Further Funding Opportunities

Educational Loan

To support students in advanced stages of their education, a low-interest loan is available, granted for a maximum of 24 months. The Bildungskredit (educational loan) is independent of income. Further information is available at www.bundesverwaltungsamt.de.

Information on the student loan is also available at the UCB Servicepoint of the swt: www.studiwerk.de/cms/kfw_studienkredit-1001.html

Provision of Low-Interest Loans by the Freundeskreis des UCB (Friends' Circle of UCB)

In line with the tasks and goals of the association "Freunde der Hochschule Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld e.V.", it supports, within its means, students who wish to spend a semester at a partner university abroad with an interest-free loan. Information HERE.

Scholarship-Granting Organizations

The scholarship award procedure depends on the type and program of the scholarship. Based on written application documents and after a pre-selection, the most promising candidates are in some cases invited to an interview. These interviews are sometimes conducted in the language of the host country and require applicants to have good subject knowledge as well as knowledge of political, economic, and cultural issues of the destination country. For some programs, internal university selection interviews take place at the International Office. To apply for a scholarship, you generally must meet certain conditions. For students, the following applies:

You must have studied successfully for some time (usually at least two to three semesters at the time of the scholarship application; longer in creative/design subjects)

You must submit current references from university lecturers

You must demonstrate good to very good language skills

You must provide a well-founded explanation of your motivation for the stay abroad and for the chosen university.

Selection criteria are generally academic, personal, and linguistic suitability. For scholarship programs, meeting application deadlines is important. These are often a year before the start of the program, in some cases even earlier.

The most important scholarship-granting organizations and funding opportunities are:

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

The DAAD offers various scholarship programs, e.g., annual scholarships, scholarships for combined study and internship semesters, semester scholarships, and much more. Pay attention to application deadlines! These are sometimes very early, up to 16 months before the start of studies. Special conditions also apply to DAAD travel cost grants for internships outside Western Europe (i.e., EU countries and Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein). The internship must last at least two and at most six months. Students must have completed their basic degree studies. Applications must be submitted to the DAAD no later than two months before the internship begins. Application forms are available online. A good overview of scholarships is provided by the DAAD scholarship database: www.daad.de/ausland/studieren/stipendium/de/70-stipendien-finden-und-bewerben/

Fulbright Commission (USA)

The Fulbright Commission offers annual scholarships for study and internships in the USA for students and university graduates. (Deadline: June of the previous year!) There are also travel cost grants, which need to be applied for only about 7 months before departure. There is also the option of applying for a 3-week Summer Institute. Detailed information and application documents at: www.fulbright.de

Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships

Students of all fields of study can apply for a scholarship. Destination countries are the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Chile, and England. The scholarships are intended to promote international understanding. They are not intended for obtaining an academic degree. www.rotary.de

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes – China Scholarship Program

Students of all fields of study can apply for an annual scholarship. The first semester includes language courses, the second semester focuses on subject-specific studies, followed by a several-week internship after the second semester. www.studienstiftung.de

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes – Haniel Scholarship Program

Graduates of all fields of study (in exceptional cases also students in higher semesters) can apply for a scholarship. Program structure: postgraduate studies, ideally with an internationally recognized additional qualification, at least 2 semesters of internship at a business enterprise in the host country. www.studienstiftung.de

Further funding opportunities can be found on the following pages: [Note: This information is a service of the Academic International Office and is intended to provide initial guidance. No verification of the quality of the information is carried out. No liability can be accepted for the accuracy, completeness, or quality of the information.]

Scholarship database of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF (stipendiumplus.de)

Internal information page on scholarships and foundations (hs-trier.de)

Talent Support Organizations (begabtenfoerderungswerke.de)

Financing Studies Abroad (bildungsdoc.de)

Asia-Pacific Experience for students shortly before graduation (giz.de)

ASA Scholarships (asa-programm.de)

China Competence Scholarship Program in STEM (bbcd-ev.de)

Franco-German Youth Office (djjw.org)

Studying Abroad with a Child (mawista.com)