The Studienfonds OWL Social Scholarship (Sozialstipendium) is a financial support opportunity in Germany designed for students who are facing difficult financial or personal circumstances that may affect their ability to begin or continue their university studies.
Table of Content
Summary
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Benefits
In addition to financial support, all scholarships awarded by the OWL Scholarship Fund include a particularly comprehensive non-material support program. We offer:
- Contacts with companies in OWL
- Workshops, seminars, lectures
- Company visits
- Evenings by the fireplace with interesting personalities
- Cultural events
- Placement of project and thesis work, internships and entry-level positions
Requirements
Target audience
- German and international students enrolled at one of the five universities belonging to the OWL Study Fund: Bielefeld University, Paderborn University, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and Detmold University of Music
- German and international prospective students who wish to begin their studies at one of the five universities mentioned above in the following semester
Evaluation criteria
- The prerequisite for application is that you can demonstrably prove that you are in an unavoidable financial or personal emergency situation that jeopardizes the commencement/continuation of your studies and that you can show at least satisfactory academic performance.
- Severe disabilities also fall under the criterion of need and are given preferential consideration if all other qualifications are equal. Social or community involvement of applicants is also considered, but only as a secondary factor in the selection process.
Exclusion criteria
- One exclusion criterion for the granting of a social scholarship is, among other things, the simultaneous receipt of a Germany scholarship.
- An application for a social scholarship can be submitted concurrently with an application for a Germany scholarship. If you receive offers for both, you must inform us which scholarship you choose.
NOTE: Receiving a social scholarship may reduce your BAföG allowance. Please contact your local BAföG office beforehand.
Funding guidelines
Detailed information on application requirements and evaluation criteria can be found in our funding guidelines. The funding guidelines for the social scholarship can be found here .
Selection Process
- The OWL Scholarship Fund accepts applications and checks them for compliance with formal requirements. All applications are then reviewed and evaluated by the responsible selection committee. Your data will be treated confidentially. Please also refer to the data protection notice in the "Application Agreement for Social Scholarships".
- The selection committee for the social scholarships comprises students and university staff from the five universities participating in the scholarship fund. The committee reviews the applications received and then makes a recommendation to the board of the OWL Scholarship Fund regarding the students to be supported.
- Based on this recommendation, the board makes the final decision regarding the awarding of scholarships. Applicants will be informed of the results in writing by the OWL Scholarship Fund office. Selection interviews will not be conducted.
Application Documents
- Letter of motivation (Note: Please refer to the guide for writing a letter of motivation here )
- Tabular CV
- Certificate of university entrance qualification or last certificate before leaving school, if the graduation certificate is not yet available.
- For foreign certificates, you will need a translation including conversion to the German grading system (in the format required for application or enrollment at your university (see Uni-Assist)). If you have any questions, please contact the relevant university directly. You will also need a degree certificate or transcript from your previous university or studies (e.g., when changing universities or at the start of a Master's program), a complete academic record (transcript) of your previous studies, and, if provided by the university, your current grade point average. (Note: Please do not submit self-calculated values, as these cannot be considered.)
- Certificate of enrollment stating the current semester (if already available, otherwise to be submitted after the start of studies); certificates and attestations regarding internships and employment contracts
- Evidence of special qualifications, awards and prizes, or of special social, political or civic engagement, such as participation in religious societies, associations or clubs, other knowledge
- Evidence of personal, family or health circumstances, insofar as these are relevant to the application
- Proof of your financial situation as presented in the online form (monthly income/information on assets/monthly expenses/debts and liabilities) for the past three months (as of application date) through, for example, salary/wage statements, bank statements, orphan's pension/money notices, income tax assessments from you or your parents, existing contracts or other proof of your financial situation.
- BAföG award notice, but also BAföG rejection notice, if you want to explain to us that and why you do not receive BAföG.
Check also:
2026 Fully Funded Humboldt Research Fellowship
2026 Eutopia PhD Co-tutelle Call
Application Deadline
August 31, 2026How To Apply
For more information, kindly visit the OWL Scholarship Foundation webpage.
