Travel Grants for short-term research stays and summer / winter schools within Germany and abroad

Doctoral candidates, postdocs, TUD Young Investigators and Junior Professors of all disciplines at the TU Dresden who are full members of the Graduate Academy are eligible to apply for a travel allowance.

Note on the application deadline 30^th September 2026:

• The eligible funding period: 1^st October 2025 to 30^th September 2026
• Please note that the decisions on funding will presumably be released beginning January 2026.

Membership at the Graduate Academy:
If you are not yet a member of the Graduate Academy, please follow the instructions of Promovendus for membership. Further information can be found on the website of the Graduate Academy. If you have any questions, we will be happy to support you!

Please note that associate members of the Graduate Academy and postdocs with a GA-HZDR membership are, contrary to full/regular members, not eligible to file applications for the Graduate Academy's funding programs. All other services are open to associated members and postdocs with a GA-HZDR membership.

Information for applicants from the field of Medicine (General Medicine) / Dentistry
As an applicant from the field of Medicine / Dentistry, please note that this funding program can only support your participation in research stays / summer/winter schools that are directly related to your doctorate / postdoctoral phase.
If you are planning to carry out research stays or attend summer/winter schools in the context of your medical studies, please kindly refer to the FOSTER Funding Program of the Center for Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at TU Dresden, which provides funding for student research activities.

Travel grants support doctoral candidates, postdocs, TUD Young Investigators and Junior Professors with travel allowances to carry out research stays up to three months as well as the participation in summer and winter schools within Germany and abroad. The short-term research stays should not be less than two weeks. Should the latter apply to you, please contact the Graduate Academy.

The travel grants provide among others support for experimental work, fieldwork, library and archial research, expertise exchange and networking as well as the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.

The maximum travel allowance is:

• EUR 3,600.00 for a short research stay within Germany and Europe (max. EUR 1,200.00 per month)
• EUR 4,500.00 for a short research stay outside Europe (max. EUR 1,500.00 per month)
• EUR 1,000.00 for participation in a summer/winter school

Please note, the travel grant of the Graduate Academy will NOT be paid as an allowance, but is operated under the Terms and Conditions of the Saxon Regulations of Travel Expenses (SächsRKG) and the travel expense policy of the TU Dresden. First of all, a travel application form has to be filled out; afterwards the settlement/reimbursement of the travel expenses has to be claimed. The SächsRKG operates under the reimbursement law; this means that the awardee has to cover all expenses by him/her in advance. At the end of the travel trip, reimbursement of the occurred travel expenses has to be claimed. For more information on this topic please see Information for Awardees.

All documents which have to be handed in with the application are listed on the respective call. Thus, we kindly ask you to carefully read through the funding program's "Terms and Conditions".

Should you apply for a childcare allowance for accompanying children in the frame of a short-term research stay abroad:
Please document the childcare costs which might incurre during the research stay (offers sufficient). In case of funding, the booking vouchers / invoices for the childcare costs to be settled have to be handed in to the Graduate Academy.

Your supervising professor is the primary supervisor, who is officially responsible for you during your doctorate and who signed the supervision agreement.

Within the form “Letter of Recommendation” the academic supervisor*, who has to fill out the recommendation letter, is requested to evaluate the academic performance of his/her doctoral candidate. Thereby the supervisor can choose between "Exceptional", "Above Average", "Average" and "No assessment possible“. This represents a subjective decision of the supervisor and should not be related to the ECTS-Grade or the ranking lists of the examination office (e.g., ranking position within the course of study in the final year).

*The “Letter of Recommendation” has be filled out in general by your first academic supervisor or young investigator, who signed the supervision agreement and is also your main supervisor in accordance to the confirmation of acceptance by the doctoral office.

Next application deadlin is 30^th September 2025 – support of research stays/the participation in summer/winter schools abroad which may take place earliest from 1^st October 2025 until 30^th September 2026.

No, it is only possible to apply for travel allowances for one research stay or the participation in one summer/winter school only. Thus, it is not possible to hand in various applications for different research stays and/or the participation in different summer/winter schools at the deadline of the call. But it is possible, of course, to apply for a travel grant in the frame of each published call. Nevertheless please note that as a rule, members of the Graduate Academy can only be funded with one short-term scholarship und up to three mobility grants per qualification phase (doctorate/postdoc).

