Are you planning a student exchange under special circumstances? Want to travel sustainably? Interesting in finding funding for your stay overseas? Discover the options - and gear up for your great adventure!
Students with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or children often face unique challenges when planning a mobility abroad. If that's you, drop by our office hours! We're here to help you overcome these hurdles and inform you about special funding and support opportunities. And if you're a first-generation college student or are currently employed, there are support options tailored to you.
The German National Association for Student Affairs (Deutsches Studierendenwerk) has compiled extensive information on studying abroad for students with disabilities, including topics such as financing and health insurance.
InclusiveMobility.eu is a European platform for support services and resources related to studying abroad for students with disabilities. In addition to country- and university-specific information, you can find testimonials from students there.
For tips and information on preparing for a study abroad experience with children, as well as student experience reports, please visit https://www.studieren-weltweit.de/infocard/auslandsstudium-mit-kind.
Equality of opportunity is a core commitment of the Erasmus+ Program. To enable more people to study abroad in the future, Erasmus+ scholarship rates have been increased, the target groups for those who can receive additional financial support ("Top-Ups") have been expanded, and the minimum duration for funded stays abroad has been shortened. For information about "top-ups" for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses, as well as for students with children, first-generation university students, and employed students, see our Erasmus+ page.
As an alternative to a "top-up", students with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or children can apply for a reimbursement of any actual additional costs (up to 15,000 euros per semester) accrued abroad. For this, they submit a special separate application ("Actual costs application / Realkostenantrag"), in collaboration with the International Center. Further information can be found on the DAAD website.
Students and university staff with a disability or chronic illness can also receive financial subsidies for trips to prepare for an Erasmus+ stay. This allows you to familiarize yourself with local conditions (accessible accommodation, campus conditions, public transport, etc.) ahead of time. A companion who will assist you on the trip can also be funded.
For personal insights into how students from different German universities have overcome the challenges of their study abroad, check out the student experience reports about Erasmus+ special funding.
Students with a disability or chronic illness who receive funding through a DAAD program (e.g., PROMOS) can also receive special funding.
Do you want to make your study abroad experience as environmentally friendly as possible? You can begin right from the start of your trip! Here you'll find tips for climate-friendly travel options, advice about how to maintain a sustainable lifestyle once you reach your destination, and inspiration for the time following your return.
Under #Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability) at studieren-weltweit.de, students from all over Germany share their experiences in videos, interviews, and testimonials about how they made their study abroad experience sustainable.
- You can find tips from former EUF outbound students in their first-hand accounts of their experiences at EUF partner universities.
- In the Erasmus+ program, you receive additional financial support for environmentally friendly travel ("Green Travel").
- The Green Erasmus Portal provides you with tips and tricks for a sustainable experience before, during, and after your stay abroad.
- Are you planning to travel abroad by train, or to travel through Europe by train during your stay abroad? Here is a selection of different booking platforms:
When planning a semester or internship abroad, it's important to check out the various funding options early on. Above all, pay attention to the application deadlines. In this section, you'll find the most important funding opportunities at a glance.
Erasmus+
PROMOS Scholarships
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) uses funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to support stays abroad by students as part of the PROMOS programme (Programme to Increase the Mobility of German Students).
For Spring Semester 2024 and Fall Semester 2024/25, Europa-Universität Flensburg is awarding scholarships for study abroad in non-European countries. The following applies:
- Scholarships can be awarded for study abroad lasting 3-6 months.
- The scholarship consists of a monthly subsistence allowance (half a monthly allowance for days 1-14) for the confirmed study period abroad.
- The monthly partial scholarship rate is €350, €450 or €550; depending on the destination country; see current list of funding amounts (in German).
- Payments are made on a monthly basis.
- It is possible to receive BAföG student financial aid abroad, on top of the PROMOS scholarship. PROMOS scholarship must be reported to the appropriate BAföG office.
- PROMOS funding is not possible if the stay abroad is already supported by other public funds. This applies to scholarships for gifted students granted by political foundations for example. All PROMOS funding information must be reported to other public agencies.
- When planning and carrying out activities abroad, please observe the travel and safety instructions of the German Foreign Office and inform us before the start of the trip if there is a travel warning.
At Europa-Universität Flensburg, short-term stays abroad (between 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months) for internships in non-European countries can be supported with partial scholarships.
- The monthly partial scholarship rate is 350 €, 450 € or 550 €, depending on the destination country; see the current list of funding amounts (in German). Half monthly installment is paid for days 1-14.
- Payments are made on a monthly basis.
