Financing

How am I supposed to pay for all of this?

With tuition fees at the university abroad (when there is no existing exchange agreement with the university), overseas health insurance, general living and travel expenses, every student going abroad faces the same tough question: how am I supposed to pay for all of this?!

Information regarding the payments within the Erasmus program can be found under Erasmus

Fortunately, there are several different ways to finance your stay abroad. For students with German nationality it is always worthwhile, for example, to apply for an overseas student loan (or Auslands-BAföG; an overseas loan offered by the German government to eligible students). Often students who are not eligible for an inland student loan (normal BAföG) are nevertheless eligible for stays abroad. The most important requirement is early organisation: the application should be submitted to the nearest BAföG office about 6 months in advance. Other important requirements are, amongst others, sufficient command of the language of the host country and a minimum period of stay of one semester.

A German education loan (Bildungskredit) is another way of financing your stay abroad. This loan features low interest rates and financing for up to 24 months at 100 to 300 EUR per month. Unlike with private loans or BAföG, the education loan amount does not depend on your parents’ income nor your own assets.

Academic scholarships for German and international students are offered for example by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The DAAD’s database of scholarship holders is an important source of information for financing options. Also the Deutschen Studierendenwerke give advice regarding student financing and and student credit offers. Additionally it is advisable to inform yourself about scholarships by Begabtenförderwerke (scholarships for outstanding pupils or students ).

You can also apply for a PROMOS grant to finance your semester or internship abroad. The next application deadlines in 2019 are the 15th of January and the 15th of June. The selection criteria for the grant include your current GPA, number of acquired credit points, the relevance of your proposed stay abroad in the context of your study programme, as well as your language skills.

The website www.mystipendium.de also provides information about various scholarship opportunities with regard to your individual profile.

In addition, many other institutions provide scholarship support to top students. For example:

What scholarship suits me? Helfpful tips & self assessment

Asia: Asia Exchange
Australia and New Zealand: IEC Online
Australia and New Zealand: Institut Ranke-Heinemann
Australia and New Zealand: Studium-Downunder
Australia and New Zealand: GOstralia! and GOzealand!
Association of German Foundations
Cusanuswerk (scholarship body of the German Catholic Church)
The Eidam & Partner International Scholarship
DAAD: HAW.International
Dr. Jost Henkel Foundation
Evangelisches Studienwerk
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Friedrich Nauman Foundation
Haniel Foundation
Hans Böckler Foundation
Hanns Seidel Foundation
Heinrich Hertz Foundation
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Central Europe: Community for Scholarly Exchange
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Rotary Foundation - Ambassadorial Scholarships
Association for thePromotion of German Science and Humanities
German Economy Foundation
Sprachreisen.org-Stipendium
German National Academic Foundation
USA: International Doorway and Sports Scholarship
USA: Scholarship of the Fulbright Commission 
We make scholars (Large Education Finance Platform)