Scholarships for international students about to graduate
Financial support for international students about to graduate
About the scholarship
The final semester scholarship is:
- intended to support international students during the last months before graduation, usually while writing their thesis or taking final exams
- paid out to successful applicants in one transaction
- usually amounting to between 900-1000 EUR in total, but this is not fixed and can vary, depending on the current budget situation, the number of eligible applicants and the applicant’s individual financial background
Usually two to three weeks after application deadline, successful applicants will be informed by e-mail about the next steps to take
Unsuccessful applicants will be informed as well, they can apply during the next term, if they still fulfil the requirements mentioned in the conditions for eligibility
Conditions for eligibility
- only international students without German citizenship or permanent residence may apply
- FAU graduation planned by end of September 2023 (end of Summer Semester 2023)
- good or very good grades (current GPA between 1,0 and 2,3)
- German language proficiency at least at basic level
- financial need: only students who have a monthly income of under 934 EUR (single persons) are entitled to apply. Students with low income will be given priority. A statement regarding the applicant’s financial situation has to be made in the application form. Savings and funds in blocked accounts do not count towards the monthly income. Students who have the right to apply for BAFöG (regardless of whether they receive it or not) cannot be considered. Check here if you might be eligible for BAFöG
- age restriction: maximum 35 years of age at application deadline
- current enrollment at FAU
- officially registered as resident in Bavaria during the entire funding period
Students writing their final thesis outside of Bavaria or abroad /performing their PJ (Praktisches Jahr) outside of Bavaria or abroad, exchange students, students entitled to BAFöG, students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes and students enrolled in one-year orientation, pre-master, or postgraduate programmes are unfortunately not eligible.
Students can apply successfully only once! A re-application is unfortunately not possible!
Which documents are required?
Applications are submitted online. All documents required from the student must be uploaded into the application portal. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
- completed online application form
- up-to-date transcript of records (from “Mein Campus” or equivalent document)
- copy of passport (ID page) and, if applicable, plastic residence permit (including green leaflet). Kindly make sure that your address is visible on the back of the plastic residence permit or provide equivalent proof (eg “Meldebescheinigung”)
- current certificate of enrollment
- CV
- letter of recommendation from a full FAU professor, including an assessment of the student’s performance and an estimate about her/his date of graduation. Please use the template provided, see below. The recommendation letter can be sent as a pdf from the evaluator’s personal FAU e-mail account to peter.forna@fau.de. Alternatively, the original letter of recommendation must be submitted by post mail. In this case, the professor’s signature and official stamp are mandatory.
Kindly complete the online form and upload your documents as soon as possible. The recommendation letter can be handed in later on, but must arrive before the deadline.
How to fill the online application
Important: Your login to the online application consists of your IDM login name and password.
When filling the application form, kindly make sure to give the information as mentioned below:
“Academic year”: 2022/23
“Semester der Bewerbung (Semester for which you apply)”: Sommersemester 2023
You can switch the communication language within the portal.
Kindly fill out the online application first and submit it. You will receive an e-mail after successful submission of your information. This e-mail contains a confirmation link which takes you to the second part of the application procedure. You will have to perform a few additional formalities within the platform, (eg. upload documents, etc.) before your application is complete.
Recommendation letter
Kindly use the template provided. The recommendation letter can be sent as a pdf from the evaluator’s personal FAU e-mail account to peter.forna@fau.de. Alternatively, the original letter of recommendation can be sent by post mail. In this case, the professor’s signature in ink and an official stamp are mandatory.
Kindly complete the online form and upload your documents as soon as possible. The recommendation letter can be handed in later on, but must arrive before the deadline.
The Central Office for International Affairs awards scholarships for international students who are about to finish their degree twice a year. The funding for these scholarships is provided by the Bavarian government. Students studying Master’s and State Examination degree programmes are eligible to apply.
The deadline for applications for Summer Semester 2023 was May 17th, 2023.
The final semester scholarship will be available for students planning to graduate by the end of Winter Semester 2023/24, too. A new call for applications will be posted by mid-September. The deadline for applications has not been set yet.