The following list of frequently asked questions provides essential information concerning the Deutschlandstipendium and the Social Scholarship. Please follow the relevant answer katalogues clustered in Students, Deutschlandstipendium and Social Scholarship.

Who can apply?

Can foreign students also apply?

Can doctoral students apply for a scholarship?

How do I extend my scholarship?

I have been declined for a scholarship for this term. Can I apply again in the future?

Are scholarship students directly paired with a sponsor?

Can I be employed in a student job at the university while receiving a scholarship?

What should I do if my postal address or bank account information change?

How do I write a personal statement?

Is it possible to send in application documents after the deadline?

How long will I be sponsored after I’ve completed my final exam?

With regard to German taxes, is the scholarship considered extra income?

Will the Deutschlandstipendium continue to be paid if I take a leave of absence from my studies to do an internship in Germany or abroad?

Will the Deutschlandstipendium continue to be paid if I do a semester abroad during the scholarship?

Can I receive German Federal Educational Financial Aid (BAföG) alongside the Deutschlandstipendium?

How do I find information about the selection process?

Where can I find the Sponsorship Guidelines for the Deutschlandstipendium?

When is the next round for applications?

When will I be informed of the permission of the Deutschlandstipendium?

Still have questions?

How are applicants selected for the Social Schoalrship?

How do I find information about the selection process?

Where can I find the Sponsorship Guidelines for the Social Scholarship?

When is the next round for applications?

Can I receive a Social Scholarship even if I have exceeded the standard period of study?

• The general scholarship requirement is admission or enrollment in one of the five state colleges in Ostwestfalen-Lippe: Detmold University of Music, OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts, University Paderborn, University Bielefeld.
• College applicants may also submit scholarship applications; if chosen for the scholarship, it will be granted only if you are enrolled at one of the aforementioned colleges by the beginning of the scholarship. You cannot be chosen for a scholarship if you have exceeded the standard period of study, are already receiving performance-based financial sponsorship of 30 EUR or more per month, or are in a doctoral program.

• Yes. The general scholarship requirement is admission or enrollment in one of the five colleges in Ostwestfalen-Lippe: Detmold University of Music, OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, University Paderborn, University Bielefeld.
• Please note: Exchange students who are enrolled at their home university and are merely doing a stay abroad at one of the aforementioned colleges do not fulfill this requirement.

• No, unfortunately not.

• To extend a scholarship for another year you have to reapply for the next funding period with a full application. There is no extension request that simplifies the scholarship’s extension.
• The application of the students who want to extend their scholarship are directly competing with those of the new entrants. For that reason, an extensions cannot be guaranteed even if the academic performance is increased or unchanged.

• Yes. You can apply during every application phase.

• Yes, each scholarship student is paired with a sponsor; however, many sponsors invite more than just their personal Studienfonds scholarship students to events as part of the Ideals Cultivation Program.

• It is permitted for scholarship students of the Studienfonds OWL to have a student job at the university at the same time as their scholarship.

• Please notify us as soon as possible in order to guarantee proper correspondence and correct payments!
• In case of self-inflicted incurred costs, the scholarship student is obliged to cover these expenses.

• You can find a guide to writing a personal statement here.

• Please do not send in any documents after the deadline unless specifically asked. We do not consider applications sent after the deadline.

• The scholarship will be paid until the end of the month in which you complete your final academic examination (e.g., handing in of your Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis). If this applies to your situation, please notify us in advance of your planned end of studies. Note: The month in which you complete your final academic examination is not always the same month in which you are disenrolled from college!

• The Deutschlandstipendium is tax-free and is, according to the German Federal Scholarship Program Law (Stipendiumprogrammgesetz, StipG) § 5 Abs. 3 ordinarily not considered income from social contribution.
• As such, the Deutschlandstipendium does not constitute a paid compensation for a given service, and is—like all other comparable scholarships—not to be deemed as a scholarship student’s wage.

• There is an important distinction here between obligatory internships in Germany or abroad and other internships.
• Obligatory internships within Germany are integrated in one’s studies and do not pose any problem for the continued payment of the scholarship. The scholarship is paid through the time frame set in the regulations of your course of study.
• The same is true for internships abroad, as long as they are also planned for in the regulations of your course of study; these can be seen as “stays abroad relevant to your course of studies.”
• If however a scholarship student takes a leave of absence for other internships not forseen in your study regulations, the scholarship will not be paid during this time.

• The scholarship will continue to be paid if you go on a stay abroad relevant to your course of studies during the scholarship period. This is regardless whether you are technically on leave of absence from the college you are enrolled in. If you are enrolled in a non-performance-based ERASMUS program abroad, the Deutschlandstipendium will continue to be paid even if you receive a mobility grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD). The Deutschland stipendium is also paid for internships abroad relevant to your course of studies.

• Yes, the Deutschlandstipendium is paid regardless of income or German Federal Educational Financial Aid.

• Information about the selection process can be found here.

• You can find the Sponsorship Guidelines for the Deutschlandstipendium here.

• The next set of scholarships is issued winter term 2024/25. The application period will start on March 15th until May 7th 2024.

• It is expected that the decision for the permission of the Deutschlandstipendium will be sent in September of each year. Therefore, we kindly ask you not to send us any inquiries concerning the notification until the end of September.

• Before calling us, please look at the FAQ on the official page of the Deutschlandstipendium. There you can find answers to many questions about the Deutschlandstipendium. Thank you!

• The Social Scholarship is meant for students who are verifiably in critical financial or personal circumstances that endanger an applicant’s ability to be admitted to college or to continue their college studies and can demonstrate at least satisfactory academic performance in high school or college.

• You can find information about the selection process here.

• You can find the Sponsorship Guidelines for the Social Scholarship here.

• The application deadline with regard to social scholarships starting in Winter semester is August 31st and for those starting in Summer semester usually Februrary 28th and 29th. Applications for the Social Scholarship for winter semester 2024 are possible starting August 1st until August 31th in 2024.

• Yes, the Social Scholarship is granted regardless of whether you are in the standard period of study.