Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) – Information for applicants

Since the summer semester of 2011, the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) has been providing funding to students and first-year undergraduates whose track record suggests they are likely to achieve outstanding results in their studies and careers. The scholarships are funded in equal parts by the federal government and private sponsors, including companies, organisations and private individuals.

The participating universities play a key role in the implementation and organisation of the scholarship programme. With financial support from the federal government, the HM approaches potential donors, selects the students to receive funding and organises the funding.

As well as financial support, recipients of the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) at HM can also benefit from a wide range of contacts and a framework programme , thereby becoming part of a growing network.

Further information on how the scholarship works can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF)

• High-achieving and committed students with a bachelor's degree or a master's degree at HM, as well as
• Applicants for places on degree programmes across all departments and at both bachelor's degree and master's degree programmes,
• who still have at least two semesters of study remaining within the standard period of study, starting from the commencement of funding in the winter semester.

International degree-seeking students, as well as students on extra-occupational or work-integrated degree programmes, are also eligible to submit an application. In addition to students undertaking their first degree, students on a second degree or a master's degree programme – whether full-time or part-time – are generally also eligible for funding.

In principle, all bachelor's degree programmes and master's degree programmes at HM are eligible for funding. Students and applicants for places on degree programmes that are not explicitly mentioned in the current call for applications may also apply for the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship).

Applications can be submitted during the summer semester (usually in April/May) for funding to begin in the following winter semester.

Applications are made online by completing and submitting an online form with file attachments.

The link to the online application tool will be published on the website www.hm.edu/Deutschlandstipendium when the application process opens.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications that are incomplete or not received by the deadline will not be admitted to the procedure!

Applicants must have above-average results in their studies or at school.

Where appropriate, social engagement or subject-specific activities, whether within or outside the university, as well as social and family circumstances, may also be taken into account in the selection decision.

The specific eligibility criteria that the university takes into account during the selection process are set out in Section 6 of the university’s guidelines on the award of Deutschlandstipendien.
Please take a look at the ‘Templates & Documents’ page.

Academic performance during studies or at school is an important indicator for assessing applicants’ ability and talent. However, you do not need to have achieved a specific minimum grade to submit an application.
Ultimately, it is the overall picture – comprising academic achievement, career history, social commitment and personal circumstances – that counts, as the application and selection procedure is designed to take the applicants’ whole personality into account. Applicants must be assessed against the academic standards and profiles of the other applicants. The criteria therefore vary in rigour depending on the composition of the applicant pool and the funding year in question.

The following documents must be submitted in digital form, i.e. attached as PDF files as part of the online application:

• A completed and signed application agreement (this can be found in the online application tool during the application period)
• Letter of motivation (1 to a maximum of 1.5 DIN A4 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae in table format
• For students from the first semester onwards: a current enrolment certificate; applicants for a place must submit proof of enrolment as soon as possible (by 1 October of each year at the latest) (as a PDF to deutschlandstipendium@hm.edu )
• For students from the second semester onwards: a transcript of marks with ECTS credits, which you can generate yourself via PRIMUSS (first-semester students do not need to provide a transcript of marks; these will be obtained from the Examinations Office once the marks have been published)
• For applicants to bachelor's degree programmes: a certificate confirming the higher education entrance qualification; in the case of foreign qualifications, a certificate recognising the higher education entrance qualification, stating the average mark (e.g. a ‘uni-assist’ written notice or a certificate from a qualifications recognition body); if the certificate is not yet available at the time of application, it must be submitted by 27 July of the relevant year at the latest (as a PDF to deutschlandstipendium@hm.edu )
• where applicable, certificates of previous higher education qualifications (a certificate showing the final mark is sufficient; a list of all courses taken is not required)

You may, if you wish, attach supporting documents to your online application to substantiate the information you have provided – for example, in the following categories:

• Current evidence of community involvement and/or involvement in areas relating to the HM’s profile criteria (in each case, no more than two years old; exceptions are specified in the application tool)
• Receipt of BAföG grants and/or a student loan
• Certificates of completion of vocational training
• special family circumstances, e.g. looking after one’s own children and/or caring for relatives
• medical certificates
• where applicable, circumstances that have had a negative impact on the individual’s educational history to date

All supporting documents must be submitted as PDF files and in uncertified form as part of the online application.