- Internships in Switzerland can also be funded if funding is not available through programs in Switzerland (for example, through the Swiss-European Mobility Programme/SEMP).
- Internships eligible for funding through specific DAAD internship programs cannot be funded. These include, for example, internships at international organizations (like the UN) and EU institutions, as well as those arranged by IAESTE and AIESEC. Please apply directly to the DAAD.
- Internships at German Schools Abroad (DAS) can be funded through the DAAD. Internships at DPS, DSD and Fit schools can be funded through PROMOS; more information is available in German through the Netzwerk der Deutschen Auslandsschulen (Network of German Schools Abroad).
- Exceptionally, internships can also be funded for the period between the bachelor's degree and the start of the master's program. As a prerequisite, however, you must have been pre-admitted to an EUF master's program (please enclose proof of this with your application!).
- When planning and carrying out activities abroad, please observe the travel and safety instructions and especially the (partial) travel warnings issued by the German Foreign Office. Please inform us before the start of your trip if there is a travel warning.
Every year, Europa-Universität Flensburg awards scholarships for language course stays to high-achieving and motivated students who are interested in languages.
- The funding includes a one-time partial scholarship (350 €, 450 € or 550 € per month, depending on the destination country; see the current list of funding amounts (in German) and a one-time payment of 500 € for language courses, amounting to a total of 850 €, 950 € or 1050 €.
- The language course must last at least 25 hours per week for at least 3 weeks.
- It must take place at universities or established language institutes abroad.
- When planning and carrying out activities abroad, please observe the travel and safety information and especially the (partial) travel warnings issued by the German Foreign Office, and inform us before the start of the trip if there is a travel warning.
As the funding for 2024 has already been exhausted, there will be no second application round on 1 June 2024 (as of March 2024).
EUF supports a limited number of study-related trips within the framework of PROMOS, by partially subsidizing the costs of stay.
- The daily allowance is 45 € per person to all countries.
- One accompanying person (e.g., a lecturer or university professor) can be sponsored.
- Based on DAAD guidelines, only up to 12 days can be funded (even if the study trip lasts longer).
- Funding is limited to one time per educational stage, which ends with the completion of the bachelor's, master's, or doctorate. It is not possible to receive financing for the same purpose from other DAAD funding lines or public funds.
- In addition to imparting subject-related knowledge and insights into the country, travel must focus on meeting other foreign students and academics on-site.
- German students; doctoral students are not eligible to receive study- and internship-related funding.
- Foreigners entitled to BAföG support
- Non-German students and university graduates who enrolled in an EUF degree program for the purpose of obtaining the degree (degree-seeking students)
- People in groups 2 and 3 above may not do the stay abroad in their home countries. The home country is considered to be one's main country of residence for at least the past five years. Multiple funding is possible, but first-time applicants and unpaid internships have priority.
- Students who receive PROMOS funding must be enrolled at EUF throughout the funding period.
- Doctoral students may not apply, except within the context of study-related travel.
Students can apply online between February 20 and March 10, 2024.
Scholarship recipients will be chosen by a university selection committee within 3 weeks after the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of the results immediately thereafter.
Required application materials:
- CV
- Transcript of records ((if you are a first-semester MA student, please submit your bachelor's transcript).
- Proof of language proficiency (for the language of instruction)
- Proof of enrollment
As the funding for 2024 has already been exhausted, there will be no second application round on 1 June 2024 (as of March 2024).
Students can apply online twice a year (on January 1st and June 1st).
Scholarship recipients will be chosen by a university selection committee within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of the results immediately thereafter.
Required application materials:
- CV
- Letter of motivation
- Transcript of records (if you are a first-semester MA student, please submit your bachelor's transcript; if you are a first-semester BA student, please submit your school-leaving certificate)
- Internship certificate
- Language certificate
- Certificate of enrollment for the time of the internship
As the funding for 2024 has already been exhausted, there will be no second application round on 1 June 2024 (as of March 2024).
Students can apply online twice a year (January 1 or June 1)
- Scholarship recipients will be chosen by a university selection committee within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of the results immediately thereafter.
Required application materials:
- CV
- Letter of motivation
- Transcript of records (if you are a first-semester MA student, please submit your bachelor's transcript; if you are a first-semester BA student, please submit your school-leaving certificate)
- Certificate of enrollment during the time of the language course
- Successful participation in a language course of the EUF Language Center (ZfS) in the current semester ; you must submit your certificate of participation after you have received it.
