Finding Scholarships

Overview

Programme Description

BAföG, the Federal Training Assistance Act, provides funding to support studying in Germany. It can also be used to finance school-leaving qualifications and vocational training at a school or academy. Half of the funds are provided as a grant, the other half is an interest-free loan that must be repaid at a later time.
Students from abroad can also receive BAföG - for example, EU nationals and people who have a settlement permit or are recognised as refugees, as well as their family members.
BAföG can also be paid if you are studying wholly or partly in another EU country or Switzerland. For degree programmes in non-EU countries, funding is also possible for some part.

Target Group

You can receive BAföG if you are studying at a public or private higher education institution or academy whose degrees are equivalent to higher education degrees under state law. You should also be under 45 years of age at the start of your studies.

Eligible for funding are Germans and citizens of the European Union, migrants and refugees who live in Germany (see here for more details) and are aiming for a secondary school-leaving qualification, are studying or are completing vocational training at a school or academy.

Duration

In principle, students receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study (maximum funding period) - even during the lecture breaks. In certain cases, an application for an extension can be made - for example, due to pregnancy, raising children or caring for a close relative.

Scholarship Value

The financial support is adjusted according to the financial means of the applicants and their families. The amount of funding can thus be determined by

• the income of the parents, spouse or registered partner in the calendar year before last
• the applicant's own income (e.g. from a part-time or holiday job)
• the applicant's assets

The maximum amount (including healthcare and long-term-care insurance) for students at higher education institutions who are not living in the same household as their parents is currently of 992 EUR per month.
There are different types of funding for different target groups. Please find further information on the topic here.

Application Papers

Students should apply at the Student Services (Studierendenwerk) at the location of their higher education institution. These are responsible for processing applications.
All relevant contact data (addresses, telephone numbers, websites) of the Education Assistance Offices (Ämter für Ausbildungsförderung) can be found at www.bafög.de.

Application Deadline

Applications should be submitted in due time before the beginning of the studies.