FAQ eligibility to apply
If you are enrolled in a degree program at Freie Universität Berlin offered in partnership with other universities (find a list of all these degree programs here), the following applies:
You can only apply for the scholarship at Freie Universität Berlin if you will be enrolled as a student at Freie Universität Berlin as your primary place of study during the funding period you are applying for and your administrative fees and contributions are paid to Freie Universität Berlin. If you are unsure about which university is your primary place of study, contact the examination office in your department. If Freie Universität Berlin is not your primary place of study, you may check with your primary university if they award Deutschlandstipendium scholarships and apply there.
If your grades obtained at a cooperating university are not automatically listed in Campus Management at Freie Universität, please attach to your application, in addition to the transcript of records from the Campus Management of Freie Universität Berlin, a preliminary grade report including the grades converted into the German grading system. Please do not submit transcripts of records in a foreign language. To obtain the converted grades, please contact the administrative office responsible for your degree program.
With regard to application periods, the Deutschlandstipendium program calculates your subject semester in terms of the entire degree program, not just the subject semesters spent at Freie Universität Berlin.
Example: You are studying in a double degree program in which you spend the first two semesters abroad. During this time, you are enrolled at Freie Universität Berlin but you are on leave of absence ("beurlaubt"). If you now want to apply for a Deutschlandstipendium for your third semester in the program, but it is only your first official subject semester at Freie Universität Berlin, you still must apply during the application period for enrolled students in a higher semester.
If you are applying to Freie Universität as a first-year student, or at some later point in your studies, you can also apply for a Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. Your scholarship application is processed by the Deutschlandstipendium office and is not connected with your university application. You can check the application deadlines here.
However, you can only apply for a Deutschlandstipendium if you have already received your acceptance letter from Freie Universität or have already accepted the offer for a study placement here and have enrolled for your first semester at Freie Universität.
For entering first-time students, the selection process will take into account the grade on your university entrance qualification.
Yes, if you are enrolled at Freie Universität Berlin or have been accepted here, you can apply for a scholarship. But you must be a degree-seeking student at Freie Universität. If you are not pursuing a degree at Freie Universität and are only here for a few semesters (e.g. as an Erasmus student or as part of another exchange program), you unfortunately cannot apply.
Students from all countries are welcome to apply if they fulfil the eligibility criteria.
We would like to remind you again that you cannot get a study placement at Freie Universität Berlin by applying for a Deutschlandstipendium. At the time of application, you must already have received your acceptance notification or already be enrolled in the first semester (or higher) of your degree program.
No, we would like to remind you again here that you cannot get a study placement at Freie Universität Berlin by applying for a Deutschlandstipendium. At the time of application, you must already have received your acceptance notification or already be enrolled in the first semester (or higher) of your degree program.
There is no minimum grade point average required to apply to the Deutschlandstipendium program. However, one of the main criteria is a strong academic record either in secondary school or at university. The Deutschlandstipendium program has a broader understanding of performance and also looks at other criteria (see here).
Whether or not you receive a scholarship thus depends on your grades, university credits you have already earned, and other selection criteria. Your chances of success also depend on the number of scholarships available in a given funding year, as well as on the number of applicants and their aptitude.
If your grades are good, but you feel uncertain about applying, we always recommend that you go ahead and apply anyway. The application process is much less involved than with other scholarship programs, and besides: you have nothing to lose.
After completing a course of study (e.g. Bachelor's degree), you must normally re-apply for a Deutschlandstipendium if you are starting another study program (e.g. your Master's). If your Bachelor's program ends in winter semester and your Master's starts in the subsequent Master's semester you would usually have to wait for one semester to re-apply, since an application is only possible for the winter semester.
However, we created a bridging opportunity, which enables you to be funded for two semesters, instead of just one, by the Deutschlandstipendium (the last semester in your Bachelor's at Freie Universität Berlin (winter semester) and the first semester in your Master's at Freie Universtiät Berlin in summer semester). Please not that this only applies if your Bachelor's programs ends during the winter semester and you will start a consecutive Master's program in the next summer semester.
Please upload this form (only available in German) at the designated place in the online application system. You have to submit this form with your online-application for a Deutschlandstipendium. Please read the information in the application form carefully. You have to apply again for a Deutschlandstipendium for the second semester (winter semester) of your master’s degree.