Scholarships
Scholarships
Opportunities for Financial Support
For students of the University of Oldenburg, there are numerous opportunities to receive financial support in the form of scholarships and other funding offers. A basic distinction must be made between scholarships, grants, and awards.
Scholarships
A scholarship is a long-term financial support for students or doctoral candidates. Scholarships are usually awarded on the basis of special talent; they are the most common form of support for gifted students. The use of the funds is at the discretion of the scholarship holders.
Grants
Grants are comparable to scholarships. They are usually awarded on a similar basis. Grants at the University of Oldenburg are financial support for projects for which additional funds are used. They are therefore for a specific purpose.
Awards
Prizes and awards are not a form of student support in the proper sense of the term. They are to be regarded as a recognition of achievements and can therefore often be combined with other funding offers. If awards are endowed with prize money, the funds are usually paid out once only.
Two Paths to Funding
In addition, a distinction must be made between local funding offers and those that are available nationwide and are awarded independent of the university at which students are enrolled.
1. Local Offers
Local funding offers come either from the University of Oldenburg itself or from institutions cooperating with it, such as foundations and other providers. These include all scholarships, grants and prizes managed by the Servicepoint Scholarships and the International Office. Enrolment at Carl von Ossietzky University is a prerequisite for application.
Servicespoint Scholarships
The Servicepoint Scholarships is part of the Presidential Department of Studies and Teaching. It reports to the Vice-President for Studies and Teaching and manages seven different funding programmes.
It is in charge of applications for scholarships for German and international students, one scholarship for doctoral students and two awards:
- Deutschlandstipendium
- Landesstipendium Niedersachsen
- Wissenschaftspreis Niedersachsen (Kategorie IV)
- Dr. Dettling Stiftung
- Dr. h. c. Peter Waskönig Stiftung
- Heinz Neumüller Stiftung
In addition, the Servicepoint helps run two foundations directly linked to the University of Oldenburg on behalf of their executive boards. It also serves as a central point of contact for foundations and other organisations that award scholarships to students and doctoral candidates at Oldenburg University.
International Office
The International Office (IO) is a part of the Department of Student and Academic Affairs. It is the central point of contact both for international students in Oldenburg and for Oldenburg students who are planning to study abroad.
The IO manages various funding programmes with an international background, including grants and scholarships. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
Scholarships for Oldenburg students studying abroad
- Erasmus+
- PROMOS scholarships
- Floyd- und Lili Biava-Zuschuss (in German)
- Fulbright-Stipendien (in German)
Scholarships for exchange students coming to Oldenburg
2. Nationwide offers
Nationwide funding programmes are generally aimed at students from all over Germany. As a rule, enrollment at Oldenburg University is not a prerequisite for taking advantage of them. The University itself is not involved in its administration and supervision beyond the giving of advice.
Funding Agencies for the Gifted
In Germany, there are 13 so-called "Begabtenförderungswerke" (organisations for the promotion of gifted students), which under the framework of a programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research provide study grants to students. This is done primarily by awarding full scholarships. Additional support programmes, such as workshops and seminars, which accompany the financial funding differ depending on the scholarship provider.
The 13 funding agencies are:
- Avicenna-Studienwerk (funding for Muslim students)
- Cusanuswerk (funding for Catholic students)
- Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst (funding for Protestant students)
- Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk (funding for Jewish students)
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (close to the SPD political party)
- Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit (close to the FDP political party)
- Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (close to the CSU political party)
- Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (close to the unions)
- Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (close to the Greens political party)
- Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (close to the CDU political party)
- Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (Die-Linke-nah)
- Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (close to the employers)
- Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (politically and confessionally independent)
Information on the individual foundations are to be obtained by interested parties themselves. Although the Servicepoint Scholarships does not provide specific advice on individual funding programmes, it can establish contact with current funding recipients. It is also possible to contact one of the contact persons who are local advisors for the foundations.
Additional Offers
Another nationwide scholarship provider is the
- Stiftung Begabtenförderung berufliche Bildung (close to the IHK)
However, if you are looking for financing for your studies, you can sometimes reach your goal without a scholarship. The classic way is the BAföG (Federal Student Assistance Act). The Studierendenwerk Oldenburg, like other such organisations throughout Germany, provides advice on the following issues:
In addition, there are now several online databases that provide information on funding opportunities: