You can finance your studies with a BAföG grant. 50 percent of BAföG is provided as an interest-free loan and 50 percent as a grant.
Due to BAföG, students from Germany (and under certain circumstances also international students) are legally entitled to receive funding for an education that suits their abilities and interests. Funding is awarded for the duration of the degree program including outside the lecture period.
The maximum funding duration for each degree program is defined in relevant regulations. Pursuant to Sections 9 and 48 of Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz (BAFöG, Federal Training Assistance Act), during the course of their studies students must submit confirmation of certain course achievements that must have been completed by a certain semester to the BAFöG office at certain deadlines.
The funding depends on the family and economic situation of the student or their parents.
There are various calculators available online to give you an idea of how much funding you would be entitled to.
BAföG officers at FAU
An overview of lecturers who are entitled to issue certificates is available in the document “BAföG officers”.
The Training Assistance Offices (Ämter für Ausbildungsförderung) at Student Services are responsible for providing information and processing BAföG applications. In Bavaria, students can submit a BAföG application online. The application form is available online: www.bafoeg-digital.de.
The application must be printed off, signed and sent to the relevant Training Assistance Office. The date the application is received is taken as the date of application.
Since winter semester 2024/2025, the funding amounts to 855 euros (basic provision for students living away from home). Including all possible additional benefits for increased rent, health and nursing care insurance, the highest amount of funding available to students living with their parents is 495 euros and 992 euros for those who have left home.
Students with children receive a child care allowance of 160 euros per child. 50 percent of BAföG is provided as an interest-free loan and 50 percent as a grant. BAföG recipients are all subject to an upper debt limit of 15,000 euros.
Transcript of records due after 3 or 4 semesters
In order to be eligible for funding after the 4th semester, BAföG recipients must submit a transcript of records. If you are studying at FAU, you can access this transcript of records you require pursuant to Section 48 BAföG online in campo.
Important information on delays involving the transcript of records
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Students who complete their application for continued funding by July 31 can continue to receive funding without interruption in the following winter semester, from October. This is only the case if you meet the funding requirements. Special rules apply when transitioning from the 4th to the 5th subject semester, as you can only continue to receive funding from the 5th subject semester if you have submitted a transcript of records from the university to the BAföG office,
pursuant to Section 48 of the Act. However, in the past this has often led to delays in continued funding, as examination achievements are completed late in fall, and are only then entered in campo. In consultation with FAU, the BAföG office has therefore decided that the required transcript of records in all Bachelor’s degree programs and teaching degree programs can be submitted on the basis of the completed 3rd subject semester.
Accordingly, the course achievements in the completed winter semester are taken as the basis, provided that was your 3rd subject semester. These achievements are usually recorded completely by June at the latest and the deadline for submitting the transcript of records remains identical to the deadline for submitting the application for continued funding: July 31.
Please organize your transcript of records in good time, preferably by mid/late June, if you are currently studying in your 4th subject semester.
If your course achievements are measured in ECTS credits, the transcript of records you require pursuant to Section 48 BAföG will be made available for printing off in your campo account once you have achieved the ECTS credits you require for your subject. Just print off the transcript of records you require and submit the paper copy in July together with your transcript of records to the BAföG office. In this case, you should be able to continue receiving funding from October without interruption.
If the relevant transcript of records is not available in campo, for example because your studies are delayed, please contact the lecturer named for your subject. You can explain the reasons that have led to the delay. You may then be issued with a positive transcript of records on what is known as “Form 5”, available from the BAföG office. You would then be eligible for continued funding.
Please note: With a positive Form 5, the reasons for your delay are considered evened out and cannot be used once again if you have to apply for an extension to the maximum duration of BAföG funding.
If the delays are so major that it already becomes apparent by the end of the 3rd semester that you will not be able to complete your degree program in the available 6 semesters (or 7 or 9 in the case of teaching degrees, depending on the type of school), it is better to proceed as follows: Ask the BAföG officer to state “negative” on Form 5 and present your reasons for the delay to the BAföG office for evaluation.
Speak with the BAföG office!
If your BAföG officer states “negative” on your Form 5 and the BAföG office recognizes the reasons for the delay that you have submitted, the transcript of records is moved back in accordance with the delay and you can use these reasons again to apply for an extension that may become necessary at a later date.
If you have not received a positive transcript of records from campo, speak openly with the employee responsible for you in the BAföG office and ask what they would recommend in your situation.
The above information cannot fully explain the complex situation concerning “transcript of records pursuant to Section 48 BAföG” and the details concerning Form 5 and cannot replace the required individual consultation at the BAföG office.
Welfare advice from Student Services
Welfare advice from Student Services covers topics such as ways of funding your studies other than BAföG and welfare benefits such as accommodation and child allowances.