Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) – Information for scholarship holders

To regulate the award of scholarships in accordance with the Scholarship Programme Act (StipG) of 21 July 2010, the HM has issued the guidelines that apply to you.

This not only sets out the purpose of the scholarship and the application criteria, but also sets out your rights and obligations as a scholarship holder.

The guidelines are an important source of information regarding your scholarship. You should therefore familiarise yourself with them right at the start of your funding period.

Your obligations to cooperate are set out in Section 11 of the Directive.

This refers to your obligation to provide us with relevant information and/or supporting documents within the applicable time limits. Failure to fulfil your obligation to cooperate may result in the termination of your funding.

To ensure that you always receive your funding and important information from us in good time, it is important that you keep us up to date with your personal details (e.g. address, email, bank details, examination results, periods of leave of absence, receipt of BAföG benefits, etc.).

Please inform us of any changes in these areas without delay by emailing Deutschlandstipendium@hm.edu.

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.

The funding period for the scholarship differs from the approval period. Details of the individual periods can be found in your written funding notification, which you received from HM at the start of the funding period.

• The funding period refers to the maximum length of time for which you could receive funding through the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship). This is based on the standard period of study for your degree programme.
• The award period, on the other hand, refers to the period for which your scholarship has actually been awarded. Please note that this period may differ from the maximum funding period.
  Further information can be found here in the FAQs on the topic of ‘applications for continued benefits’.

Funding under the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) usually ends when you

• have reached the maximum duration of funding (= the end of the standard period of study),
• were struck off the register,
• have completed their final examination,
• have dropped out of their studies or
• have changed their field of study.

In accordance with your duty to cooperate, please inform us immediately should any of the circumstances mentioned arise.

Before the end of the grant period (see the grant notification), a written application may be submitted to have the scholarship extended, provided that the maximum funding period (= standard period of study) has not yet been reached.

A few points to note before we begin:

• Applying for renewal is not the same as the standard application process for an initial application.
  This is a separate procedure from those involving other deadlines.
• Please only submit the application if you wish to apply for a renewal of the scholarship.
  No final report is required upon the normal completion of your studies or scholarship.
• Please note the rules governing applications in cases of hardship, as set out in the information below.
• Please note the regulations regarding subsequent Master’s programmes.

Please note: Deadline!
An application for the renewal of the scholarship within the maximum funding period must be submitted by the specified deadlines.
The necessary documents must be submitted as follows:

• from 15 February to 1 March of each year for the summer semester
• from 1 August to 15 August each year for the winter semester

The following documents must be submitted, exclusively in PDF format:

• A termly report (one A4 page) covering the academic year for which the scholarship was awarded. The brief report should provide information on your academic progress and, where applicable, the reasons for any delays in your studies. Furthermore, personal and family circumstances may also be included, provided they affect your studies. The report should be supplemented by a mention of the events or educational opportunities which you were able to attend thanks to funding from the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) (events from the framework programme and/or, where applicable, those offered by funding partners).

• an enrolment certificate that is valid at the time of application

Applications for renewal must be submitted exclusively via the online application form. When doing so, you must use the login details from your initial application or from your most recent renewal application. The link to the form will be announced in line with the deadlines set out above.

Applications for an extension of the maximum funding period on serious grounds (cases of hardship) in accordance with Section 8(1) of the Guidelines must be clearly identified as such by including an appropriate heading in the document.

• Please note that there is no legal entitlement to continued funding under the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) scheme.
• Whether the scholarship is renewed depends on the scholarship holder’s academic performance and the availability of private funding in the following year.

All relevant information regarding the application for renewal is also set out in the guidelines

For the time being, there is no longer any need to submit certificates detailing the academic achievements made during your studies. This information will be determined automatically by HM once the marks have been published.

No, because the scholarship generally ends upon successful completion of your degree.

It is not possible to ‘carry over’ the scholarship from a bachelor's degree programme to a subsequent Master’s degree programme, even if the Master’s degree programme is undertaken immediately after the bachelor's degree at HM.

To be eligible for funding for a subsequent Master’s programme, you must reapply for the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) in due time and in the correct form during the next available application period (= first-time application!) and take part in the general selection procedure again as normal.
All application requirements valid at the time of this application must be met.

In this case, it is not possible to submit an application for renewal (see the FAQ topic above).

A distinction must be made depending on the reason for a leave of absence:

• 
  If you take a leave of absence from your studies during the funding period – for personal or family reasons, such as illness, pregnancy, bringing up children or caring for a close relative – the scholarship will not continue to be paid. However, once you resume your studies, the approval and funding periods will be extended by the duration of the leave of absence.
• 
  If a leave of absence is taken for a study-related semester abroad or a compulsory work placement, the scholarship will continue to be paid during the leave of absence in accordance with Section 6(4) of the Scholarship Act (StipG) (see the FAQ topic ‘Semester abroad’). In this case, the funding period will not be extended.
• 
  If the grant holder takes a leave of absence for other internships not provided forin the relevant study regulations, the grant will not continue to be paid during this period. However, upon resumption of studies, the approval and funding periods will be extended by the duration of the leave of absence.

As part of your duty to cooperate, you must inform us in good time by email of the start date and duration of any leave of absence.

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

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 providedfor in the relevant study regulations (= compulsory work placement or semester of study abroad).

Important:
If you take a leave of absence to spend a semester abroad as part of your studies or to undertake a compulsory work placement, your scholarship will continue to be paid; however, this will not result in an extension of the funding period.

As part of your duty to cooperate, you must inform us immediately by email of the start date and duration of any stay abroad and/or leave of absence.

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 euros or more per month, is not eligible for a Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) and must choose between the two forms of support.

Should this situation arise and you decide (temporarily) not to accept funding from the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship), you are obliged to notify us of this without delay.

You can find an overview of permitted and excluded cases of dual funding in conjunction with the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) on the BMBF’s website dedicated to the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship).

If the relevant funding programme is not included in the list, please contact HM.

You can find out how your Deutschlandstipendium affects social security benefits and/or maintenance payments, and what you need to bear in mind regarding tax and insurance, on the BMBF’s website dedicated to the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship).

Yes, for example, whilst receiving another grant that cannot be claimed at the same time as the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) (see the FAQ section on ‘concurrent funding’).

Such a temporary withdrawal from the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) does not extend the period for which the scholarship is awarded.

If necessary, please clarify this matter with HM at an early stage.

During the course of your Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) grant, you will be informed about various events organised as part of the scheme. Whilst participation in the framework programme is not compulsory, the university strongly recommends that you take part!

After all, the Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship) thrives on the exchange between sponsors and scholarship holders. You should therefore take part in events organised as part of the framework programme and be open to the non-financial support on offer. See this as an opportunity to expand your personal network. This gives you a unique chance to develop your knowledge in specific subject areas, to get to know your sponsors and your university contacts in person, and to network with other scholarship holders and interesting individuals.

You can find further information on this on this page under ‘Your framework programme ’.