How do I finance my studies?
Some students are financially supported by their parents or earn their living through part-time jobs. What other options are there to finance your studies?
You can check online at the relevant BAf?G office whether you are entitled to benefits under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAf?G). More students are eligible for this financial support than you might think.
Counselling is available:
There are many foundations that provide financial support for students. The large party-affiliated foundations are best known, but there is also a wide range of offers from companies, associations and even individuals. Find out more, for example, at myStipendium.de or brutto-netto-rechner.info/stipendium.
Foundations can determine the conditions for funding themselves and select the desired candidates. Studies are often accompanied by a foundation programme. Here is an overview of support programmes:
- Advice is offered by studierendenWERK Berlin, stipendienkompass.de and the non-profit organisation ApplicAid, among others.
- Deutschlandstipendium of the HU, application online in November/December
- Scholarships from organisations for the promotion of gifted students and foundations
- Young immigrants are supported by the federal programme"Bildungsberatung Garantiefonds 金贝棋牌".
- Professionally qualified applicants without A-levels can find information at studieren-ohne-abitur.de and sbb-stipendien.de.
- The Humboldt Graduate School provides information on financing a doctorate.
- Funding opportunities in continuing education: Brochure from the German Association for Continuing Education and Distance Learning (Deutsche Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung und Fernstudium e.V.).
- Financing part-time studies: Guide from the CHE - Centre for Higher Education Development
The Financing & Social Counselling Service of the studierendenWERK Berlin has the possibility to provide financial support to students in special situations (study entry and graduation phase, emergency situation).
In the event of particular social hardship, students at Humboldt-Universit?t can apply to the semester ticket office for a subsidy for the semester ticket from the student body's social fund.
If you are interested in a loan, e.g. the KfW student loan, you should enquire about the contractual conditions, the effective annual interest rate, the repayment modalities, etc., as you would with other forms of financing. You can find help on the internet, for example in the CHE student loan test.
In advance, we recommend that you check alternative financing options with the Financing & Social Counselling service of studierendenWERK and find out more about the granting and repayment modalities.
Semesters abroad and internships abroad can also be funded by BAf?G. This is even possible if you do not otherwise receive BAf?G.
To find funding opportunities for a stay abroad, you can use the scholarship database of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
HU International provides information on other funding opportunities.
Information and counselling:
- Family Justice Department of the HU
- Financing & Social Counselling of the studierendenWERK Berlin
- Information on all family policy benefits: www.familienportal.de and website"Studying with family" of the German Student Union
- Barrier-free study" counselling from the studierendenWERK Berlin
- An overview of scholarships is provided by the Deutsches Studierendenwerk.
- Job advertisements at the HU
- Job ticket of the HU
- Science at work
- Jobicco (also short-term jobs)
Information on social law issues is provided by the Deutsches Studierendenwerk, among others.
Advice is available from the Financing & Social Affairs Advice Service of the studierendenWERK Berlin and the Initial Social and Labour Law Advice Service of the HU Student Council (Refrat).
Further funding options for international students
The above-mentioned funding options are also available to international students. We list further options here. If you are a programme student, please also use the advisory services offered by your sending university to identify sources of funding. Applications often have to be submitted, documents collected and funding decisions made. The approval of funding for your stay in Berlin can take up to a year. You should therefore plan your stay in Berlin well in advance - your visa and residence permit depend on it.
Funding is also possible via the Erasmus+ programme. If you are studying in an Erasmus+ programme country and would like to apply for Erasmus+ funding to come to Humboldt-Universit?t, please contact the Erasmus+ coordinator at your university or faculty. In this context, it is always the sending university participating in the Erasmus+ programme to which an application must be submitted. If you are studying in an Erasmus+ partner country, you can find more information on our pages for students from Erasmus+ partner countries.
There are a large number of funding organisations that come from very different directions. These include political party foundations, religious foundations, environmental foundations and corporate foundations. There are also funding organisations that award scholarships according to personal circumstances and support young female doctoral students with children, for example. On the following page you will find various types of funding and criteria: Scholarship providers at a glance