Merit scholarships for international students enrolled at Universität Hamburg

With its merit scholarship program, Universität Hamburg supports outstanding international students and doctoral researchers of all subjects and degree levels who are actively involved in a social or intercultural context. The awarding of a merit scholarship allows recipients to concentrate fully on their studies and gives them the opportunity to develop their skills.

You are entitled to funding if you:

• are pursuing an academic degree at Universität Hamburg and have been enrolled in your degree program for at least 2 semesters (master’s and doctoral students can apply after 1 completed semester);
• do not hold German citizenship;
• are not eligible for the federal student loan scheme (BAföG)

Funding amount and duration

The maximum monthly funding sum is €850. Depending on the availability of funding, individual doctoral researchers may be awarded a merit scholarship totaling €1,000 per month (about 2-3 scholarships in each application round).

Merit scholarships are awarded for 2 semesters (total of 12 months). It is possible to re-apply for a scholarship after being awarded. The maximum funding period in justified exceptional cases is 3 years.

Not entitled to funding:

• international students fulfilling the requirements of Section 8 of the German federal training assistance act (Bundesgesetz über individuelle Förderung der Ausbildung, BAföG)

Application deadlines

We recommend an individual advising session before you submit your online application. The application deadlines are:

15 April (funding period: 1 October–30 September of the following year)15 October (funding period: 1 April–31 March of the following year)

Contact the program coordinator should you have further questions. Good luck with your application!

Official website