SBW Berlin Scholarship Program for International Students

SBW Berlin awards scholarships based on professional qualifications, personal suitability, and financial need to pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree program at a university or a university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule) in Berlin or Potsdam. In principle, all scientific, social, and artistic disciplines can be funded.

Working with a non-profit/social organization in the home country of interested applicants is an important prerequisite for the SBW Berlin Scholarship. The focus is on the applicants’ previous social commitment and their general motivation for this. After the study program or the funding period ends, scholarship recipients continue their social projects at the non-profit organization or social institution and further develop their projects on site in their respective home country.

Beginning with the funding period, SBW Berlin supports all scholarship recipients to work towards their professional goals. Where possible, this is done by putting the content of the study programs into practice as part of their project work and by collaborating with the non-profit/social institution in their home country.

Benefits

• For the duration of the scholarship (max. funding period is equivalent to the regular period of the study program), SBW Berlin covers necessary living expenses of the scholarship recipients. The scholarship includes:
  • a furnished room in shared student flats at Rudower Str. 67, 12351 Berlin
  • cost-of-living allowance currently in the amount of 480 Euro per month
  • tuition fees
  • possibly also a travel contribution for the journey to Berlin before the start of the course of study and for the journey home after successful completion of the course.
• Duration: The duration of funding is at least 30 days up to a maximum of 48 months. The respective standard period of study is decisive. Funding is granted on a periodic base, usually for the upcoming semester.

Program Specifications

• Their scholarship program focuses on the scholarship recipients’ social commitments and the development of non-profit/social projects in their respective home country. In collaborations with a local non-profit organization or social institution, the scholarship recipients work on their own projects, which they present during the application process by submitting a project description. All projects aim to support people in need and the non-profit or social institution’s objectives and have a greater benefit for society, in general.
• While participating in their scholarship program, all scholarship recipients attend additional workshops at SBW Berlin, prepare project reports, and give lectures or presentations on their projects. All scholarship recipients benefit from SBW Berlin’s consistent mentorship for example in form of regular discussions about the projects etc.
• It is therefore expected that applicants prove their motivation for non-profit/social work and their collaboration (previous and henceforth) with a non-profit organization or social institution in their respective home countries in the form of a letter of recommendation written by this non-profit organization or social institution.
• All scholarship recipients work proactively on their projects during the funding period and can also prove this at any time. They are required to work between 2 and 8 hours per week on the social project.

Eligibility Criteria

• Foreign nationals, whose home countries appear to have a particular need for development assistance.
• Holders of a student visa for Germany or a residence permit with the purpose of taking up or carrying out a course of study in Germany.
• Applicants must meet the following requirements:
  • Between 18 and 30 years old
  • Professional or volunteer experience in the non-profit/social sector (proven by a social institution’s letter of recommendation)
  • Able to prove that they have not stayed in Germany for more than 18 months before the application
  • Qualification for university entrance
  • Intention to work in their country of origin for at least 18 months after graduation or to engage in non-profit work until the repayment plan has been fulfilled
  • Able to prove a relatively low net income
  • Average grades corresponding to a German grade point average of at least 2.0
  • No first-degree family members who reside permanently in Germany
  • Application before the start of their university education or fully enrolled in the first, second or max. third semester at a state-recognized university (in Germany or abroad) or application for a master’s degree shortly before or after obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Students whose studies in Germany are already being funded by another scholarship are not eligible to apply.

Selection Criteria

• In addition to a proven collaboration between the applicant and a non-profit/social organization located in the applicant’s home country, the following criteria are decisive for the selection of incoming scholarship recipients:
  • In need of assistance are all applicants who meet the requirements of § 1 BAföG (German Federal Education Assistance Act). The individual amount of funding will depend on the personal circumstances of each applicant.
  • Eligible are all applicants whose intellectual abilities, as substantiated by the application documents and during the interview, justify the expectation that the applicant will easily meet the performance requirements of the funded studies and degree.
  • Worthy of assistance are all applicants whose personality and social commitment suggest that they will achieve the goals of this scholarship during and after their studies in cooperation with a non-profit organization or social institution in the home country of the scholarship recipient. In addition, the applicant’s non-profit/social project will be evaluated.

Application Requirements

• Only complete applications can be considered. Applicants must submit at least the following documents:
  • Letter of recommendation from a non-profit organization or social institution or one of SBW Berlin’s partner organization (by email)
  • Application form
  • Project description (two to five pages)
  • Qualification for university entrance
  • Information about the net household income
  • Copy of the last school or university certificate that shows the grade point average and a grade overview
  • Copy of the highest academic degree (high school diploma or university certificate) that shows the grade point average and a grade overview.
• If available, copies of the following documents should also be included:
  • Admission to a university or university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule) in Berlin or Potsdam
  • Internationally recognized language certificate for the language in which your studies will be taught
  • All already obtained university certificates and records of achievements (graded and ungraded)
  • All previous work, training, apprenticeship and internship certificates and references.
• They recommend to all applicants to submit the following additional documents, which are not mandatory:
  • one or two letters of recommendation from professors, schoolteachers, employers, etc.
  • evidence of the net household income.
• The application and all enclosed certificates and supporting documents must be submitted in German or English. If the original document was issued in another language, they also ask for a translation into German or English.

For more information, visit SBW Berlin.