Students from abroad

Financing your studies and your stay in Hamburg

If they meet the legal prerequisites, students with foreign nationality are entitled to aid according to the German law on higher education grants (BAföG).

Germans as defined by Art. 116 GG benefit from the BAföG grant and students from migrant backgrounds may also be entitled to it. On the other hand, international students holding a visa/residence permit for studying generally cannot receive any BAföG benefits. The requirements for nationality are stated in §8 BAföG. Please have a look at our information sheet below, to see if you meet the prerequisites.The monthly payment depends on the student´s individual requirements.

Those who are not entitled to BAföG may be able to receive an exam scholarship for international students from state funds for the completion of their studies.

If you have questions about BAföG, please contact our Counselling Centre for study financing – BeSt.

International students who are not entitled to BAföG can receive support for the completion of their studies from state funds. However, there is no legal entitlement to this funding.

Requirements 
You must complete your studies no later than two semesters after submitting your application and be able to demonstrate a level of performance that corresponds to the current semester. In addition, you must be needy, i.e. you must not receive any allowance from your parents or be financially secure in some other way.

Note for students of the HAW
Please contact the Student Administration Office at HAW for the overview of course achievements this semester. You can request the overview there by e-mail.

Students of these state universities in Hamburg are eligible to apply for the program:

• Universität Hamburg (UHH)
• Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg (HAW)
• Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)
• Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HfbK)
• Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (HfMT)
• HafenCity Universität Hamburg (HCU)

Contact for students of HAW, TUHH, HfbK, HfMT and HCU:

For students of these universities  Amt für Ausbildungsförderung (BAföG-Amt) – Examensstipendien für internationale Studierende is responsible. The application forms are also available here.

The application deadlines for the winter semester end on October 31 or September 30 for students at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW). The application deadlines for the summer semester end on April 30 or March 31 for students at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW).

We offer counselling by phone, email and in person (with appointment). You can book an appointment for a personal consultation here. We ask that you wear an FFP2 mask.

Contact for students of the Universität Hamburg

www.uni-hamburg.de/examensstipendien, Abteilung Internationales der Universität Hamburg, Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg, 040 / 42 838 - 3311

You can find the application deadlines for students at the University of Hamburg on the University of Hamburg website.

Unfortunately, very few students in Germany are supported with a scholarship. There is no central office where you can apply for a scholarship or which forwards an application to the funding institutions. You must actively look for establishments awarding scholarships yourself and apply to them individually.

The International Office at your intended university provides counselling and support for new international students. The office details can be found on the university website..

The Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) is responsible for funding incoming students with foreign citizenship. Since you have to apply for a DAAD scholarship about one and a half years before you start your studies, you should check the DAAD's funding database in good time.

We have compiled lists of scholarship opportunities, search engines and databases for the different groups of students from abroad. An overview of scholarships for which students from abroad can apply can be found here | Download (PDF). Students with migration and refugee backgrounds can find a corresponding list here | Download (PDF).

You can also find more information on the related scholarship pages.

If you are in the final phase of your studies, use our list of scholarships for the final phase of studies (only available in German). Some of these scholarships are also open to students from abroad who are studying at a German university.

If you have questions about scholarships, please contact our Counselling Centre for study financing – BeSt.