent’ is used in this context, it does not refer solely to academic achievement as a criterion for funding. The foundations attach just as much importance to civic, social, trade union or political engagement.

In addition to organisations that support gifted pupils, private foundations also offer scholarships. The database maintained by the German Association of Foundations can provide guidance in this regard.

Please check the relevant websites of the foundations, funding organisations and other scholarship providers yourself to find out about the current eligibility criteria. Above all, you should consider which funding organisation is the best fit for you in terms of your academic background, personal circumstances and, where applicable, your political or religious views. As there are many foundations that cater to very specific target groups and only announce funding awards or scholarships from time to time, you should carry out your own research into current calls for applications.

It is possible to submit applications to different foundations at the same time, but combinations that are ideologically contradictory should be avoided.