The application for a Deutschlandstipendium is exclusively online. The online application is submitted via the online application portal provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The portal will only be open for applications for the period from 01 to 15 July each year.
First, create a user account. Following, download the registration form here or in the portal first, print it out and fill out the first page to add it back to the application as a scanned attachment.

As long as the application portal is open, you can save your application and add attachments to it. For the application to be valid, however, you must send it within the deadline.

All documents must be uploaded online as a PDF and attached to the application. The files must be easy to read and be uploaded in the correct order according to the labeling of the slots (see attachments for online application).

Please note: After the deadline, the application portal will be closed and no more applications can be sent or edited. Incomplete application documents will not be processed and are excluded from the selection process. Written applications are not admitted to the application process and will not be processed accordingly.

The only attachment that does not need to be submitted online is the portfolio for architecture / landscape architecture students (see attachments). The portfolio can be sent by post or delivered in person (postal address: TU Dresden, Deutschlandstipendium, 01062 Dresden).

University entrance qualifications and other certificates (vocational training, Bachelor certificate, degree certificate of the first degree course, etc.) can be submitted as copies. Also other qualifications, such as reference letters, internship references or honorary certificates do not need to be certified.

To document the ECTS or grades earned during your studies, submit an up-to-date   transcript of records/overview of grades (not older than 14 days at the time before uploading your documents). You can also ask your examination office to provide you with a certified printed transcript of records, however, an online print will do for the application. The online overview might not contain all assessments completed in the current semester. An updated overview can be submitted subsequently.

For foreign certificates please enclose a copy of a certified translation in German or English or a transcript of records including the grading sytem of your previous university.

You always apply on the basis of the information that is applicable during the funding period. Since you will have completed an academic programme before taking up master studies, you are treated as an enrolled student and not as a new student or applicant, even though you will come to TU Dresden as a new student for your master studies. Please enter the number "1" in the online form in the field "regular degree semester" because during the funding period you will probably be in the first regular degree semester of your master studies.

In case of a university transfer without changing their major, students will be granted a transition semester, i.e., there is continued payment of the scholarship for one semester or, if necessary, a transition semester will be granted. This allows students to apply for a Deutschlandstipendium at the new university. Otherwise, the payment of the scholarship ends by the end of the month in which the recipient drops out, changes his/her major or is removed from the university register.

The Deutschlandstipendium does not have any impact on the contributions paid to the legal health insurance as long as the recipient is on a compulsory health insurance (as a rule until the completion of the 14^th regular degree semester or until the age of 30). This is not the case if the recipient subsequently opts for voluntary health insurance. The law requires voluntary members to pay minimum contributions that are calculated on an assessment basis. The currently valid assessment basis has to be checked for each year. If the insured person’s income exceeds this value (scholarships included), the income is liable to contributions.

The Stipendienprogramm-Gesetz (StipG – Law on scholarship programmes) stipulates that Deutschlandstipendiums are regarded as income that is neither taxable nor subject to social security tax.

We are looking for young talents and personalities of all nationalities accomplishing outstanding work. The school achievements and / or performances at the university are critical. In addition to excellent school grades, or already very successfully completed bachelor studies, special prizes or awards will be considered. The certificates of performance must be related to the selected programme. But not only performance-related criteria are included in the selection: Someone can take advantage for example of being involved in a community or in the student council, taking care of a family member or tutoring others.

In principle, any course of study is eligible for funding - in addition to a first degree course, a second/postgraduate degree course and Master's degree courses are also eligible. Students of all semesters are encouraged to apply. Even if you are just beginning your studies, you can apply for a scholarship. You only need to be enrolled as a student for the semester as the scholarship period begins.
If you are completing your Bachelor's degree at TU Dresden this semester and are starting a Master's programme at TU Dresden in the next semester, please always apply with the study details that will apply during the funding period. Please enter a 1 in the "Semester" field in the online form, as you will probably be in your first semester of the Master's programme during the funding period.

The standard period of study is the number of semesters that is needed to complete the course of study if the recommended study schedule is adhered to. Even when you expect to exceed the standard period during the eligibility period an application is possible.

PhD students can not apply for a Deutschlandstipendium. For more information on possible scholarships for PhD students please contact the TU Dresden Graduate Academy.

You can apply for continued sponsoring after the first year. Whether you will receive continued sponsoring depends on the quality of your new application and your achievements during the funding period. Information on the extension application you can find on our website.

The scholarship will not be credited against the BAföG or the Bildungskredit (education credit) of the KfW-Bankengruppe.

