Funding your doctorate
Funding your doctorate
There are no tuition fees in Germany and, as a doctoral student, you will not be required to pay the semester fee at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. However, you must have sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of living. In many cases, evidence of sufficient financial resources (usually around €900-1000 per month) is required at the time of applying for a visa.
There are various funding options, depending on whether you plan to move to Osnabrück or Lingen for the entire duration of your doctorate, or whether you will only be visiting us for a short research stay:
Option A: Cooperative doctorate at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, residence: Osnabrück or Lingen
Many doctoral students living in Osnabrück or Lingen for the duration of their doctorate fund themselves by taking on a half-time position as a graduate teaching and/or research assistant. If you are interested in applying for such a position, we recommend that you regularly check out the positions advertised at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Another option open to you are foundations and other funding institutions that award grants to doctoral students. Many options are available, ranging from highly specialized small foundations to large funding organizations such as the DAAD. Since the search for a funding opportunity is a time-consuming process, you should start early to consider your options carefully. To increase your chances of receiving funding, it is essential that you look for a grant announcement that matches your personal profile as closely as possible.
Option B: Cooperative doctorate at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, residence: the cooperating university
If you intend to do your doctorate at your home university, with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences providing co-supervision, short-term grants can help you fund your research stay at our university. If necessary, ask your home university for advice on this.
Option C: Doctorate without any connection to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, residence: the external university, with a temporary research stay at our university
Even if Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences is not formally involved in your doctorate, given that it is not acting as a cooperating university, you are of course still welcome to visit us for a research stay. In this case, too, your university will advise you on funding options for your doctorate. Short-term grants may be available to cover your travel and accommodation expenses in Osnabrück or Lingen.
We outline in detail a number of funding opportunities for Options A, B and C below. Given the vast array of funding options, please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive.
If you require assistance with your grant application, please feel free to contact us at any time. Since funding bodies usually require written confirmation of supervision, please request a “Confirmation of Academic Supervision” from your supervisor at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. The Welcome Center can provide a template for this purpose.
Suitable for all three options (A-C)
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is one of the world’s largest funding organizations. Many options are available for doctoral students, ranging from travel on university business and short-term grants to four-year grants for doctoral students. There are funding opportunities for research purposes in Germany as well as abroad. To get a quick overview of the options available, simply visit the DAAD scholarship database. Please note that the DAAD has fixed application periods and deadlines. It is therefore advisable to familiarize yourself with the formalities in good time.
Suitable for Option A
Each year, the Osnabrück-based DBU awards 60 PhD scholarships to early career researchers from any subject area seeking to undertake postgraduate research work in Germany in the field of environmental protection. The funding period is between 12 and 36 months. To apply for a DBU scholarship, applicants must have a good command of German because the application and the presentation of the topic before the selection committee must be made in German.
Suitable for Option A
The Hans-Mühlenhoff-Stiftung aims to support young people studying in Osnabrück who stand out for their outstanding achievements. However, the foundation also supports students who otherwise could not afford to do a doctorate from their own resources.
Suitable for Options A (B and C)
In Germany, there are 13 state-run organizations for the promotion of young talent (Begabtenförderungswerke) that provide financial and non-material support to high-achieving students and doctoral students:
- Avicenna-Studienwerk
- Cusanuswerk
- Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst
- The Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk
- The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
- The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom
- The Hanns Seidel Foundation
- The Hans Böckler Foundation
- The Heinrich Böll Foundation
- The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
- The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
- The Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft
- The Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes – German Academic Scholarship Foundation
The Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes – the largest of the above-mentioned foundations – is politically independent and non-denominational. Other foundations, however, have a political orientation and are close to a particular German political party. These include the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (SPD), the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (CDU), the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Alliance 90/The Greens), the Hanns Seidel Foundation (CSU), and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FDP).
The denominational foundations include the Catholic Church’s Cusanuswerk, Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst (Protestant), Avicenna-Studienwerk (Muslim), and the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk (Jewish). The Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft is one of the foundations that awards non-denominational scholarships.
The 13 organizations for the promotion of young talent are assigned to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). They offer doctoral students a basic grant, as well as subsidies for health insurance, research costs and, if required, a family allowance and childcare allowance. When it comes to the application process, above-average achievements are just as important as social commitment or community engagement. Funding is primarily available to Germans and doctoral students from the EU who are pursuing a doctorate at a German university (in exceptional cases, funding may also be available to students abroad).
Special funding initiatives are in place for researchers with a refugee and/or at-risk background. An overview can be found here:
- The DAAD’s Hilde Domin Program is open to students and doctoral students who are at risk in their home country and denied the right to education. The scholarship encompasses elements such as an allowance for living expenses and for the cost of pursuing studies or research in Germany. The duration of funding for doctoral students is up to 48 months. Separate Bridge Scholarships are available for students and doctoral students from Afghanistan.
- Some of the organizations for the promotion of young talent (Begabtenförderungswerke) mentioned above also specifically support refugee researchers: Avicenna Studienwerk, Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Hans Böckler Foundation, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes – German Academic Scholarship Foundation.
- The Scholar Rescue Fund operates internationally, placing refugee researchers at universities and offering them fellowships.
- The Volkswagen Foundation: Funding program for refugee scholars from Afghanistan for a maximum period of two years (not available at the moment). Condition: The applicant (e.g., a professor from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences) is currently being funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, or received project or individual funding at some point in the last ten years. The Volkswagen Foundation is currently also offering funding for refugee scholars and scientists from Ukraine.
Scholarship portals such as MyStipendium, e-fellows.net, Stiftungssuche, and EURAXESS enable you to filter scholarships according to specific criteria. The funding opportunities vary widely, from printing allowances and travel expenses to full scholarships. Some grants also provide specific support for different stages of the doctorate (the initial, completion, or post-doctoral stages).