PROMOS scholarships for self-organized stays abroad

Funding is available for:

• Self-organized study placements in a non-Erasmus+ Program country
• Project length: between three and six months

Note:

Stays abroad on a departmental exchange program (Institutsaustausch) qualify for funding even if they last up to 12 months unless the exchange takes place as part of Erasmus+, Erasmus worldwide or SEMP (the Swiss European Mobility Programme). However, please note that participants whose tuition is waived due to taking part in such an exchange program will receive a one-off grant equivalent to one and a half monthly installments regardless of the actual length of one's stay (equivalent to the funding for students studying abroad within the Global Exchange Program). 

Funding is not available for:

• Self-organized stays abroad lasting over six months: please apply to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a one-year scholarship
• Exchanges via the Global Exchange Program: you will automatically receive a one-off grant if you have not been awarded another kind of scholarship for your stay abroad. Although this grant is paid out of PROMOS funds, you do not need to apply for it separately (Exception: students taking part in the American University’s Washington Semester Program.)
• Stays abroad as part of Erasmus+, Erasmus worldwide or the SEMP

Funding is available for:

• Internships in a non-Erasmus+ Program country
• Preferably compulsory internships
• Voluntary internships approved by your department as being useful for your subje
• Stays abroad forming part of the practical year (PJ) for medical students
• Project length: between six weeks (42 days) and six months; however, funding will only be granted for three months at most

Note:

Students who have completed their bachelor’s degree but not yet started their master's are also eligible to apply. They will need to provide evidence of their application for a master’s program or preliminary proof of their admission to such a program at the University of Bonn.

Funding is not available for:

• Internships for which you will be paid an amount equal to or higher than the monthly scholarship payment
• Internships (traineeships) as part of Erasmus+, Erasmus worldwide or the SEMP
• Internships that qualify for other grant programs run by the DAAD; you can find a complete list in the DAAD scholarship database if you select “Vorhaben” (“Projects”) and then “Praktikum” (“Internship”). Here is an overview of the DAAD’s most popular funding programs for internships:

• IAESTE internships
• The Carlo Schmid Program for internships at international organizations and EU institutions
• RISE Worldwide for students of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geosciences, engineering, computer science, medicine, pharmacy or related subjects
• School-based internships abroad for trainee teachers
• Internships at organizations/institutions for which the DAAD offers the Kurzzeitpraktika im Ausland (“Short-term internships abroad”) program, i.e. German missions abroad, international organizations recognized under international law, German schools abroad (not schools that teach the Deutsches Sprachdiplom (DSD) or so-called FIT schools), Goethe Institutes, German Archaeological Institutes, Max Weber Foundation institutes and other selected institutions promoting German cultural policy abroad

Funding is available for:

• Necessary stays abroad that enable you to prepare or write parts of your bachelor’s, master’s or state examination thesis
• Project length: at least one month (30 days); bachelor’s degree students: no more than three months; master’s degree/state examination students: no more than six months

Funding may be available for:

Writing your thesis at one of your department’s Erasmus+ partner universities if funding through an Erasmus+ study placement is not available. You will need to clear your project with your department in advance and enclose corresponding confirmation with your application.

Funding is not available for:

• Lab courses in Europe: please apply for funding under the Erasmus+ Traineeship program
• Stays that involve attending regular courses at your host university: please apply for financial support in the funding line study
• Projects for which you will be paid an amount equal to or higher than the monthly scholarship payment

This line of funding is also open to doctoral candidates.

Funding is available for:

• Intensive language courses at state universities or established language schools abroad
• Course must be relevant to your studies or doctorate
• Priority given to Asian and Eastern European languages as well as Portuguese and French
• Workload: at least 25 hours of lessons a week
• Project length: between three weeks and six months

Funding is not available for:

• English language courses
• Language courses designed to prepare you for an Erasmus+ study placement; students on such a placement will usually be able to take an online language course.

This line of funding is also open to doctoral candidates.

Funding is available for:

• Short-term academic programs such as summer or winter schools, i.e. intensive academic programs at state or state-accredited universities anywhere in the world
• priority given to courses earn you credits
• Project length (i.e. actual length of your course): between twelve days and six weeks

You can find a list of available short-term academic programs that are offered by partner universities of the University of Bonn on the language courses and short-term programs abroad web page.

• Stays that are shorter than the minimum or longer than the maximum length required (see the corresponding funding line for details)
• Projects for which you will be paid an amount equal to or higher than the monthly scholarship payment
• Study placements at institutions with which the University of Bonn has an exchange agreement that covers the relevant subject (Global Exchange Program, Departmental Exchange Program ("Institutsaustausch") or Erasmus+)
• Study placements and internships (“traineeships”) in an Erasmus+ Program country
• Stays abroad in countries or regions for which the Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning: please find out about the situation in your destination country before you apply
• For non-German students: stays in their home country, which the DAAD defines as the country in which the student or doctoral candidate has largely resided over the past five years at least
• Other stays eligible for funding via DAAD programs, even if you have already applied for a DAAD scholarship and been turned down

Current restrictions:

• The DAAD is not accepting applications from students or researchers from Germany for trips to Russia or Belarus.
• Applications for DAAD scholarships in Ukraine cannot be submitted at this time due to the current high-risk situation.