Application for study-related travel can only be submitted informally by a professor or instructor. it must be submitted by one of two deadlines (January 1 and June 1) to dagmara.paciorek-herrmann-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de. It must contain:
- Project description (with confirmed program, if possible) including its academic content
- Time schedule
- List of participants (if available)
- Cost breakdown
The following selection criteria apply:
- Qualification and academic performance of the student to date
- Meaningfulness of the planned stay abroad in relation to the student's studies to date
- Existing language skills needed to complete the study abroad program
- Willingness to act as an ambassador for studying abroad
Eligible study trip projects will be selected based on the following criteria, in order of priority (highest to lowest):
- Clearly defined concept showing how the trip destination is appropriate (even uniquely so) to carrying out certain hands-on or applied tasks.
- Do students gain insight into the country's academic culture/academic community and into the discipline, as well as contemporary research projects and approaches? International networking with students in the target country is desirable, provided that it can be done alongside the hands-on, applied tasks.
- What sustainable processes will the trip involve (documentation, evaluation, handling of data collected during the trip, etc.)?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13, 2006. Germany was one of the first states to sign. With the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force in Germany on March 26, 2009.
As the world's largest funding organization for international exchange, the DAAD would like to encourage students and academics with disabilities or chronic illnesses to spend part of their studies abroad, to improve their language skills, and to establish international contacts.
To increase equal opportunities within the framework of project funding for both German and international persons (grantees, project staff) with disabilities or chronic illnesses, the DAAD can grant subsidies to cover the additional expenses incurred abroad.
It is possible to apply for financial aid to cover additional expenses. Up to 10,000 euros in financial aid can be granted to cover these additional expenses (including those for a possible companion) for a period of up to six months.
To measure the additional expenses (e.g. for the trip abroad, local travel, accommodation abroad, medical care, etc.), the expenses for a non-disabled or non-chronically ill person are compared with the expenses of a disabled or chronically ill person. This funding is only available if the expenses are not covered by any other agency.
The approved additional expenses (allowance) will not be offset against program-specific maximum amounts of the DAAD grant.
Please contact the PROMOS program project coordinator. The application for funding must be submitted by the project coordinator to the DAAD by at least two months before the start of the planned activity.
The following attachments are required:
- Refusal of cost coverage by the health insurance provider or supplementary insurance provider
- Copy of severely disabled pass
- For persons with chronic illness: medical certificate with a description of medical requirements
- Further documents clearly explaining the necessity and appropriateness of the increased expenses
Funding applications for measures that have already been started will not be considered.
Dr.Dagmara Paciorek-Herrmann
PROMOS Projektkoordinatorin
- Phone
- +49 461 805 2004
- dagmara.paciorek-herrmann-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de
- Building
- Gebäude Helsinki
- Room
- HEL 035
- Street
- Auf dem Campus 1a
- Post code / City
- 24943 Flensburg
BAFöG grants for studies abroad
Student financial aid for study abroad (Auslands-BAföG) is state financial support for students who want to do an entire degree program (EU countries/Switzerland), partial study, or an internship in European and non-European countries. The following applies:
- If you receive domestic BAföG, you will also receive international BAföG, provided the requirements for international BAföG abroad are also met.
- If you do not receive BAföG in Germany, you may still be eligible for BAföG abroad. Due to the higher costs abroad, the calculation basis changes and state funding is possible for more students.
- Funding is usually provided after at least one year of domestic education (exception: funding from the beginning of studies for a full course of study in the EU or a master's degree).
- Study abroad is usually funded for one year (exceptions can be found on the respective BAföG pages).
- Tuition fees can be covered up to 5,600 euros per year as a full grant.
- Applications should be submitted six months before the start of the training period.
- For information about the BAföG office responsible for your country of travel, please visit the Federal Ministry of Education and Research website.
- Current BAföG rates are published in German on the website of the Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research).
Further information on BAföG abroad can be found on the website of the Deutsches Studentenwerk (German Student Association).
Student loans
The student loan program of the German federal government provides simple, low-interest loans to students who are in advanced stages of their education. This loan is flexible and can be adapted to the individual needs of each borrower.
In contrast to BAföG student financial aid, student loans are granted regardless of the student's own income and assets and those of the student's parents or spouse.
For further information, please visit website of the German Federal Office of Administration
Other funding options
The DAAD scholarship database lists information on funding opportunities offered by the DAAD and other organizations.
- Association of German Foundations (Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen
- German Education Server (Deutscher Bildungsserver)
- mystipendium.de
- Franco-German Youth Office (scholarships for internships in France - all subjects - plus special scholarship programs for teacher training students)
- German-Polish Youth Office (scholarships for internships in Poland, including internships abroad)
- Deutschlehren.International (German teaching assistantships at universities abroad; for university graduates)