Merit scholarships for international students enrolled at Universität Hamburg

With its merit scholarship program, Universität Hamburg supports outstanding international students and doctoral researchers in all subjects and at all degree levels who have been socially committed and actively involved in an international 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

have been enrolled in your subject at Universität Hamburg for at least 2 semesters and are pursuing a degree (students in 2-year master’s degree programs and doctoral researchers can apply after 1 completed semester);
do not hold German citizenship;
are not eligible for the federal student loan scheme (International students fulfilling the requirements of Section 8 of the German federal training assistance act (Bundesgesetz über individuelle Förderung der Ausbildung, BAföG) cannot be funded)

Funding amount and funding duration

The maximum monthly funding sum is €930.

Merit scholarships are awarded for 2 semesters (total of 12 months). You can reapply for a merit scholarship. The maximum funding duration is 2 years.

Note for applicants who applied by the 15 October 2024 deadline

The results of the selection with the application deadline of 15 October 2024 are expected to be communicated to the applicants in mid-February 2025.

Application deadlines

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)

Important note on the application deadline April 2025:

When applying for a merit scholarship, you must present the following documents to the program coordinator on one of the dates mentioned in the ‘Application’ section (see ‘Application’ section for more information):

Non-EU citizens: your residence permi
EU citizens: your identity card and your registration certificate of your residence ("Meldebescheinigung") in Germany

Application

Follow the link for your chosen application period and log in using your STiNE ID:

Application form (deadline: 15 April)

Application form (deadline: 15 October)

After following the link for your chosen application period and logging in using your STiNE ID, you will be invited to register and to complete your application. Register with your student email address and enter your student email address, not your private email address, in your online application.

Please note that only complete applications submitted by the application deadline will be considered. Missing documents will not be requested and incomplete applications will be rejected. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you compile your application documents early and upload them to the application portal in a timely manner.

You must upload the following documents to the online application portal:

CV
letter of motivation: the template form (PDF) must be used
proof of social and/or intercultural activities (if applicable)
record of achievements: Students in a Bachelor ´s degree program and students in a degree program concluding with a state examination ("Staatsexamen") need to submit either the STiNE printout of their "Leistungskonto" or a current transcript of records. Students in a Master ´s degree program and doctoral researchers need to submit their most recent degree certificate with grades in either English or German.
evaluations from 2 full-time teaching staff members with doctorates at Universität Hamburg. Please note the information "Who can issue an evaluation?" in the FAQ. The template evaluation form (PDF) must be used.

The following documents must be presented to the program coordinator on one of the dates listed below:

Non-EU citizens: your residence permit
EU citizens: your identity card and your registration certificate of your residence ("Meldebescheinigung") in Germany

The presentation of the residence permit or, in the case of EU citizens, the identity card and the registration certificate of residence ("Meldebescheinigung") in Germany is only possible on the following dates:

Thursday, 03.04.2025, 10-11 am
Wednesday, 09.04.2025, 2-3 pm
Friday, 11.04.2025, 09-10 am
Tuesday, 15.04.2025, 1-2 pm

Proceed as follows:

1. Contact us by e-mail (stipend-internationalstudent"AT"uni-hamburg.de ). Indicate on which of the above dates you would like to present your residence permit or, in the case of EU citizens, your ID and certificate of residence ("Meldebescheinigung") in Germany via Zoom. You will then receive the Zoom link for the relevant date from us.

2. Join the meeting room on the date for which you have received the link from us by e-mail. Wait in the waiting room of the meeting until you are being attended to.

Only applications completed in full and submitted by the application deadline can be considered. Therefore, begin compiling your application documents early and have these ready to upload to the application portal.

Selection procedure

Merit scholarships are awarded by a committee comprising members of faculties and ASTA (student council).

Once the selection procedure has been completed, you will receive a notification by e-mail. For an update on the current status of your application, check the online portal.

Selection criteria

good to excellent academic performance
other verifiable knowledge and capabilities (e.g., presentations, publications, prizes; additional specialised skills); previous funding
social and/or intercultural activities (e.g., confirmation of volunteer work)
applicant’s need/social situation

Disbursement of scholarship

Merit scholarships are disbursed on the first day of each month of funding. Funding commences on 1 October for the application round ending on 15 April and on 1 April of the following year for the application round ending on 15 October.

Scholarships cannot be paid into a foreign bank account. Academic leave is not permitted during the period of funding either.

FAQs

Can I apply if I have both German and foreign citizenship?

No. You cannot, as you are eligible for BAföG in this case.

Is there an age limit?

No. As of the Winter Semester 2015/16, there are no age restrictions.

Who can issue an evaluation?

For students in a Bachelor ´s or Master ´s degree program or in a degree program concluding with a state examination (Staatsexamen):

• professors and other full-time teaching staff with doctorates at Universität Hamburg
• professors emeriti of Universität Hamburg who are active in teaching
• acting professors (Vertretungsprofessorinnen und Vertretungsprofessoren) at Universität Hamburg
• senior physicians at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (for students in a medical degree program)

For doctoral researchers:

Only evaluations from professors/junior professors are accepted. In the case of a doctorate in a medical subject, evaluations from senior physicians at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf are also accepted.

How can I obtain an evaluation?

Ask 2 professors from your department. Ideally, they should know you well—you attended one of their seminars or wrote a term paper for them, for example. Contact your evaluators at least 6 weeks before you apply for funding to ensure the evaluations are prepared in time. Give them the evaluation template to use.

Will my application be accepted if I only submit 1 evaluation?

No. Your application is only complete when it includes 2 evaluations.

As a scholarship holder, am I allowed to spend a semester abroad or time outside of Hamburg during the lecture period?

Contact the program coordinator by email if you are planning a longer absence during the lecture period.

Are merit scholarship holders able to apply for further funding?

No, additional funding from other sources is not permitted.

Can the funding be extended?

You can reapply after receiving a one-year scholarship. To do so, you must resubmit all updated documents online by the relevant deadline and present your residence permit, or, if you are an EU citizen, your ID and registration certificate to the program coordinator again (see ‘Application’ section for more information). Your documents will not be kept. The maximum funding period is 2 years.