Funding your studies

How can you make sure that you can cover the costs that arise during your studies?

The easiest way to fund your studies is to rely on the financial means at your own or your family's disposal – but not everyone is that lucky.

Working while studying: If you want to earn your own money while studying, make sure that you know the relevant regulations that match your residency title etc. Students are limited in terms of hours they can work (there is a maximum number of hours allowed per week) and wages (only a certain amount is allowed). For students from outside the European Union, the regulations are even more rigorous: a maximum of 120 days full-time work is allowed – compulsory internships not included. The DAAD provides information about student work regulations in English.

Below, we share some possibilities to help you finance your studies.

Before beginning your studies

Applying for – and obtaining – a scholarship from your home country to finance your studies in Germany might be complicated, unless it occurs within the framework of international agreements. In all cases, the application process will take time.

For exchange students. In order to be able to participate in the European scholarship programme Erasmus+, your home institution must have signed an agreement with the corresponding department at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and specifically selected you for the scholarship.

If you have questions regarding your Erasmus+ scholarship, please contact the International Office of your home university.

The German state of Baden-Württemberg offers a limited number of scholarships each year.

Students from one of our international partner universities in the non-Erasmus area with a valid student exchange agreement who are nominated for a semester abroad at Hochschule Mannheim can apply for the scholarship. The only exceptions from the Erasmus region: Stockholm University and Jönköping University (however, simultaneous receipt of Erasmus+ funding and Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM is not possible). 

You can find out more about this scholarship here.

Every year, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers numerous study scholarships on its own or in cooperation with national institutions in different countries. The application process usually takes place a long time in advance, so it is highly recommended that you enquire about deadlines and requirements early on.

The DAAD website provides comprehensive information about their scholarships and how to apply.

Together with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. exchange organisation Institute of International Education (IIE), the DAAD has created a new scholarship program: the Gilman-DAAD Germany Scholarships. This means that up to 40 scholarships worth a maximum of 5,000 US dollars will be awarded each year to Bachelor students in the US who wish to study in Germany.

Scholarship recipients can take summer or winter courses in Germany, participate in selected study abroad programs, study for one or two semesters or do internships in companies.

Find out more on the Gilman scholarship website.

The DAAD data bank will help you find many other opportunities for obtaining financial aid, besides the DAAD scholarships.

Financial aid available during your studies

Students are generally expected to demonstrate good or even excellent academic performance, especially when applying for scholarships.

Scholarships administered by the International Office

International exchange students from partner universities of the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences are to be funded in order to increase the internationalisation of the university.

You can find all the neccessary details here.

International students at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences are to be financially supported and relieved with this scholarship in the phase of graduation.

You can find all neccessary information here.

Scholarships for particularly committed international students are intended to improve support for international students. The scholarship holders perform supervisory tasks or similar services that serve the international exchange.

You can find all the neccessary information here.

Excellent international degree-seeking students at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences (not exchange students from a partner university), who are not about to graduate and do not receive any other scholarship, can be supported with this scholarship.

You can find all the neccessary information here.

Target group:

This programme is aimed at students and doctoral candidates with a recognized refugee status and / or a right to asylum who can be shown to be at risk in their country of origin due to their ethnic, sexual, gender or religious identity or their political or civic engagement formally or de facto the right to education is denied. 

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers the “Hilde Domin-Programm” scholarship programme with funds from the Federal Foreign Office. The programme is designed to support endangered students and doctoral students who are formally or de facto denied the right to education in their country of origin to start or continue studying in Germany in order to obtain a degree or doctorate at a German university. The students and doctoral candidates nominated and selected within the framework of the program are enrolled in courses of their personal choice and individual qualifications and receive a scholarship that covers the necessary costs of the study or research stay. 

The long-term goal of the scholarship programme is to enable students and doctoral candidates to study at a university or a research stay in a safe environment so that they can make an important contribution to the political, economic and social development in their countries of origin after completing their studies or research project (respectively in Germany or third countries). All recipients of the scholarship programme receive interdisciplinary qualifications in an accompanying social science programme in order to increase the chances of free personal development and a contribution to society. 

The nomination and selection process:

Potential candidates cannot apply for the Hilde Domin programme independently, but are nominated by the management (president / rectorate) of an institution that is based in Germany as a legal entity. The nominating institutions and organisations must submit a nomination form provided by the DAAD with a declaration of nomination to be added. Then, on the basis of an initial plausibility check, suitable candidates will be contacted by the DAAD and asked to apply via the DAAD's online application portal. The application documents submitted by the candidates are then checked by the DAAD for completeness and formal correctness. The final selection of the candidates is made by independent selection committees appointed by the DAAD. As part of the selection process, both the risk and the academic performance are assessed. 

Further information on the DAAD website

Contact:

International Office, Karin Plattner, incoming.io@hs-mannheim.de

Other possibilities

We carry out numerous R&D projects in many labs, as well as design and social projects in the non-technical departments. Some of them are financed to include student cooperation that can be remunerated (so-called HiWi jobs). If your professor believes you are suitable, you may be able to participate in such projects, or alternatively offer tutorials to other students in a determined area.

Did you know that small and medium-sized enterprises represent 99% of all German employers?

The Mannheimer Modell Mittelstandsstipendien is an entrepreneurial initiative in cooperation with Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and supported by the CCI Rhine-Neckar. Regional small and medium-sized enterprises sponsor selected students with scholarships. For more information about the firms involved, the scholarships available and the application procedure, visit this page (in German) or contact the Career Center.

Mannheim University of Applied Sciences awards and administers the so-called Deutschlandstipendium (Germany scholarship). Donations from different companies as well as private foundations facilitate this funding option.

Some calls for applications are specifically related to a department, whereas other opportunities are completely independent of the focus area.

For more information about the current scholarships and the application procedure, visit the this page (in German) or contact the Career Center.

Find out more about financial aid

on the central website (in German)

Funding opportunities are regularly offered in research and management for postgraduate students. Watch out for calls for applications!

Informationen auf Deutsch finden Sie hier.