Merit fellowships for international students

You can apply all year long for the respective upcoming application deadline.

Please remember that your application must contain two professorial evaluations. You must not send your application without confirmation from two professors willing to provide evaluations for your application.

Please read our tips on applying online before completing your application. In case your academic achievements or credits are not included in STINE, please use our form for listing academic credits.
Please ask two professors to confirm they will provide you with evaluations. You must prepare all documents for upload timely.

Visit online application.

We wish you good luck with your application!

There is no legal claim to merit fellowships.

---

What to fill in under secondary school education and academic history

Please indicate your secondary school qualification and entire academic history, including degrees not yet completed. This will provide us with an overview of your previous education similar to a tabular CV.

What falls under prior sources of assistance / honors / awards?

Here, you must indicate whether you have received any assistance from other funding sources before, e.g. scholarships, financial assistance, travel assistance, book prizes, etc.

Why does the error message "Eingabe erforderlich" pop up, whenever I leave the section on prior funding blank?

Please indicate NULL (zero) in the second paragraph under „Wenn ja, in welcher Höhe (Nettoeinkommen)?“ (if so, funding amount, i.e. net income) to confirm that you have never received funding before.

Why do I have to list and upload my academic achievements/credits?

The selection committee does not have STINE access and can thus only review the achievements listed by the applicant. If you want us to consider achievements from your current degree program, please upload your STINE print-out or fill out the respective form issued by our section.

What to do, if I have uploaded the wrong content?

Go back to the „Hochladen“ (upload) button, this time selecting the correct document.

What defines an international student?

International students are students without German citizenship status. If you have dual citizenship, German plus one foreign, you will not be considered an international student within the framework of the merit fellowship and are not eligible for merit  funding.

Can I apply, if I have been enrolled at Universität Hamburg for one or two semesters only or if I am an exchange student?

No.

Why?

Your supervising professors providing the evaluations must know you well enough to be able to assess your academic achievements. This is possible only if you have studied at least two semesters at Universität Hamburg.

Can doctoral students apply?

Yes. All international students who have been enrolled at our University for a minimum of two semesters may apply.

Is there an age limit?

Yes. Merit fellowships target excellent international students from all degree programs  who are pursuing academic degrees, including doctoral students. BA and MA students must not be older than 29; doctoral students must not be older than 33.

What are excellent academic achievements?

We encourage international students with good to excellent grades who are very motivated and interested in their subject area to apply. It is important that applicants submit two evaluations from professors at Universität Hamburg as proof of their motivation and skills.

How to get an evaluation

Please ask a professor from your subject area who knows you well, e.g. because you have attended her/his seminar, written a paper for her/him or he/she supervised your BA thesis. You should specify that the evaluation is for a merit fellowship application. Professors are usually very pleased to assist in this respect, however, you should contact them at least 4-6 weeks before your application date. The evaluation must not be written on paper, but submitted online: your online application must indicate email addresses of both evaluating professors. We will then email them an online form for evaluation purposes.

Will my application be accepted with only one professoral evaluation?

No. Your application must include two evaluations. If you have difficulty in finding a second professor willing to evaluate your achievements, please notify us. We will assist you in obtaining a second evaluation.

What is meant by: ...willingness to become involved in Universität Hamburg's internationalization process for two to four hours each week?

Funding applicants can suggest activities they would like to offer for other international students at the University. Check out the PIASTA homepage for previous semester projects: (http://www.uni-hamburg.de/piasta/ueber_piasta/archiv.html). Your project proposal should aim to promote intercultural exchange between German and international students or focus on cross-cultural topics that are likely to stimulate intercultural awareness and learning in and around Universität Hamburg.

May fellows spent a semester abroad or spent time outside of Hamburg during the lecture period?

No. Upon accepting merit funding you agree to contribute two to four hours weekly to internationalization projects at Universität Hamburg.

Can I continue to work part-time in addition to the fellowship?

The fellowship rate of EUR 650 will not suffice to cover the fellows living expenses. For this reason, fellows are allowed to take up an additional student job.

Can merit fellows apply for further funding or BAFöG (Federal Education and Training Assistance)?

No! Dual funding or BAFöG assistance are not permitted.

Does it matter whether I am a part-time or full-time student?

No!

Can I get a statement certifying my fellowship status for the foreigner's registration office?

Yes. Please write us an email stating your current address, so that we can send you proof of your fellow status.

Do I have to inform the Office of International Affairs about all changes after my application?

Yes! Your fellowship application requires that you inform us about all changes concerning your financial situation.