Hardship grant for international doctoral researchers

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Hardship grant for international doctoral researchers

Purpose \ Prerequisites for an application \ Application deadlines \ Grant amounts and duration \ Good to know \ FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a hardship grant \ Application Procedure and Forms \ Payment Procedure and Forms \

Are you an international doctoral researcher at Heidelberg University facing unexpected financial challenges? The Graduate Academy is here to help!

We are offering hardship grants to support international doctoral researchers like you, whose ability to continue or complete their doctoral project is at risk due to circumstances beyond their control.

Purpose

\ International doctoral researchers who are experiencing critical situations during their research project, preferably at the completion stage, may apply for a hardship grant to help with financial difficulties.

Hardship grant as interim financing provides temporary financial support for a period of up to 6 months during the advanced stages of an ongoing doctoral project. It is not intended for the beginning phase of the research. Applicants must provide a clear and compelling plan demonstrating how they intend to continue their studies beyond the interim funding period.

Hardship grant as completion financing provides financial support for up to 6 months to facilitate the completion of a doctoral project. Funding is available until the end of the month when the dissertation is submitted for evaluation. Applicants must submit a concrete plan for completing their doctoral training by the end of the funding period.\

Prerequisites for an application

\ You are eligible to apply for a hardship grant if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a doctoral researcher from abroad (i.e., you are not a German citizen).
• You are residing in Germany during the requested funding period.
• You have completed a university degree that qualifies you to pursue a doctoral degree (in Germany, this is usually a Diplom, Magister, or master's degree).
• You have been officially admitted to one of the 13 Faculties at Heidelberg University.*
• You do not have adequate means to finance your ongoing doctoral training. This includes not receiving or planning to receive equivalent funding (e.g., a full or part-time scholarship from a German or international institution or funding organization) or any form of employment. Exceptions are only made in special cases.\ \ *Note: Medical students who are writing their doctoral thesis during their medical studies, before completing their degree (studienbegleitende Promotion), are not eligible to apply.

For more details, see "General questions about the application process".

Important:

• The hardship grant is only available to doctoral researchers whose training is at an advanced or final stage. It cannot be awarded for the initial stages of the project. Its primary purpose is to provide financial support when the successful completion of the dissertation is at risk.
• If you are applying for support, you must demonstrate that your doctoral training is already well advanced and present a clear plan to submit your dissertation by the end of the funding period. Alternatively, you may provide a convincing plan outlining how you intend to stabilize your situation during the funding period and secure financing for the remainder of your project.
• Eligibility for funding ends at the end of the month in which you submit your dissertation for evaluation, or when your doctoral research at Heidelberg University ends (e.g. termination of your doctoral research or transfer to another university to pursue doctoral research). Eligibility for funding ends at the beginning of the month in which you take up employment or in which you start receiving an equivalent grant or funding for your doctoral research from private or public sources.
• Please note this grant will be awarded only in cases of exceptionally difficult situations and should not be considered as a substitute for the heiDOCS 2.0 bridging grant available within the heiDOCS 2.0 program. Each application will be considered on its merits and funding will not be awarded if the financial need is due to inadequate planning or failure to meet the heiDOCS 2.0 bridging grant deadlines.\

Application deadlines

\ Applications can be submitted to the Graduate Academy at any time. Funding decisions will be announced approximately 2 weeks after the receipt of the complete application. Please note that an additional 2-4 weeks are required before the payment is received.

Funding can only start on the first day of the month and finish on the last day of the month\

Grant amounts and duration

\ The hardship grant can be applied for a period of up to 6 months. The maximum funding amount is 995 Euro per month.

Child benefits\ If you have one or more children, you can apply for child benefits. The amount paid out is 400 Euro for the first child and 100 Euro for each additional child. Please make sure to indicate on the online registration form if you have children.\

Good to know

• You are not legally entitled to funding.
• The funding is awarded in the form of grants. The award of a grant does not establish an employment relationship between Heidelberg University and the recipient. The recipient of the grant may not be obligated to perform any specific academic service or employment activity in connection with the grant.
• The awards notifications will be sent out approximately 2 weeks after receipt of the application.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• You must adhere to the principles of good scientific practice (§3 Abs. 5 LHG). Please note the rules for safeguarding good academic practice of Heidelberg University.

FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a hardship grant

GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS

When should I apply?

Applications can be submitted to the Graduate Academy at any time. Funding decisions will be announced approximately 2 weeks after the receipt of the complete application. Please note that an additional 2-4 weeks are required before the payment is received.

Funding can only start on the first day of the month and finish on the last day of the month.

What is considered in the selection process and who awards the funding?

The following criteria are considered in the selection process:

• urgency and necessity of the funding
• social circumstances surrounding the necessity of the funding
• feasibility of the work plan and schedule
• demonstrated efforts to address financial challenges independently
• validity of the proposed plan for project continuation or its successful completion after funding ends
• academic qualification of the applicant
• quality of the research project
• supervisor’s or mentor’s evaluation

The award will be granted by selected members of the Graduate Academy and ratified by the representative member of the Rectorate. If necessary, the responsible faculty will be consulted.