No evidence of your academic classification within the degree programme is required for your application (with the exception of external Master’s applicants; see above). Your academic classification will be determined after the application deadline, in consultation with the Examinations Office. You should therefore not request any references from Professors for your application; such references will not be taken into account in the selection process.

If the application documents are not written in German or English, an officially certified translation into German must be enclosed.

Important:
Please also refer to the current call for applications and the application agreement (see the ‘Templates & Documents’ section or the online application tool).

No, letters of recommendation or reports on personality or professional excellence from Professors are neither required nor requested!

However, certain details – such as those relating to community involvement either at or outside the university – must be substantiated by appropriate supporting documents or references.

Evidence of your community involvement and of your involvement in the areas covered by the HM profile criteria must be issued by an official body and must provide information on

• the scope of your role,
• the period during which the activity was or is being carried out
• as well as the link to the topic of social engagement.

The letter (which you may address generally to the scholarship selection committee) should answer the following key questions:

• What studies are you pursuing, and what motivated you to take up your studies?
• What personal qualities, experiences, etc. make you a particularly suitable student for a scholarship?
• In what specific ways can / will the scholarship support your studies or your personal development?
• Particularly important: details regarding the information you provided in your online application, e.g. regarding your social engagement or activities relating to the HM’s profile criteria, or, where applicable, your financial, personal and/or family circumstances, etc.

Keep it brief! Please donot write more than 1 to a maximum of 1.5 DIN A4 pages:

The Scholarship Selection Committee (StAA) of HM is responsible for awarding the scholarships. It comprises a member of the university management, a Professor appointed by the university management, and two representatives from the Student Parliament.

No, the university makes its decision on the basis of the written application documents or the online application.

As a rule, the results of the selection process are communicated by post or email between mid- and late October and early November. You should therefore provide an address in your application where you can be contacted until then, and check your email inbox regularly.

Please notify us immediately of any subsequent changes to your (email) address by emailing the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) team .

Recipients receive a monthly grant of €300, usually for at least two semesters and up to the end of the standard period of study. The grant is awarded regardless of the students’ income or that of their parents.

In addition to financial support, HM offers its scholarship holders an attractive framework programme : the focus is on building a valuable network – both amongst the scholarship holders themselves and through contact with the sponsors – as well as on personal development, particularly with regard to starting out in a career and career progression.

The funding begins in October of the relevant year and is usually granted for an initial period of two semesters.

Before the end of the grant period, you may apply for what is known as a ‘renewal’ of the scholarship. Please note the deadlines and requirements set out in the guidelines.

Continued funding is subject to the academic performance of the recipient(s) and the availability of private funding in the following year. The maximum duration of funding ends upon completion of the standard period of study.

Yes, if you applied for the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) at HM a year ago and were unsuccessful, you may submit an application for the scholarship in subsequent years – provided you (still) meet the application criteria in force at that time – in due time and in the correct manner.

Yes, the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) should be regarded as a supplement to BAföG benefits. Students can claim both forms of financial support at the same time.

However, you must notify your Student Finance Office yourself that you have been awarded the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship). Further information on this can be found on the BMBF’s website about the Deutschlandstipendium.

As a general rule, anyone who is already receiving financial support based on talent and academic achievement (e.g. from a foundation for gifted students), amounting to an average of €30 or more per month, is not eligible for a Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) or may have to choose between the two forms of support.
However, it is still possible to submit an application now, at least!

Further information on how to avoid so-called ‘double funding’ can be found in an overview published by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF).

The scholarship will continue to be paid (provided you go abroad during the funding period) even if you are on a subject-related study period abroad.

However, a period spent abroad will only not prevent the scholarship from being paid out if it is an integral part of the studies or is provided for in the relevant study regulations (compulsory work placement or semester of study abroad, etc.).

Further information on this can be found in the HM’s guidelines on the awarding of Deutschlandstipendien.

The scholarship ends at the end of the month in which the recipient(s) withdraw from their studies, sit their final examination, change their field of study or are struck off the register.

Further information on this can be found in the HM’s guidelines on the awarding of Deutschlandstipendien.