Yes, as stated in the call for applications short-term research stays and/or the participation in summer/winter schools within Germany can be funded by the Graduate Academy.

No, it is not possible to receive a scholarship (short- or long-term) or a mobility grant (short-term research stay/summer/winter school) of the Graduate Academy/TU Dresden during parental leave. The payment of any scholarship rests during parental leave. In case of pregnancy, the payment of the scholarship will continue during the maternity protection period according to the Maternity Protection Law and after the end of the parental leave. The interruption during that time will not be charged on the length of the scholarship.

The selection takes place by the executive committee of the Graduate Academy on the basis of the application handed in.  Based on the committee decision, the director of the Graduate Academy authorizes the travel awards. The travel grants are performance-based fundings and have to go through a competitive selection process. The main selection criteria are: qualification of the applicant (academic performance, publications, prizes/awards), quality and relevance of the research stay/participation in the summer/winter school within the frame of the scientific research project, quality of the letter of recommendation and life circumstances (social criteria: e.g. children, family members in need of care). Please note: a fundamental legal right to claim funding within the "Travel grants for short-term research stays and summer/winter schools within Gemrany and Abroad" funding program does not exist.

Trips funded by the Graduate Academy must always be approved (and settled) via the Graduate Academy.

The necessary forms for the travel application can be found on the website of the Travel Expenses Office:  List of forms for business and education/training trips

[Detailed information on the settlement process for GA grants can be found in the section “Information on travel expense claim & reimbursement”.]

Information for TUD staff

• In the case of mixed financing  (GA funding & cost coverage by the institute/professorship), the completed travel application including the approval of means under No. 15 for the source for financing of the institute/professorship, the preliminary travel cost check under No. 16 and the signed order under No. 17 must be submitted by the institute/professorship to the Graduate Academy before the start of the trip. The final approval the approvel of funds from the Graduate Academy will be completed under No. 15. The original travel application remains at the Graduate Academy and - as soon as the travel expenses claim has been submitted to the Graduate Academy and checked for completeness - will be forwarded with travel expense claim to the Travel Expenses Office for final processing. 
• In the case of retroactive funding (= Funding approval after the trip), please submit the completed travel application, which has been fully approved by the institute/professorship, including the settlement documents (travel expenses claim) to the Graduate Academy promptly after receipt of the Letter of Award.
• In the case of trips funded exclusively by the Graduate Academy, the travel application approved by the institute/professorship under no. 17, including the accounting documents, must be submitted to the Graduate Academy promptly after the end of the trip or, in the case of retroactive funding,

  after receiving the Letter of Award. [Leave the approval of funds empty in the travel application!]

Information for third parties (scholarship holders, WHK)

The term “third parties” refers to scholarship holders, research assistants and external doctoral candidates.

• Third parties submit the completed travel application including the settlement documents (travel expenses claim) directly to the Graduate Academy after the end of the trip or, in the case of retroactive funding, after receipt of the Letter of Award.
• The travel application and the travel expense report must be completed and signed in full in accordance with the actual travel route and the costs incurred.

For further information on the administrative handling of Business and Education/training trips, the settlement of the travel expense at TU Dresden and current information can be found on the  Website of the Travel Expenses Office of TUD (Team 2.4.1)

Information for employees of the Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden

Awardees with an employment contract at the UKD are asked to contact the Graduate Academy () directly for the processing of travel applications and travel expense claims.  

• Booking of flight and rail tickets
  In preparation of travel trips, bookings for rail and flight tickets can be operated through the travel services of TU Dresden:
  • Website TU Travel Service (AMEX GBT)
  • Email:
  • Application form (in German only)

Please note that for bookings through AMEX GBT the signed (by the Graduate Academy) travel application form has to be submitted as copy/scan. Without a signed and approved travel application form, AMEX GBT does not arrange any bookings.