How much is the grant?

The hardship grant can be applied for a period of up to 6 months. The maximum funding amount is 995 Euro per month.

If you have children, you can apply for child benefits after you have been awarded the grant.

How much is the child benefit and what do I have to do in order to receive it?

If you have children, you can apply for child benefits after you have been awarded the grant.

The child benefit is 400 Euro/month for the first child and 100 Euro/month for each additional child.

Please indicate in the online registration form if you have children. If you have children you can apply for child benefits after you have been awarded the grant.

Please note the following conditions for receiving child benefits. You can apply if

• you or your spouse has been granted child allowance payments (Kindergeld) for a common child under Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act,
• you, as a single parent, receive child allowance payments (Kindergeld) for a child under the Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act,
• you, due to your non-German citizenship, have no legal claim to child allowance payments under the Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act but can prove with a certificate from the local residents' office (Einwohnermeldeamt) that your child lives in your household.

When does the grant begin and how long will I receive it?

The hardship grant is paid out for a maximum period of 6 months.

Applications can be submitted to the Graduate Academy at any time. The funding decision will be announced approximately 2 weeks after the receipt of the complete application. Please note that an additional 2-4 weeks are required before the payment is received. Please indicate the desired funding period in the online application form.

Funding can only begin on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

Please note: Applicants must provide a clear plan explaining how they will use the funding period to advance their doctoral training, either by searching for alternative financing options to continue their doctoral training, or completing their program within the funding period.

Can I receive another grant or fellowship while I receive the hardship grant?

To be eligible for the hardship grant, you must not receive any other grants, fellowships, or income.

Can I be employed while receiving the hardship grant?

The purpose of this grant is to help you continue or complete your research project successfully during emergencies or unforeseen hardships that should be illustrated in your application. Therefore, while you are receiving the grant, you should concentrate your efforts only on dealing with these issues.

For this reason, you should not have any other means of employment.

If you need to be employed while you receive this grant, you must indicate the reasons for this in your application.

Important: if there are changes to your employment situation while receiving the grant, please contact the Graduate Academy immediately (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de).

I was employed at Heidelberg University* in the 3 months before the beginning of the funding. How does this affect the receipt of the grant?

It is not possible to receive the hardship relief grant if the following conditions apply to you:

• Your employment consisted of a contract of more than 25% of a full-time position AND
• The work you did was connected to your doctoral project.

If this describes your situation, please contact the Graduate Academy.\

* You have an employment contract as Mitarbeiter:in nach TV-L or a wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft with Heidelberg University (not the University Hospital), and you have an 8-digit LBV personnel number.

How can I assess if my research is advanced enough to be eligible for the hardship grant?

The hardship grant as interim financing will only be awarded to the applicants during advanced stages of their doctoral research project. You can assess this by determining whether more than half of your research plan has already been completed, including the collection and evaluation of most of your data. At this stage, you should also have a clear, feasible, and convincing plan for completing the remaining work within a reasonable timeframe. If these conditions are met, your research can generally be considered advanced enough to be eligible for the hardship grant.

How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to automatically notify each applicant that their application has been received. If you want to check on the status of your application, please send an email to: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?

The funding decision will be announced approximately 2 weeks after the receipt of the complete application. Please note that an additional 2-4 weeks are required before the payment is received. Please indicate the desired funding period in the online application form.

Funding can only begin on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

Please note: Applicants must provide a clear plan explaining how they will use the funding period to advance their doctoral training, either by preparing for the next stage or completing their program within this time.

Can I apply for the hardship grant again in the future?

The hardship grant can only be awarded once during the course of your doctoral training.

Am I eligible to apply for other grants within the heiDOCS 2.0 programme while receiving the hardship grant?

While recipients of the hardship grant are eligible to apply for certain heiDOCS 2.0 grants—such as travel grants, publication grants, project grants, and doctoral initiatives grants—the primary purpose of the hardship grant is to support you during a period of financial difficulty. Therefore, we strongly recommend that only additional funding applications and activities essential to the completion of your doctoral thesis be pursued during this time.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION FORM

What should I consider when writing my application?

Your application will be reviewed by evaluators from both within and outside your field of research. It is therefore important to present your project in a way that can be understood by experts who are not familiar with your field.

What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?

Please fill out the application form electronically; Do not complete it by hand. To ensure that the electronic forms work with all versions of Adobe software, we strongly recommend that you first download the blank application form, save it to your computer, then fill it in and save it again.

Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to complete the forms. The forms are not compatible with Linux.

Please use only the space provided in the fields on the application forms. The evaluators will not be able to read any text that goes beyond the existing field limits.

Please do not change the formatting of the fields on the application forms.

Please send the application documents as separate attachments in your email. Do not merge the different documents into one PDF file.

Do I need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV, etc.)?

The application procedure and the required application documents are described in detail here. Additional documents not listed on the website, such as publication lists, literature lists or CVs, will not be sent to the evaluators.

