Elsa-Neumann-Scholarships

Applicants must be able to demonstrate performance that far exceeds the average, especially in their undergraduate degrees. There must be reason to expect that applicants’ academic projects will make a significant contribution to the body of research in the field. Applications must be accompanied by documentation of the student’s qualifications, a statement from his or her supervising professor, and a working plan that shows the reasons the student has chosen the particular topic, the status of preliminary work on the project, an outline of the research project, and a schedule for the implementation of the project. Applicants must not have already received earlier public funding for the same project.

The base scholarship is 1,350 euro per month, plus a lump-sum allowance of 100 euro for the costs of materials. Family allowances and special allowances for travel costs can be granted. Scholarships are initially granted for a period of up to two years. Each student is required to submit a report on his or her work and a statement from his or her academic supervisor at the end of the first and second years of the scholarship. Aid is granted for a maximum period of three years. Scholarships for completion of the dissertation are granted for a maximum of one year, without any possibility of extension. Grantees are required to devote the vast majority of their time and energies to the work for which they are receiving aid.

Scholarships are granted based on the decisions made by the inter-university Commission for the Allocation of Doctoral Grants (Kommission zur Vergabe von Promotionsstipendien), whose members are appointed by the Senator for Education, Science, and Research. There are two deadlines per year, one in April and one in November. The office will announce the exact deadlines (cutoff dates). Successful applicants begin receiving funding on either April, 1 or July, 1.