Saarland Graduate Funding Programme (GraduSaar)

• Doctoral studies scholarship:
  Graduates who have completed a university degree that entitles them to seek admission to a doctoral studies programme and whose proposed research project represents a significant potential contribution to their respective field of research.
• Scholarships for artistic and creative projects:
  Graduates from HfM Saar or HBKsaar who have attained an above-average university qualification. The proposed project must be approved by the respective university and should have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the development of artistic forms and modes of expression. Funding may also be awarded to foster the development of candidates with outstanding artistic aptitude and skill.
• The proposed scientific, scholarly or artistic project must be carried out at one of the participating universities.
• GraduSaar funding cannot be provided if funding from other sources has already been acquired for the same purpose.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• Basic scholarship:
  A basic scholarship is awarded to support a scientific, scholarly or artistic project from its inception.
• Project completion scholarship:
  A project completion scholarship is awarded to support scientific, scholarly or artistic projects that are likely to be completed within one year.
• Other scholarship:
  Where reasonable grounds exist, other scholarships may be awarded to provide start-up financing for a scientific, scholarly or artistic project or to provide interim financing to bridge a funding gap in a scientific, scholarly or artistic project that is already underway.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• You can send us your application via the online application form. The application deadlines is 15 May.
• Please enter the following information on the application form: personal details, educational history and details of your proposed scientific, scholarly or artistic project.
• You will also need to submit the following supporting documents:
  • Personal statement explaining why you require financial assistance
  • If you have dependent children, please provide proof of your family circumstances.
  • If applicable, proof of your financial circumstances (as detailed in Section 8 of the Graduate Funding Regulation)
  • Copy of your identity card, passport or comparable proof of identity
  • CV / résumé
  • Copies of relevant academic qualifications
  • Outline of your proposed project (work/research plan and schedule) – do not exceed 10 A4 pages
  • Project supervision agreement, i.e. written consent from a member of university staff who is entitled to provide academic/artistic supervision (as defined in the relevant doctoral degree regulations or, in the case of artistic projects, the applicable regulations at the relevant university)
  • Two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a member of one of the participating universities
  • Where appropriate, additional proof that you are suitably qualified to undertake the proposed artistic project (e.g. academic credentials, proof of artistic aptitude/accomplishments, experience and skills acquired or demonstrated within or outside of an art college or art academy
  • If you undertake secondary employment whose scope exceeds that defined as ‘marginal employment’ in German law (geringfügige Beschäftigung), your supervisor must confirm that your secondary employment activities are compatible with the proposed scientific, scholarly or artistic project (see Section 7 of the Graduate Funding Regulation).
• We recommend that applicants submit their applications via the online application form. If you wish to send your application by post, you can download and complete the scholarship application form. Please note: If you prefer to send the application by post, you will need to fill in the German form, but you can refer to the English translation for guidance.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• The funding awards are made by a selection committee whose members are drawn from the participating universities.
• The selection committee will review the applications and choose the best candidates based on each candidate’s personal aptitude and on an expert appraisal of their abilities and achievements in the field. Personal aptitude is determined primarily by the applicant’s ability to undertake fundamental but also applied scientific, scholarly or artistic work, as well as by the quality of the applicant’s previous academic credentials.
• The decision to award funding will also take into account the reasons why a candidate requires financial support for the proposed scientific, scholarly or artistic project.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• The amount of the scholarship is € 1,350 per month as of 1st June 2023.
• The amount of the scholarship increases for each child of the scholarship holder by the amount of the child benefit that is regulated by the "Bundeskindergeldgesetz" (Federal Child Benefit Act).
• The amount of the award may be reduced if the scholarship holder has other income. However, this does not apply for approved forms of secondary employment (see below for further information). Any payments received from the central student loans programme (BAföG) will be assessed in full and the scholarship award reduced accordingly.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• The funding duration is
  • two years for a basic scholarship
  • one year for a project completion scholarship
  • no more than six months for other types of scholarship
• If the status of a project is such that continued funding can be justified, holders of a basic scholarship may apply to receive a funding extension of up to one year, while holders of a project completion scholarship may be awarded up to three months of additional funding.
• If the project cannot be completed due to circumstances that were unforeseen at the time the scholarship was awarded and that are beyond the scholarship holder’s control, a basic scholarship may be extended by at most six months and a project completion scholarship extended by at most three months.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• Scholarship holders may carry out no more than ten hours of secondary employment activities per week. Such activities must be in a scientific, scholarly or closely-related field or be of an artistic nature and must not hinder work on the scholarship holder’s scientific, scholarly or artistic project.
• Scholarship holders who wish to undertake a secondary employment activity whose scope exceeds that defined as ‘marginal employment’ in German law (geringfügige Beschäftigung) will need approval from the selection committee before taking up any such activity. In this case, the scholarship holder must submit the request and an accompanying statement from the project supervisor to the selection committee. The committee will decide whether to approve the secondary employment activity and whether the activity is compatible with the scientific, scholarly or artistic project.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

• In addition to receiving scholarship payments, scholarship holders in the GraduSaar programme can apply for special payments to cover relevant travel expenses and materials costs of up to €1000 per year.
• Apart from financial assistance, scholarship holders in the GraduSaar programme also have access to the accompanying range of continuous education, skill-enhancement and professional development courses.
• For more detailed information, please refer to the Graduate Funding Regulation.

1. Can I apply for a scholarship in order to finance my master’s project?

No.

2. Can I apply for a scholarship in order to finance my “Meisterstudium”?

Yes.

3. Can I apply for a scholarship in order to finance my PhD at HBKsaar?

Yes

4. Do I have to be matriculated or registered at HBKsaar in order to apply for a scholarship?

No.

5. What is a project completion scholarship (Abschlussstipendium)?

A project completion scholarship serves to finish a project you have already been working on for a while. Its purpose is not to finance a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree.

6. How is an artistic project defined?

The HBKsaar defines the type, scope and criteria of an artistic project. Areas such es design and media maybe part of an artistic project.

7. Is the scholarship compatible with revenues from second or spare time jobs?

Any employment during the scholarship period has to be declared and must not comprise more than 10 hours per week. Net income is free up to 7,670.00 (seven thousand six hundred seventy) Euro. Income that passes this amount will be calculated with the monthly scholarship so that the latter might be adapted (§8). Revenues coming from an employment that has been declared according to §7 are not subject to this rule.