The Heinrich Böll Foundation Scholarships For Citizens From Gemany, EU and Non-EU Countries

Brief Description

The Heinrich Böll Foundation awards scholarships to German and foreign doctoral students in keeping with the guidelines provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Foreign Office (AA). Successful applicants are entitled to two years of scholarship funding plus an extension of up to two times one half year, if applicable. A) The following requirements apply to German applicants, applicants from other EU countries and Bildungsinländer/innen1 (funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research):

• Approval: applicants for a PhD-scholarship must have been accepted as a doctoral student by a state or state recognized institution of higher education in Germany. In justified cases, the scholarship may also be granted to applicants who have been accepted at a institute of higher education abroad. B) The following requirements apply to students from outside the EU (funded by the Federal Foreign Office):
• Approval: applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent and must have been accepted as a doctoral student by a German institution of higher education.
• Research stays abroad for more than four weeks can only be financed with the Federal Foreign Office’s special permission. Funding is primarily intended for research stays in Germany. All applicants must have a good command of the German language. Please note that the selection workshop is generally in German. Interviews in English are only possible by way of exception.

Selection Process

Three stages are involved when the Heinrich Böll Foundation selects applicants for its doctoral
scholarships:

1. Submission of your written application documents
2. Specialist interview with a liaison lecturer
3. Selection workshop with an individual interview and a group discussion

At each stage only a small group is chosen from all of the applicants. This group then proceeds to the next stage. You will receive a letter informing you about the decisions following each selection stage.

Documents Needed

If you are interested in the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s scholarship and funding programme, please send three sets of your written application (1 original and 2 copies) to the Scholarship Department of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Your documents should all be written in German. (Where applicable, expert references may be written in English)

Your original application includes the following documents:

1. Application form
2. Letter of motivation
3. Curriculum Vitae in tabular form
4. A copy of the degree certificate that has qualified you for your doctoral studies
5. Personal reference from a third party on your socio-political involvement
6. A synopsis of your research project
7. A detailed description of your proposed research project - Exposé
8. Two expert references on your research project, one should be from your first PhD supervisor
9. Confirmation of your acceptance as a doctoral student by your department or faculty
10. For foreign applicants: proof of German language skills

Please ensure to keep all submitted application documents for later reference. In case of your acceptance to the second stage of the application process, you need to send an identical copy of all application documents (point 1-10) to the liaison lecturer

Application Deadline: September 1, 2010

Download Document

download application sheet (PDF)

download application form (PDF) in German

We look forward to receiving your application. Please send it to the following postal address:

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V.
Studienwerk – Scholarship Department
Schumannstr. 8
10117 Berlin
Further information:
Bärbel Karger
Tel.: +49 (0)30 28534-400
E-mail: studienwerk@boell.de