This document mainly lives as a Google Doc and is a work in progress. To see the latest version and be able to contribute/comment, go here.
This is a list of scholarships we came across when we were applying for master’s degrees at Oxford and needed funding to cover the tuition fees. Please suggest (or comment) additional information if you come across anything! Let‘s make this a collaborative effort and help out people applying in the future. Feel free to add your name if you contributed.
Last significant update: September 2023
Contributors: Elina Dilger (political science/economics), Tim Farkas (medicine), Max Görlitz (genomic medicine)
High-level info
- Check early on what the fees for your favorite master’s program are. Also, keep in mind that you need to pay health insurance (about 700€/year for the NHS) and a fee during your visa application (ca. 450€)!
- If you do not hold a scholarship of one of the Begabtenförderungswerke, you may be eligible for Auslands-Bafög. This can be several hundred € per month towards your living costs. Make sure to check Bafög-Rechner what you would receive. You might receive Auslands-Bafög even if you are not eligible for Inlands-Bafög.
- If you apply to Oxford, your application gets automatically considered by a lot of scholarships. So maybe you’ll just get lucky and receive funding without writing any additional applications. It is better not to count on it, though!
- AFAIK, there are around 1000 scholarships for ~13k graduate students at Oxford
- Internationals are only eligible for a subset of those, and only a few cover tuition completely.
- E.g., Clarendon scholarships cover full tuition for internationals
- Internationals are only eligible for a subset of those, and only a few cover tuition completely.
- Presumably, this is similar at Cambridge and other universities
- It might be that you need to apply separately for funding from the university (for example, at LSE)
- There are some scholarships at Oxford you need to apply separately for
- They are listed in the application form, and you should check early what you need for the application
- Some colleges in Oxford offer full funding if you apply to them
- E.g., Nuffield College pays fees and living costs for graduate students of the social sciences
- You need to list them as your first choice in your application
- E.g., Nuffield College pays fees and living costs for graduate students of the social sciences
- AFAIK, there are around 1000 scholarships for ~13k graduate students at Oxford
- The application deadlines for some scholarships (e.g., DAAD, Rhodes) close before the applications for master’s degrees open! (around September — one year before you would start your master’s)
- So you need to start thinking about what degrees and scholarships to apply to approximately 1.5 years before the course starts!
- In general, I would encourage adopting the mindset of “Don’t think, just apply! (usually)”
- If you do not have an academic background (meaning your parents did not complete a university degree), consider applying for mentoring by ProjectAccess (for university applications in UK) and Applicaid (for scholarship applications)
German scholarships
Stipendien für ein Masterstudium im Ausland — DAAD
- Prerequisites: see here
- Deadline: 29. September 2023 (West-, Nord-, Südeuropa)
- Size of grant: 18.000€/year towards fees, about 1.100€/month living costs (in UK, lower in other countries)
- Other info/tips:
- Officially, you need an actual bachelor’s degree for applying.
- However, if you’ve only got the First State Examination (medicine), they still advise to err on the side of applying and ideally submit written confirmation of the universities that the medical school credentials are sufficient prerequisites for the programs. (source: Tim Farkas asked them, Aug 23)
- Law students are apparently also eligible even though they do not hold a LL.B. (check again with DAAD to make sure)
- Officially, you need an actual bachelor’s degree for applying.
- Most German Begabtenförderungswerke (e.g. political & religious foundations, Studienstiftungen des Deutschen Volkes & der Deutschen Wirtschaft) grant the scholarship holders 10.000€ towards fees for studies abroad (for exceptions check below)
- If you do not hold a scholarship of such a foundation yet you should start thinking about your application about a year or 1.5 years in advance – the application process takes some time
- Some foundations only allow applications before a certain semester threshold, others do not fund whole degrees completed abroad, so check the websites
- Here are some examples:
- Studienstiftung Auslandsförderung
- Size of grant: up to 10k€ for tuition fees + money for living costs abroad (350€/month in UK) + 300€ Studienkostenpauschale + Grundstipendium (depending on the income of your parents) + travel costs
- This can be combined with other scholarship programmes such as DAAD
- They also have a new program called “Studiengebührenzuschüsse aus privaten Mitteln”
- Your chances increase if you fall into specific eligibility criteria, e.g., live in a certain region of Germany
- Only students who cannot pay for their fees (need-based funding) have chances to be selected
- You need to apply separately and you already need to hold a scholarship of the Studienstiftung (Application was in April in 2022 & 2023) – it is planned to be earlier for the 2024/25 academic year (e.g. December 2023) – check the daidalosnet
- Besides that there are also several special scholarship programs for scholarship holders listed in the daidalosnet – e.g. for law students, women in MINT subjects etc.