From 1^st January 2012 no type of income, including the Deutschlandstipendium, will have any effect on the payment of child benefits. According to the Tax Simplification Law (Steuervereinfachungsgesetz) 2011, the assessment of means is not conducted for children of age until the completion of a first vocational training or a first degree course. Please find more detailed information on this topic in the BMF Information Letter on § 32 (4) German Income Tax Act (EStG) of 7^th December 2011. Before 1^st January 2012, the Deutschlandstipendium was taken into account for the payment of child benefits; however, it was less than the allowance of 8,004 EUR - without other income taken into account.

The Deutschlandstipendium is taken into account for child maintenance claims thus reducing the volume of funds needed. It is expected that students over 18 maintain themselves on their own incomes first, before they turn to their parents for financial support. The Deutschlandstipendium is regarded as part of the recipient’s own income.

The Deutschlandstipendium is principally not credited against other social benefits, like for example, Unemployment Benefit II (ALG II). The receipt of a housing benefit is an exception to this rule.

You can receive housing benefit parallel to the Deutschlandstipendium. However, recipients of the housing benefit must be aware that half of the Deutschlandstipendium and also other scholarships are incorporated in the calculation of the annual income. For further questions about scholarship and housing benefit, please inquire at your local housing benefit office.

As long as they are enrolled during the funding period at TU Dresden, all international students can apply. For foreign certificates please enclose a copy of a certified translation in German or English and if necessary attach a transcript of records including the grading sytem of your previous university.

A distinction is made between subject-related internships in Germany or abroad and other internships. Subject-related internships in Germany are of course closely connected to your studies and are not affecting the payment of the scholarship. Similarly, internships completed abroad as long as they are associated with the subject area, are regarded as ‘subject-related stays abroad’. If the recipient asks for leave of absence from the scholarship programme to pursue other internships, placements or for other reasons, the payment of the scholarship is suspended for this period of absence.

In principle, there is an obligation for the written notification of leave of absence taken during the period of grant by Deutschlandstipendium. You need to indicate the duration of and the reasons for the leave of absence and produce a proof (internship contract, etc.). Depending on the reason for the request of leave of absence, further funding may either be granted by Deutschlandstipendium or must be terminated (see "Leave", "Internship" and "Periods abroad"). The following basic rules apply:

If there apply other reasons for the leave of abscence the university will decide on a by-case basis on the funding. In case a leave of abscence is not reported in time the university may reclaim the already paid grant.

If a parallel funding is possible, depends on the amount paid and the scholarship scheme. Students, who already receive funding on the basis of achievement exceeding the monthly limit of 30 Euro, are not eligible for the Deutschlandstipendium. Recipients sponsored by the Begabtenförderungswerke (organisations for the promotion of young talents) have to waive the financial support if they wish to be eligible for a Deutschlandstipendium. We have compiled an overview of the current funding schemes that are compatible with the Deutschlandstipendium. Scholarships that are compatible with the Deutschlandstipendium and those which are not, are listed here: Overview of parallel scholarships.

Students who have been awarded a full DAAD scholarship cannot simultaneously hold a Deutschlandstipendium since both scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and potential. However, if you receive a partial DAAD scholarship (e.g., Erasmus), this does not exclude you from the Deutschlandstipendium.

If you stay abroad through the ERASMUS programme, the payment of the Deutschlandstipendium continues even if you receive a mobility grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at the same time.

Decisions on eligibility are made by the selection boards of the departments or the central units and the rectorial board. Interested private sponsors participate in the selection procedure in an advisory capacity. Recipients are selected on the basis of their academic and also special personal achievements.

The principles for the selection criteria and also the application and selection procedures are governed by the  Regulations for the Enforcement of the Scholarship Act (Verordnung zur Durchführung des Stipendiengesetzes).

Regulation for the awarding of scholarships is determined by the regulation rules.

The payment of the scholarship continues if you stay abroad to study in your subject area, provided that you go abroad during the funding period. This applies regardless of a possible leave of absence at the university awarded by the scholarship. If you stay abroad through the ERASMUS programme, the payment of the Deutschlandstipendium continues even if you receive a mobility grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the same time period.

It is also possible to apply if the standard period of study is likely to be exceeded during the funding period. In this case, the extension of the standard period of study must be justified in the relevant section of the application form.

Similar to the BAföG, participation in a university committee or in a committee of student self-government may be a reason for extending the funding. This only applies to selected members. For the duration of the exceedance it depends on the amount of time that the activity causes.

Semesters completed at university include the total number of semesters completed at the university (possibly several courses of study). Semesters completed in subject are the semesters completed in a single study program and subject.