Scholarships are a particularly popular way of financing a semester abroad or even a complete degree abroad. No wonder – unlike BAföG or educational loans, scholarships for studying abroad do not have to be repaid. In addition, due to the often time-consuming application and selection process, receiving a scholarship is often a special award that also looks good on your résumé.
A number of foundations, associations and other organizations award different types of scholarships for studying abroad. The foreign universities themselves often offer scholarships for international students.
Types of scholarships for studying abroad
There are a variety of scholarships for studying abroad with different award criteria. The achievements in the course are not always decisive. Often it is more about proving a special motivation or a special research interest.
In addition to full scholarships, which fully finance the study abroad, there are partial scholarships. This is, for example, a one-off payment of a certain amount or the assumption of travel expenses.
DAAD scholarships
The German Academic Exchange Service eV (DAAD) is Germany’s most important grant provider. It is one of the world’s largest organizations when it comes to academic exchange. The range of scholarships is broad and the requirements therefore vary. The DAAD awards grants in the form of annual and short-term grants for studying abroad to students and doctoral candidates in all subjects. Scholarships for selected Bachelor and Master programs are also on offer.
Scholarships for specific countries
Some organizations and foundations offer foreign scholarships for specific countries or regions. An example would be the Fulbright Commission, which exclusively promotes academic exchange between Germany and the USA. In addition, many foreign universities award scholarships to international students for studying abroad. Our partner universities also regularly offer scholarships for you.
Scholarships for specific subjects
In addition to the country-specific grants, there are grants for studying abroad, which are aimed at students from selected departments. We also award scholarships to students in multiple disciplines twice a year.
For master’s students, doctoral candidates and postdocs in the field of computer science, for example, there is the DAAD’s “FITweltweit” program. This gives the scholarship holders the opportunity to carry out research work abroad for a period of one to six months. BWLer and including economists obtained for study abroad often support of companies and enterprises.
Find the right scholarship for studying abroad
As you can see: The spectrum of scholarships for studying abroad is wide. There are far more organizations and institutions that will help you financially during your stay abroad than initially thought. But how do you find out whether there is a suitable scholarship for you? The scholarship guide of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is helpful. This is a comprehensive database for national and international scholarships for studying abroad, which can be filtered according to various criteria.