Depending on the line of funding, recipients will be paid a one-off “mobility allowance” as a lump sum to cover their travel expenses, a monthly “living allowance” and/or contributions to their course fees. Please read the following list of scholarship benefits which is broken down by funding line. The amount of each allowance will depend on your destination country. The respective funding rates can be found in the PDF PROMOS-Fördersätze (funding rates; only available in German, please refer to column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt”).

If your chosen grant program pays a “living allowance,” this will be calculated based on 30 days, i.e. one full month. Beyond the minimum funding period, half the monthly allowance will be paid from day 15 onward and the full allowance from day 28 onward in 2024. Days spent purely traveling to your destination and back home do not count. No more than six monthly payments can be made for some grant programs.

The PROMOS selection committee reserves the right to make adjustments in the event of exceptional circumstances concerning funds or applicants. There is no legal claim to a PROMOS scholarship.

• One-off “mobility allowance” as a lump sum to cover travel expenses
• Monthly “living allowance"

The amount of each allowance depends on your destination country. The respective funding rates can be found in the PDF PROMOS-Fördersätze (funding rates; only available in German, please refer to the column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt”). If there are sufficient funds, a tuition grant (up to the amount of the partial tuition grant (“Teilstipendium Stipendien”) and not more than 25%) may be awarded, but this is not likely in 2024.

Notes:

• Students applying to spend time abroad on a departmental exchange program will receive a lump-sum grant equivalent to one funding installment (PROMOS funding rates: refer to column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt” (living allowance), regardless of how long their stay actually lasts. The amount of the funding varies from country to country, and no “mobility allowance” is available.
• If you plan on studying in Australia or New Zealand, you may also be able to apply for a Down Under subsidy to help cover your tuition fees.

• One-off “mobility allowance” as a lump sum to cover travel expenses
• Monthly “living allowance”; maximum funding period: three months

The amount of each allowance depends on your destination country. The respective funding rates can be found in the PDF PROMOS-Fördersätze (funding rates; only available in German, please refer to the column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt”).

Please note that you will not be eligible for any funding if your internship pays an amount equal to or higher than the monthly living allowance.

• One-off “mobility allowance” as a lump sum to cover travel expenses
• Monthly “living allowance”; maximum funding period for bachelor’s students: three months

The amount of each allowance depends on your destination country. The respective funding rates can be found in the PDF PROMOS-Fördersätze (funding rates; only available in German, please refer to the column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt”).

• One-off “mobility allowance” as a lump sum to cover travel expenses
• No monthly “living allowance”
• Contribution to course fees of up to €500

The amount of each allowance depends on your destination country. The respective funding rates can be found in the PDF PROMOS-Fördersätze (funding rates; only available in German, please refer to the column “Teilstipendium Aufenthalt”).

The PROMOS scholarship program allows students and doctoral candidates with a disability or chronic condition to apply for extra financial assistance to help cover proven additional expenses. In order to calculate the additional support (e.g. for traveling abroad, traveling around once they have arrived, their accommodation abroad, medical care, specific teaching materials), the expenses incurred by a person without a disability or chronic condition are compared to those faced by someone with a disability or chronic condition. Expenses can only be claimed if they are not already being covered by another body or organization.

Financial assistance of up to €10,000 can be provided for up to six months to cover additional expenses (including expenses for a companion). Please note that whether you receive any such funding (and how much you are granted) is not decided by the University of Bonn. Upon receiving your application, the International Office forwards all necessary documents to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) which will then evaluate and process your claim.

A separate application is required for this additional form of financial assistance for each person and each mobility measure. Processing the claim takes at least two months so please get in touch with us as early as possible and definitely before the general PROMOS application deadline.

The following can be combined with PROMOS:

• BAföG and AuslandsBAföG (BAföG for stays abroad)
• Deutschlandstipendium scholarship
• Scholarships from private foundations
• Scholarships paid out of German public funds if they are not already supporting your stay abroad financially. Please ask your scholarship provider whether it is funding your stay abroad and to what extent you can combine your scholarship with PROMOS funding. When you apply for PROMOS funding, you will need to demonstrate that your other scholarship provider is not financially supporting your project abroad.

The following cannot be combined with PROMOS:

• Scholarships paid out of German public funds that are already funding your stay abroad
• Other DAAD scholarships
• Grants under the Erasmus+ Programme