Who can apply?

• Students from all courses of study at the University of Potsdam who can demonstrate above-average academic achievement and social engagement
• students in their first semester
• students of the University of Potsdam without German citizenship
• students in a second or postgraduate degree program
• students who have applied to University of Potsdam but not been accepted yet

Who cannot apply?

• students from other universities
• students from other universities in Brandenburg
• students who exceed the standard period of study without a valid reason (cf. § 7 StipG)
• students attending the University of Potsdam within the framework of an exchange program (e.g. Erasmus)
• doctoral students
• students who already receive a scholarship whose material support exceeds 29.99€ (also book scholarships)

Yes, students of continuing education courses can apply for the Germany scholarship. Find a list of eligible courses here.

Please note: Other forms of advanced education cannot be sponsored.

Yes.

Yes. For beginning university students, what counts is the average grade of their university entrance exam. For students who are in their first semester of a master’s program, we look at the final grade of the previous bachelor’s program.

The grant period for the University Scholarship starts each year with the start of the winter semester. The application period for students and prospective students starts every year on July 1st and lasts three weeks. During the application period applications can only be submitted online. Applications on paper will not be accepted.

If you cannot submit documents (e.g. proof of volunteer work) within the application period, please mention it in the "Notes/Comments regarding the application" section at the end of the application form. As soon as you have obtained the document, please send it via mail to stipendiumuuni-potsdampde.

If you are a prospective student and therefore do not have an enrollment certificate yet, you can also hand it in later. As soon as you have recieved your enrollment certificate, please send it via mail to stipendiumuuni-potsdampde.

No, a letter of recommendation is not necessary.

Please enter your preliminary final degree that you used to apply for your master's degree in the field "Final Grade" in the section "Bachelor/previous degree". Explain the grade is preliminary in the "Notes/Remarks on the application" section and that you will hand in the final grade as soon as possible.

Zu- und Absagen werden Anfang Oktober des jeweiligen Förderjahres des Universitätsstipendiums versendet.

Confirmations and rejections will be sent out beginning of October of the funding year.

Applicants need to submit proof of special achievements and volunteer work with their application. Proof of exceptional family or personal circumstances can be uploaded but will only be required after the applicant has been selected to recieve the scholarship.

PULS (the study organisation portal of Potsdam University) does supply an average grade by now, so we do not need additional documents from the examination office. Applicants from degree courses that do not use PULS please upload all their records of achievement and calculate their gradeaverage themselves.

By submitting your application you agree that the information you supply about your own grades can be verified with the responsible examination office.

Denkfabrik "VR in der Lehrkräftebildung" (Webpage German only)

Eligible for application are teaching students for Secondary Education Stages 1 and 2 in the subjects French, Spanish, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science and Wirtschaft-Arbeit-Technik (WAT). Students in the Masterprogrammes Digitale Bildung and Computational Science are invited to apply as well.

Denkfabrik is conceptualized as a non-hierarchical, creative space where students can combine their potential from different academic perspectives and approaches. In small groups and mentored by scholars/scientists students will face the question of how to achieve a  better understanding of the topic their respective Denkwerkstatt is focused on. To this end the students will develop  their own ideas and concepts.

Attending Denkfabrik requires at least two hours of time per week. Therefore, students who are planning to go aborad in the winter semester 2025/26 or summer semester 2026 should refrain from applying. Project work will start with a mandatory group workshop to get to know each other and to clarify project topics in the beginning of winter semester. Scope and topics of each project will continously be refined throughout the year. Sessions will be supplemented with educational field trips and events.

Additionally to the regular meetings students will attend three events: A first collective BarCamp workshop to brainstorm topics and get to know each other one weekend at the end of October 2025. In the middle of the year, usually at the "Potsdamer Tag der Wissenschaften" (Potsdam Day of the Sciences), a "Bergfest" fo celebrate half the year having passed, and finally the public presentation of the results of Denkfabrik at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, no. Attending and working at Denkfabrik requires at least two hours of time per week. Therefore, students who are planning to go aborad in the winter semester 2025/26 or summer semester 2026 should refrain from applying.

The application phase for the Deutschlandstipendium at the University of Potsdam for the funding period  winter semester 2025/2026 and summer term 2026 starts on July 1, 2025.

If it is still unclear for which programme you will be accepted, you can enter your favorite programme in the scholarship application.

In the "notes" field at the end of the application, you can indicate other study programme applications. However, if a scholarship is granted for a specified programme, this acceptance remains provisional.

Yes, you can apply if you are within the standard period of study in the winter semester 2025/26 (scholarship duration: six months).

Please note that you can only receive the Potsdam University Scholarship if you are within the standard period of study or can give reasons why you are exceeding the standard period of study. This includes, for example, a study-related stay abroad or raising a child. For detailed information on the maximum period of eligibility, please refer to § 7 of the Stipendienprogramm-Gesetz.

All students of University Potsdam can apply.  Excluded are students who study at University Potsdam during a stay abroad from another university (e.g. Erasmus-Program).

Documents can be submitted in German or English. Translations from other languages have to be authenticated.

Please mention the second citizenship in the application form section "Notes/Remarks about the application".

The Deutschlandstipendium is not counted towards the BaföG. Students can therefore receive both types of funding.
For other scholarship programmes, the type and amount of the scholarship is decisive. Students who already receive a talent- and performance-based grant that averages 30 Euro or more per month will not receive a university scholarship or must forego their material support if they wish to receive the university scholarship (see §4 StipG). It should be noted here that the waiver of tuition fees does not count as material support.

Yes. The scholarship will continue to be paid during a subject-related stay abroad within the period of approval. This also applies within the framework of the ERASMUS program if the scholarship holder simultaneously receives a mobility grant from the DAAD (see § 6, paragraph 4 StipG).

This depends on the amount and type of scholarship funding. Basically, the following applies: If you already receive a talent- and performance-based material support that averages 29.99 Euro/month or more, you cannot receive a Potsdam University Scholarship (as part of the UP's Deutschlandstipendium programme).

The scholarship is generally only awarded within the standard period of study, unless there are special reasons. COVID-19 is one of these. In the application form, in the last field under "Notes", appropriate comments must be made as to why the studies have to be extended due to COVID-19. This includes, for example, the cancellation of exams and internships.