What is meant by external funding and why am I asked about it?

"External funding" refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization (e.g. DAAD, Begabtenförderungswerke, other funding organizations) for your planned research project.

Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?

The evaluation form for your application must be completed by your supervisor and submitted to the Graduate Academy. Please note that the evaluation is confidential and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de.

Please note that the evaluation form must be submitted around the same time as the application; otherwise, the application will be considered incomplete.

If it is not possible for your first supervisor to complete the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave, etc.), you may ask another professor in your field who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.

QUESTIONS ON THE PROCEDURE AFTER APPROVAL OF THE HARDSHIP GRANT

What happens if my application is approved?

After your hardship grant has been approved by the selection committee from a necessity and academic/qualitative perspective, we must verify your formal funding eligibility, especially concerning budgetary rules and social security law. The Graduate Academy will contact you by email to request the necessary information.

All the information and forms to receive the hardship are provided here.

What deadlines do I have to meet if my application is approved?

Payment of funding

To receive the funding, you must submit the documents necessary for the verification of your funding eligibility (see step 1 above) and subsequently the confirmation of acceptance of the grant/information for grant payment (see step 2 above) at the latest by the deadlines set by the Graduate Academy

Mandatory reporting after the end of the funding

You must submit a completion report (300-500 words) detailing the progress made during the funding period, including:

1. What actions you took to improve your financial situation during the funding period?
2. How did the financial support from the hardship grant contribute to achieving your goals?
3. What is your current financial situation, providing relevant details.

This report must be submitted to the Graduate Academy no later than three months after your funding ends. If the project planned for the funding period is not completed within 3 months of the end of your funding, you must at this time submit an interim report on the status of the project (incl. a detailed explanation of the delay) and a schedule for its completion, as well as a short evaluation by your supervisor to the Graduate Academy.

The Graduate Academy reserves the right to completely or partially revoke your grant if these documents are not received by the Graduate Academy within the three-month deadline as outlined above.

Can I pause the grant?

No, the hardship grants cannot be paused. If a situation arises that does not meet the eligibility criteria for funding, the entitlement to financial support will be immediately revoked (see: Application Requirements).

Application Procedure and Forms

Applications can be submitted to the Graduate Academy at any time. Funding decisions will be announced approximately 2 weeks after receipt of the complete application. Please note that an additional 2-4 weeks might be required before the payment is received.

Funding can only start on the first day of the month and finish on the last day of the month.

Please complete the following three steps by the relevant deadline to apply for a hardship grant:

1. Fill out and submit the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM

2. Submit the APPLICATION FORM (PDF) and all of the necessary application documents to the Graduate Academy by email:ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de

To be submitted:

• Application form (PDF).
• A copy of the letter of admission as a doctoral researcher to the Faculty (Annahme als Doktorand:in) or your enrollment certificate (with the intended degree "Promotion m. Abschlusspfrg.").
• A copy of the university degree that qualifies you for your doctoral training (i.e. master's degree). This document must indicate your final grade.

Please send the application documents as separate attachments in your email. You do not need to merge the different documents into one PDF file.

3. Ask your doctoral supervisor or your mentor to submit the EVALUATION FORM (PDF)

Your doctoral supervisor or mentor must submit the evaluation form directly to the Graduate Academy via email by the same deadline that applies to your application: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de

If it is not possible for your primary doctoral supervisor to fill out the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave etc.), you can ask another professor in your subject area who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.

Please note that the evaluation is confidential and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy.\

\ Important technical information on completing the PDF documents provided

Please note that only PDF files will be accepted and collected for your application.

The PDF documents should be completed electronically.

Please do not enter your data in the forms in the browser, but first save the relevant form on your computer and only then fill in the fields. Otherwise, your entries may not be transmitted correctly. After completing the form, please save the changes again.

Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to complete the forms. The forms are not compatible with a Linux system.\

Payment Procedure and Forms

Step 1: Formal verification of our funding eligibility

After your hardship grant has been approved by the selection committee from the necessity and the academic/qualitative perspective, we must verify your formal funding eligibility, especially concerning budgetary rules and social security law. The Graduate Academy will contact you by email to request the necessary information and the following documents:

• Information for the receipt of a hardship grant
• if applicable: Compatibility of funding and (previous) employment at Heidelberg University
• if applicable: Application for child benefits

Please do not submit the application form for child benefits or any funding eligibility forms along with your original grant application. Wait until your grant application has been approved and you have been requested to submit the necessary forms.

Once your funding eligibility has been successfully verified, you will receive an official awards notification, which will contain all the essential information regarding your funding.

Step 2: Confirmation of your acceptance of the grant

The hardship grant can only be paid out once you have submitted the following declaration of acceptance to the Graduate Academy:

• Confirmation of acceptance of the grant

Please submit your documents in person or by postal mail to the Graduate Academy at:

Graduate Academy Heidelberg University\ heiDOCS program\ Im Neuenheimer Feld 370\ 69120 Heidelberg

Verantwortlich: Falk

Letzte Änderung: 2026-02-04