The country of Germany has been well-known among many students from abroad due to its practice of free tuition, which also applies to international students. Even from the beginning, many Germans realized that education should be open to all people, regardless of their nationalities.
This practice of free tuition has been put in place for centuries, and many international students have been able to enjoy its benefits over the years. In this post, we will be talking about several full-ride scholarships in Germany for international students, which can aid your academic career.
Can International Students Receive a Full-Ride Scholarship in Germany?
The answer is yes. International students are eligible to apply for full-ride scholarships in Germany, which means that international students can receive this prestigious award as well. Due to the practice of free tuition, tuition coverage is not included in this financial award.
A basic example of a full-ride scholarship will include a living stipend for accommodation and food, health insurance coverage, and additional coverage for internships and research. On rare occasions, international ticket fares are also covered by this fully-funded award.
What Are the Minimum Academic Requirements to Receive Full Funding in Germany?
The minimum academic requirements to receive a full-ride scholarship in Germany is a high school diploma. Since these scholarships are open to prospective undergraduate applicants, you need to at least show proof that you have or going to graduate from high school.
If you are going to apply for a graduate program, then you need to show proof that you have or going to graduate from an accredited institution (bachelor’s degree). This is all basic knowledge for you guys, but I thought it would be helpful to point out all the facts.
Do Colleges in Germany Practice Free Tuition?
Yes, German institutions practice free tuition for all applicants, which also applies to international students. Although free tuition doesn’t apply to all the countries in Europe, Germany has implemented this practice for all incoming applicants, regardless of their nationality.
Due to this full tuition coverage, international applicants should focus on paying their living fees, which include accommodation and food. If you want your room & board covered, then how about applying for one of the scholarships listed down below?
Full-Ride Scholarships in Germany for International Students
All the information that you will need is included under each scholarship title. For each scholarship, I have included a link to the official source, and I have also listed the scholarship benefits and the educational level. Let’s jump straight in!
1. DAAD Scholarships
- Source – German Academic Exchange Service
- Educational Level – Undergraduate / Graduate
- Scholarship Benefits – Living Stipend, Travel Allowance, Insurance
The acronym DAAD is a German translation of the German Academic Exchange Service, which is a giant scholarship portal. This portal, which provides hundreds of different scholarships, is open for international students who are trying to study in Germany,
Also, due to its frequent use, DAAD Scholarships are updated each year by various German institutions and private organizations. The academic requirements vary for each financial award, which means that the eligibility criteria are different for each scholarship as well.
- DAAD Scholarship – Largest Amount of Scholarships (Germany)
Because of its varying requirements, you need to go into the DAAD Scholarship Portal and find the scholarship that is the right fit for you. After entering your educational level and your nationality, the scholarship search will pull up the relevant scholarships that are available at that time.
Double-check the eligibility criteria to make sure that you fit the bill, and take a look at the application deadline before getting too excited. After completing the scholarship application, look for new scholarships and research some more while you wait!
2. Heinrich Boll Foundation Scholarships
- Source – Heinrich Boll Foundation
- Educational Level – Undergraduate (Maybe) / Graduate
- Scholarship Benefits – Living Stipend (Varies)
As you might have noticed, this scholarship program is not open for bachelor’s degrees but for prospective graduate applicants. Application for a bachelor’s degree is only open to international students who have studied in Germany during their high school years.
Open only to online applications, Heinrich Boll Foundation Scholarships are given to international applicants who are proficient in German. In order to be eligible for this scholarship program, each scholarship applicant needs to show proof of German Proficiency.
- HBF Scholarships – Depends on Financial Need
To reach the pdf file that contains the undergraduate / graduate application requirements and procedure, you have to click on the link above and scroll down to a file called Info Sheet A1-1. For doctoral requirements, scroll down just a little bit more to a file called Info Sheet A2-1.
Make sure to determine which category you fall into, and look at the eligibility criteria listed for that particular group. If you meet the application requirements, take a look at the application procedure to look at the required forms that need to be submitted.
3. WCGE Doctoral Scholarships
- Source – Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics
- Educational Level – Doctoral Programs
- Scholarship Benefits – Living Stipend, Research Coverage
As you might have already known, the acronym WCGE stands for Wittenberg Center of Global Ethics, and another acronym called KSG stands for Karl Schlecht Foundation. The scholarship program is funded by KSG, and the academic program is hosted by WCGE.
To aid international students, the language of education is English, which means that the entirety of this doctoral program will be taught in English instead of German. This means that you don’t have to learn the German language before coming into Germany.
- WCGE Scholarship – Academic Restrictions
The one and only program hosted by WCGE is a doctoral degree called “Ethics and Responsible Leadership in Business.” This implies that students who are interested in this scholarship must apply for this academic program, which puts an academic restriction on many applicants.
If your study of interest is related to Business, applying for this scholarship is not a bad idea since you can gain experience and earn connections in your field through this degree. In addition, you get full financial support till the completion of your doctoral degree!
Conclusion: Doctoral Funding
For bachelor’s and Master’s degree, it can be hard when trying to find funding for these types of academic programs. However, it is quite easy to acquire funding for doctoral programs, and the various doctoral funding options are listed by the Technical University of Berlin.
Since the Ph.D. program is the highest academic level (right next to research) that you can reach, many universities provide more funding for Ph.D. applicants than for students who are applying for an undergraduate program or for a Master’s degree.
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Make sure to work hard by acquiring funding for your doctoral program, and if you hadn’t reached that stage yet, do your part of the research while you have spare time. Please remember that there are a host of many other countries out there, so take a look at each one!
As always, thank you for reading through our post called 3 full-ride scholarships in Germany for international students, and please visit our homepage for regular updates! Have a great day, and I’ll see you in another post.