• Booking of Hotels
  Use of the free HRS Business Portal (Hotel Reservation Service). For further information on cooperations between TU Dresden and other providers, please contact the  Travel Expenses Office (Team 2.4.1) 

An advance payment on the expected travel costs can be applied for under no. 18 of the travel application. An advance payment must be applied for at least two weeks before the start of the trip, but no earlier than four weeks before the start of the trip. Costs that have already been paid in advance, such as flight costs, can be covered 100 % in advance with appropriate proof (invoice including confirmation of payment). Up to 80 % of the calculated costs of the trip can be taken into account in the advance payment.

Trips funded by the Graduate Academy must always be (approved and) settled via the Graduate Academy.

The Graduate Academy's travel allowances (Travel Award, short research stays, summer & winter schools, trips within Lab2Lab) are not paid out as a lump sum, but are processed in accordance with the SächsRKG and the TU Dresden travel expense regulations (from June 2018) via a travel application and a corresponding Travel expenses claim. 

Please note: 

• Travel expenses claims are NOT to be forwarded to the travel expenses office independently via the institute/professorship!

• Funding can only be claimed if a valid membership status in the Graduate Academy exists at the time of the short-term research stay.

Travel expenses claim

• funding approved before the trip: The awardee is obliged to submit all documents for the travel expense report to the Graduate Academy as soon as possible after the end of the trip.
• funding approved after the trip: If you receive a positive funding decision from the Graduate Academy after the trip, please send the complete travel expense report to the Graduate Academy immediately after receiving the funding decision. In addition to the formal review of the travel expense report (and the according documents), the GA as source funding will then be supplemented.
• in the case of mixed funding: If the travel costs exceed the amount of funding and your institute/professorship covers the difference, both sources of funding will be noted in the travel expense report.

Information on reimbursement

In accordance with the applicable factual and legal situation § 16 Abs.1 SächsRKG, the payment of the approved travel allowance is made exclusively as an education/training trip in patial interests of work (“Fortbildungsreise im teilweise dienstlichen Interesse”). There is therefore no entitlement to payment of a lump sum daily allowance. Reimbursement of catering costs (if still available in the funding amount) will be made on the basis of original receipts up to a maximum of the lump sum daily allowance. The travel allowance for your short-term research stay will be invoiced on a daily basis.

In general, proof of payment alone is not sufficient for reimbursement. Expenses are reimbursed based on original receipts (e.g. till receipts, restaurant bills, etc.). Only in exceptional cases, such as for public transportation where no receipt is issued, reimbursement based on proof of payment may be possible.

As part of the Travel expenses claim, a detailed list of all expenditures with the corresponding original receipts must be submitted to the Graduate Academy. If the formal requirements are not met, the Graduate Academy reserves the right to return the documents for revision

Template: Overview of expenses & receipts

Please note: Meal receipts must be affixed to DIN A4 paper sorted by date. Non-reimbursable items, i.e. items that are not beverages/food on the meal receipts, must be crossed out.  

All further forms for the travel application and travel expense report can be found on the website of the Travel Expenses Office of TUD:  List of forms for business and education/training trips

ONLY for Travel Award: Participation and settlement of a virtual event

If the approved event takes place in virtual form, the form Antrag auf Erstattung von Auslagen für die Teilnahme an einer virtuellen Veranstaltung must be submitted.
Please note: The inofficial translation is for your information only – please DO NOT use this form!

If you have not yet received any cash expenses in the past or if your bank account details have changed, please also use the form Erstmeldung der Bankverbindung für Barauslagen
Please note: The inofficial translation is for your information only – please DO NOT use this form!

Invoice address

For all bookings in the context of a GA funded travel trip, please use the following invoice address:

Technische Universität Dresden | Zentraler Rechnungseingang | "PSP Element according to the Letter of Award" | Graduiertenakademie, 01062 Dresden.

Invoicing of the participation fees 

Please note that the invoice for the participation fees

• issued by an organizer from an EU country must include the UStID of the TU Dresden (DE188369991) as well as the organizers UStID.
• issued by an organizer from a non-EU country must not include the TU Dresden VAT ID (corresponds to a net invoice).

At the end of the funding period, a final report must be submitted to the Graduate Academy together with the travel expense report.

Template: Final Report Travel Award & Travel Grant