- Additionally, the Studienstiftung has contracts with specific universities in the UK
- This means you can study there without paying fees and a certain amount of places is reserved for scholarship holders of the Studienstiftung
- You need to think about this more than one year before you want to start your Master’s
- You can find more information here
- Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung:
- Deadline: semester before the semester in which the master starts
- Typically don’t fund studies in the UK since Brexit
- since 2023 Hans-Dietrich Genscher Scholarship
- up to 15 scholarships annually for one-year Master’s programs at universities in the United Kingdom
- €10k in tuition, €300/month study abroad grant, €300/month basic scholarship grant + travel support
- application only possible if already a FNF scholarship holder
- deadline = April 1st
- Friedrich-Ebert & Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung:
- Seem to not fund studies outside of Germany – or only semesters abroad and not a whole degree abroad
- Check on the websites again
- Seem to not fund studies outside of Germany – or only semesters abroad and not a whole degree abroad
- Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
- Contributes 10.000€ towards fees for studies abroad + living costs
- Deadlines: Mar 1st and Sep 1st
- Studienstiftung Auslandsförderung
Special Scholarship Programs of the Studienstiftung
- Haniel Stipendium
- Funds graduate studies for people interested in sustainable entrepreneurship (enkelgerechte Unternehmensführung)
- 12.000€/year towards fees in UK + 1.500€/month + 500€ “Startkosten” + 1000€ travel expenses
- Successful applicant will also become scholarship holders of the Studienstiftung
- DEADLINE: 15th of October
- McCloy (Harvard) and ERP scholarships – if you are interested in studying at an Ivy League University or if you want to complete a Public Policy/Public Administration degree in the US you should have a look at them
- Start preparing your application in August one year before you plan to go abroad
Kölner Stiftungsfond
- They fund semester abroad but not full degrees
Women in Economics ECB Scholarship
- Female students from low-income backgrounds/with financial need can apply
- Subjects: engineering, computer science, statistics, economics etc.
- Up to 10.000€ towards your fees & mentoring by an ECB employee
Bertha von Suttner Studienwerk
- I don’t know whether they provide funding for studying abroad
- Comment Elina: they don’t fund studying abroad yet
Heinrich J. Klein Foundation
- Deadline: 31. November
Charly Foundation
- I heard that their grants are max. 3000€, but might be good to ask to confirm
It might be worth it to go through the long list of foundations of Deutsches Stiftungszentrum to see whether any of them could be interesting in funding graduate study.
- Apparently, a bunch of those foundations are highly specific to certain medical causes, so it could be more interesting for medical students.
You could go through the list of companies that fund Deutschlandstipendien. Maybe you’ll find, e.g., a biotech company that you’d be able to convince of (partly) funding your graduate study because the research is relevant to them.
Specifically relevant for medical students
- Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds
- It looks like they usually only fund medical doctor’s theses, but you might be able to convince them to fund graduate study.
- Clarissa asked, and they don’t fund course fees
- It looks like they usually only fund medical doctor’s theses, but you might be able to convince them to fund graduate study.
- Bayer Foundation: Carl-Duisberg-Stipendium für die Medizinwissenschaften
- It also seems like they typically don’t fund graduate study, but maybe you could convince them.
- Clarissa asked, and they don’t fund course fees
- It also seems like they typically don’t fund graduate study, but maybe you could convince them.
Internationally relevant
- Rhodes Scholarship for Germany
- Prerequisites: ?
- Deadline: 14 September 2023
- Very early!
- Size of grant: full tuition
- Other info/tips: you need 3 or 4 reference letters & Toefl etc. so start planning your application in June/July (more than one year before you want to start your master’s)
- Rotary Club
- Relevant programs
- Global grant
- District grants
- Specific to the district you live in, ask them for details
- Relevant programs
- Erasmus + -> see comment
- More information on this DAAD page
- Chevening
- Could be promising
- To be eligible for a Chevening Scholarship you must:
- Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory. (Strong Commonwealth focus for countries of origin; German citizens not eligible)
- Return to your country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your award has ended.
- Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable you to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time you submit your application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK but may be different depending on your course and university choice.
- Have at least two years (equivalent to 2,800 hours) of work experience.
- annoying
- Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by 13 July 2023.
- (Side note: when applying for a UK student visa, they ask, “Do you hold a Marshall, Chevening, or commonwealth scholarship?”; So maybe one of those other two could also be promising)
- Emergent Ventures
- Funding graduate study doesn’t fit their portfolio well, so this seems like a long shot but can be worth trying anyways because the application is fairly quick.
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Relevant for Economics & Social Science Students
- LSE lists on its website which programs are eligible
- Offers funding mainly for PhDs, but you might also find something which supports your Master’s degree if you go through their database
EA/Biosecurity/AI/International Security/Cyber Security
- Open Philanthropy
- Relevant programs
- Early-career funding for individuals interested in improving the long-term future
- Rolling applications
- Biosecurity Scholarships
- Opens on a yearly basis
- Early-career funding for individuals interested in improving the long-term future
- Prerequisites: ?
- Deadline: ?
- Other info/tips: ?
- Relevant programs
- Long-Term Future Fund
- Tips:
- “Things I often tell people about applying to EA Funds”
- Tips:
Funders I considered that turned out not to be relevant
- Schmidt Futures
- AFAICT they give funding for PhDs but not for master’s degrees (I asked)