The maximum funding period is your standard time to degree, which refers to the number of semesters required to complete the degree program.

If you, for example, decided to take leave from your degree program for one semester, then this would count as one of the semesters you were enrolled at the university but not as one of the standard number of semesters needed to complete the degree. What this means is that a semester of leave will not be treated as a semester that is required to complete the degree program and is thus not factored into the standard time to degree.

Please also refer to the "Individualized period of study due to the COVID-19 pandemic" which you can download from Campus Management.

The Deutschlandstipendium is always initially awarded for one year. Funding is awarded up until the prescribed period of study ends (i.e., standard time to degree). Please see here for exceptions.

The grant period may be extended by one or two semesters during said period provided that the scholarship recipient is able to prove that their academic performance warrants further funding on the basis of their performance review (see below) and private funding for the scholarship is still available.

In the course of the performance review, which takes place during the summer semester, we will send you a form on which you can indicate that you would like to continue receiving financial support after the funding period stated in your scholarship award letter ends.

You will also need to submit your transcript of records as part of your performance review. Please see here for further information. If your academic performance warrants further funding, you are still studying within the standard time to degree, and private funding is still available for your scholarship, then your funding will be extended by one or 2 semesters. The standard time to degree is the number of consecutive semesters typically required to complete your degree, and not the number of semesters for which you are enrolled.

To determine your standard time to degree, please also refer to the "Individualized period of study due to the COVID-19 pandemic" which you can download from Campus Management.

Under normal circumstances, the Deutschlandstipendium can only be awarded while a student is still within the standard time to degree in their program. Students must be within the standard time to degree during the entire funding period. The standard time to degree is the number of consecutive semesters typically required to complete your degree, and not the number of semesters for which you are enrolled. To determine your standard time to degree, please also refer to the "Individualized period of study due to the COVID-19 pandemic" which you can download from Campus Management.
Exceptions can only be made if there are serious reasons for exceeding the standard time to degree, in which case you must apply for an extension of the maximum funding period. Eligible reasons are:

• A disability
• Chronic illness
• Pregnancy or caring for a child
• Caring for another family member
• A study abroad program related to your degree during the funding period
• A proven delay of your studies through no fault of your own
• A proven delay of your studies because of high-level involvement in official competitive athletic and sports programs

For each case, appropriate documentation must be provided.

You will receive a response from us by the end of the summer semester regarding whether you will continue to receive funding from the following winter semester onwards.

The funding commitment of private sponsors is usually limited to 12 months and is not linked to the length of the funded recipient’s studies. If a sponsor decides not to continue providing funding, then this decision will be for personal or financial reasons unrelated to the scholarship holder’s circumstances.

If funding for your scholarship is discontinued, then you will receive a notification from us by the end of the summer semester. You will then have the opportunity to reapply for the Deutschlandstipendium and will have to do so within the application period for enrolled students. The application period is usually announced here in May. As we adapted our application procedure since the funding period 2020/2021, we ask that you re-upload your documents in full.

The Berlin Senate has stipulated that summer semester 2020, winter semester 2020/21, summer semester 2021, and winter semester 2021/22 will not be counted toward the standard time to degree. This will not have negative consequences regarding compliance with the standard time to degree for students who were unable to attend all courses and complete all examinations (see press release from the Senate Chancellery – Higher Education and Research, State Conference of the Rectors and Presidents of the Higher Education Institutions in Berlin (LKRP), of April 3, 2020, press release from the Senate Chancellery - Higher Education and Research, LKRP, of December 17, 2020, press release from the Senate Chancellery - Higher Education and Research, LKRP, of Apri 14, 2021, and press release of the Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health, Long-Termin Care and Gender Equality, of January 13, 2022).

In terms of the Deutschlandstipendium, this means that because the summer semester 2020, the winter semester 2020/21, the summer semester 2021, and the winter semester 2021/22 do not count officially toward the standard time to degree, the standard time to degree for your program has been extended. As a result, the maximum funding period, which is linked to the standard time to degree, will also be extended by four semesters.

For example, if the maximum funding period for a degree program that had a standard time to degree of six semesters used to be a maximum of six semesters, then the maximum funding period will now be extended to ten semesters.
If you started a degree program in winter semester 2020/21, your standard time to degree is extended by three semesters.

Please also refer to the "Individualized period of study due to the COVID-19 pandemic" which you can download from the Self-Services of the Student Records and Registration Office.

The requirements for continued funding remain that your academic performance warrants further funding (see performance review) and on the condition that private funding for the scholarship is still available.

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). Only if you end your Bachelor's at Freie Universität Berlin during the winter term, and will start a consecutive Master's program after in summer semester the following applies:

Since an application for the Deutschlandstipendium is only possible for the winter semester, we created a bridging opportunity, which enables you to be funded for two semesters by the Deutschlandstipendium (the last semester in your Bachelor's and the first semester in your Master's at Freie Universtiät Berlin). Please complete this form and submit the form with your proof of enrollment for the summer semester the latest by March 15 by email. Please read the information in the application form carefully. You have to apply again for a Deutschlandstipendium for the second semester of your master’s degree.