How to apply for the Deutschlandstipendium

The selection criteria for the awarding the Deutschlandstipendium are based on the statutes of Trier University of Applied Sciences. In principle, very good to good academic and school achievements are the most important prerequisite for being selected for the scholarship. The chance of being awarded a DeutschlandSTIPENDIUM increases if you can also demonstrate social, political and community commitment (please note that only commitment dating back no more than 3 years at the time of application will be considered). Personal and family backgrounds are also taken into account.

In addition to the above criteria, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• The scholarship can be awarded to students who are enrolled in undergraduate and Master's degree programs at Trier University of Applied Sciences during the grant period. The regular grant period is 2 semesters.
• The standard period of study set for the degree program may not be exceeded during the grant period. Exceptions can be made for serious reasons (e.g. disability, pregnancy, care and upbringing of a child, study-related stay abroad) according to § 7.1 of the statutes and require an informal application by the applicant.
• Any other material support based on talent and performance that amounts to an average of 30 euros or more per month may not be received at the same time as the Deutschlandstipendium. A detailed overview of the admissibility of receiving other scholarships at the same time as the Deutschlandstipendium can be found HERE.

Applications are assessed on the basis of a fixed list of criteria. Of the points awarded, 75 percent are allocated to the grade, 5 percent to academic aptitude, 10 percent to social commitment and 10 percent to the applicant's personal circumstances.

• The average grade is calculated from all grades achieved to date in the study program; for first-year students, the grade of the university entrance qualification is used; for first-year Master's students, the Bachelor's grade (or grade of the admission requirements qualifying for the Master's program) is used.
• Academic aptitude includes internships, awards, prizes, special achievements and professional experience that was gained prior to the study program.
• In the selection process, consideration is given to whether applicants are studying under difficult personal circumstances, e.g. whether they have to finance their studies independently, have a migration or refugee background, have health restrictions, have to care for a relative, have children or are the first academics in their family.

Scholarship holders are selected by an internal university committee. All applications that are submitted on time and contain all the mandatory documents are included in the process.

The sponsors of the Deutschlandstipendium are given the opportunity to participate in an advisory capacity in the allocation of their scholarship holders on the basis of anonymized applicant information. They do not receive any applicant information on the selection criterion “personal circumstances”.

Normally, students can only be funded with the Deutschlandstipendium within the standard period of study (Regelstudienzeit). However, according to the statutes (§ 7.1), the maximum funding period can be extended due to serious reasons. Serious reasons include, for example, a disability, pregnancy, the care and upbringing of a child or a study-related stay abroad. If your studies are extended beyond the standard period of study for a serious reason, you can still apply for the Deutschlandstipendium. However, the prerequisite is that an informal request for exceeding the standard period of study is submitted with the application, explaining the serious reasons why the studies have been extended. The information must be supported by appropriate evidence.

You can apply for the Deutschlandstipendium every year. Funding normally starts with the beginning of the winter semester and the application period is usually in the preceding summer semester; exact details can be found in the call for applications. The call for applications is announced via the university's e-mail distribution list and on this website. Applications are submitted via the online portal DSTIP. This can be found on this website during the application period. In addition to an online questionnaire, documents must be summarized in a pdf document and submitted via the application portal.

A detailed list of all documents that have to be submitted can be found in the application agreement, which is linked on this website and in the application portal. It also contains information on data protection and data processing as well as instructions on how to apply.

When applying, please ensure that you submit all mandatory documents in full by the application deadline, as incomplete applications cannot be considered for the scholarship.

Your application may be in German or English. If your application documents are in a third language, an officially certified translation into German must be added.

The online application portal DSTIP can be used both in German or English.

Above all, the letter of motivation is your chance to tell us in your own words how you meet our selection criteria. Are you committed? Then tell us exactly what you did, when and where! Are you studying under difficult conditions? Then let us know the personal circumstances under which you have to cope with your studies and to what extent they affect your learning!

The more we know about your professional qualifications, your commitment and the personal challenges you have to overcome, the more accurately we can assess your application. Therefore, please use our selection criteria, which are listed on this website, as a guide when writing your letter of motivation.

By the way: the letter of motivation may be a maximum of 2 pages long, but we would appreciate it if you managed to convince us of your qualifications on just 1 page.

The rules regarding the effects on the scholarship of internships, stays abroad and a leave of absence from studies can be found in the FAQ for students on the website of the responsible Federal Ministry.

If you are planning to carry out internships and/or stays abroad during the funding period, it is necessary that you check in advance whether these can be funded with the scholarship at all. In particular, voluntary internships carried out during the lecture period may stand in the way of funding from the scholarship and must therefore be reported to us immediately. A leave of absence from studies must also be reported.

The scholarship is only ever granted for a single study program and generally ends with the successful completion of the degree, i.e. also with the completion of the Bachelor's degree. You can afterwards apply for funding for a new course of study in the next possible application period.

The Deutschlandstipendium is usually granted for 12 months (2 semesters). Afterwards, scholarship holders can apply for an unbroken continuation of their funding.

In order to reapply, the scholarship holder must continue to fulfill the selection criteria and requirements for funding. In addition to the documents submitted with the initial application (which do not need to be resubmitted), new documents must also be submitted. A detailed list of the documents to be submitted and instructions for submitting a reapplication can be found in the application agreement for reapplications, which can be downloaded from this website and is available in the application portal.

The reapplication is submitted via the DSTIP online portal. You will need the login data that you received during your first registration on the platform. The application period is identical to that of an initial application and will be announced in the call for applications.

At the end of the grant period, all scholarship holders are requested to submit a short report (max. 1 page) about the year. Scholarship holders who wish to reapply for the funding must submit this report with their reapplication. In this case, the report can be used as a letter of motivation.

You could answer the following questions in your report:

•     What benefits (not just financial!) have you had as a result of the Deutschlandstipendium?
•     How did your studies develop during the year? What have you achieved and discovered professionally?
•     How did you develop personally?
•     What (academic) plans and goals do you have for the coming year?
•     Why are you applying for an extension of the scholarship? (Only for reapplications)