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Stipends and scholarships
In Germany, numerous funding providers offer financing opportunities for both German and foreign doctoral researchers. There are local and national funding providers, the ones with links to specific political parties and denominations, as well as subject-specific funding providers.
Doctoral researchers usually receive funding of 1,000 € to 1,350 € plus a fixed sum of 100 € per month to cover research costs (e.g. stipends by DAAD or political foundations). In addition, a family allowance of 155 € per month is available when there is a child in the family or the net annual income of the doctoral researcher’s partner is less than 15,340 €. Some scholarships also include a travel allowance.
Funding is generally provided for a period of two years. If necessary, up to two six-month extensions are possible. Scholarship holders who care for a child or must suspend their studies due to a disability or illness, can be funded for up to four years.
Universität Hamburg supports young researchers with the Landesgraduiertenstipendium (state graduate funding program). Further, international doctoral researchers can apply for a short-term stipend of the MIN graduate school or a merit scholarship of the International Dept for a twelve-month period.
For university alumni who are considering to take up their doctoral studies but have not been accepted and enrolled yet, the Dissertation Plus scholarship from Claussen-Simon Stiftung may be worth looking into.
last but not least we have an open call:
Call for Applications for Doctoral Degree Program Funding under the Fast-Track Program at Universität Hamburg
(see below for details)
Doctoral Degree Program Funding under the Fast-Track Program at Universität Hamburg
With the Fast-Track Program, Universität Hamburg offers early career researchers the opportunity to begin doctoral studies after their bachelor degree. The scholarship amounts to 1,468 EUR consists of a monthly stipend rate of 1,365 EUR plus a lump sum for material costs of 103 EUR. Furthermore it includes a comprehensive supplementary program with career development and networking opportunities in the MIN faculty and the Hamburg Research Academy (HRA). During the scholarship phase, recipients can apply for a travel allowance of 500 EUR per year through the HRA for participation in conferences, workshops, and other relevant travel related to their doctoral research.
This call is ideally addressed to outstanding graduates of bachelor’s degree programs who are admitted to a master’s program at the MIN faculty starting in the winter term of 23/24 or 24/25, or in the summer term of 24, at UHH in a subject materially relevant to the dissertation project.
Application deadline: August 31, 2024
Start of funding: November 01, 2024
Country-specific funding options
Many countries offer doctoral scholarships for doctoral studies in Germany. To find out whether your country has such a funding program, you can try contacting funding institutions of your country or DAAD . More information on country-specific funding can be provided to you by the International team of the MIN faculty.
Here a couple of examples for such programs:
- For applicants from China: Chinese Scholarship Council
- For applicants from Chile: DAAD/BECAS Chile
- For applicants from Colombia: COLFUTURO - Fundación para el Futuro de Colombia
- For applicants from Russia: Global Education Program
The largest German scholarship foundations
- Avicenna-Studienwerk (scholarships for Muslim students)
- Cusanuswerk (scholarships for Catholic students, website in German)
- Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst (scholarships for Protestant students)
- Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk (scholarships for jewish students)
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (related to the Social-Democratic Party SPD)
- Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit (related to the Free Democratic Party FDP)
- Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (related to the Christian Social Union Party CSU )
- Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (related to the trade unions)
- Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (related to the Green Party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
- Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (related to the Christian Democratic Union Party CDU)
- Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (related to The Left Party Die Linke)
- Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Foundation of the German Economy) and Studienförderwerk Klaus Murmann
- Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (politically, religiously, and otherwise independent)
An overview of further funding options you will find in the UHH Guide to doctoral funding and on the HRA website .
The DAAD scholarship database provides details of the scholarships available to finance your doctoral studies (including conferences and expeditions) offered by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and selected other funding organizations. You are required to enter your discipline, country of origin, and status to find the appropriate funding line. DAAD is the leading provider of scholarships, particularly for international doctoral researchers. In 2018 alone, DAAD provided funding for more than 2,800 international doctoral researchers and about 1,900 German doctoral researchers.
The scholarship guide of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) also facilitates transparent and comprehensive searches for suitable scholarships (in German only).
Here you will find information on special funding programs for doctoral researchers summarized by the Research in Germany website (in English only).
Other funding databases
There are several non-specific databases that also contain scholarships and funding programs for doctoral students. We recommend the following:
- mystipendium.de (in German),
- e-fellows.net (in German),
- Stipendium Plus .
Notification about additional gainful work
Part-time employment alongside a doctorate must be discussed with and approved by the funding provider in advance. Most allow part-time employment (in terms of the hours and remuneration), though this depends on the contract agreed for the main professional activities. The individual funding providers are responsible for informing doctoral researchers of the conditions for part-time employment.
If you are financing your doctorate through employment at Universität Hamburg (salaried doctoral researchers), the information on part-time work provided here is applicable.
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Prospective international PhD students
You are a postgraduate, have earned a university degree from an international higher education institution, and plan to do your doctoral studies at the faculty of law at universität hamburg..
To obtain a doctorate, students at the Faculty of Law conduct independent research and present their work in a doctoral dissertation. At the end of their studies, doctoral students must defend their doctoral dissertation in an oral examination. Generally, doctoral students can either create an individual plan or pursue studies within a structured program. General information on doctoral opportunities offered at Universität Hamburg can be found here .
Individual doctoral studies continue to be the most common form of obtaining a doctorate in Germany and at the Faculty of Law at Universität Hamburg. In this model, doctoral students work largely independently on their dissertation topic under the supervision of a professor. This allows for a great deal of freedom and flexibility, but also requires a significant degree of personal initiative and responsibility. Before beginning their studies, doctoral students first look for a supervising professor for their dissertation topic. Supervision is based on an individual agreement between the doctoral student and professor.
At the Faculty of Law at Universität Hamburg, students may also obtain a doctorate in a structured doctoral program. In these programs, the doctoral students and their research are integrated into a wider academic framework. These doctoral degree programs at the Faculty of Law at Universität Hamburg have an interdisciplinary and in some cases an international focus. They offer a framework for doctoral students to discuss their research and a broad range of opportunities for students to acquire additional qualifications in the field. Doctoral students in structured programs are often supervised by teams made up of several professors involved in the program.
The Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School (AMBSL) developed its curriculum based on the Faculty's two key research areas (research area 1: National and international market economy and governance—legal regulation under the conditions of economization and globalization; research area 2: The limits of law—the legal challenges of social and technological change). Research projects within structured doctoral training are not limited to the Faculty's key research areas, but may focus on any areas within law and its subdisciplines. The AMBSL helps applicants find suitable supervisors for their research project.
For more information about the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law and funding opportunities, please visit their website .
The European Doctorate in Law and Economics (EDLE) is an international doctoral program offered jointly by Universität Hamburg, the University of Bologna, and Erasmus University Rotterdam. The objective of the program is to train doctoral students at the highest academic level in the field of law and economics. Prospective doctors of law will be in the position to competently participate in academic discourse in this research field. More information about the European Doctorate in Law and Economics can be found here . ( http://www.edle-phd.eu/ )
The research training group The Economics of the Internationalisation of the Law focuses on the application of methods and concepts of economic analysis to international law and the way this interacts with national legal norms. More information on The Economics of the Internationalisation of the Law research training group can be found here (in German only).
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