Folkwang

Deutschlandstipendium

Folkwang University of the Arts will be awarding Deutschlandstipendium scholarships for the winter semester 2025/26. Half of each scholarship grant is funded by a private sponsor while the other half is provided by the state. With the agreement of both parties, non-material support from private sponsors can be part of the Deutschlandstipendium. Funding begins on 1. October 2025, ends on 30. September 2026 and amounts to € 300 per month. It is expected that 60 scholarships will be awarded.

Eligibility criteria

Students who are regularly enrolled at the Folkwang University of the Arts are eligible for funding, regardless of their nationality. Doctoral and exchange students as well as free movers and guest auditors cannot be funded. Double sponsorship (i.e. the simultaneous receipt of another merit or talent scholarship; social scholarships will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis) is excluded. Students can only be funded if they fulfil all the funding criteria listed here for the duration of at least one academic year (from Oct. 2025).

In the Deutschlandstipendium selection process, both academic performance (or expected academic performance for first-year students) and further criteria are taken into account (see StipV § 2, para. 2):
_particular successes, awards and prizes, a previous professional career and internships
_extracurricular commitments such as voluntary work, social, university or political commitment or participation in associations, clubs or religious communities
_particular personal or family circumstances such as illnesses and disabilities, providing care work to one's own children (especially as a single parent) or close relatives, working in a family business, employment, (social) origin/identity or international biography

Family focus

Scholarships with family focus are intended to relieve the burden on student parents with low incomes. Expectant parents can also apply for this.

Please submit the birth certificate of your child/children, the maternity pass or a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth as proof. You can also present the documents to Elina Thier during a personal appointment (within the application deadline). In this case, it will be noted that the documents have been submitted and do not need to be sent along.

The data will be treated confidentially, pre-sorted by an internal jury (Central Equal Opportunity Representative, Representative for Students with Disability or Chronic Illness, University Funding Officer) and submitted to the award committee for a decision. If you have any questions about the application or about the confidentiality of the application, please contact Elina Thier at any time.

Focus on students with impairments

Scholarships with focus on students with impairments are intended to support students with disabilities and physical and/or mental impairments.

In addition to disabilities, this also includes chronic or mental illnesses (e.g. rheumatism, Crohn's disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety disorders, etc.), partial performance disorders such as dyslexia, autism or other long-term impairments (at least 6 months) - as well as sensory and movement impairments. In particular, this includes students with mobility, visual, hearing or speech impairments.

Suitable forms of verification are:
_A current certificate, report or statement issued by a (specialist) physician or a licensed psychotherapist*
_A disabled person's pass (for a severe disability)

Note: We do not require a detailed medical history! To protect your privacy, it is sufficient to state the reason and, if applicable, the extent of the restrictions resulting from your impairment in a medical certificate or statement.

The data will be treated confidentially, pre-sorted by an internal jury (Central Equal Opportunity Representative, Representative for Students with Disability or Chronic Illness, University Funding Officer) and submitted to the Folkwang University of the Arts Awards Committee for a decision. If you have any questions about the application or about the confidentiality of the application, please contact Elina Thier at any time.

* If you are unable to cover the cost, please send an e-mail to gleichstellungsbeauftragte(at)folkwang-uni.de.

Application Process

As of this semester, there is an online form, the link can be found on the right. The application deadline is Sun, 01.06.2025, 23:59. Only the proof of impairment can be submitted later by Sun, 15.06.2025, 23:59, by e-mail to foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de. In this case, too, the rest of the application must be submitted in full by 01.06.2025.

Unfortunately, you cannot save within the online form. Therefore, please take your time to look at everything, pre-formulate texts if necessary and then insert them. Once you have entered all the data and uploaded the attachment, you can check all the data again. You will then receive an e-mail and have to confirm the link to your (Folkwang) e-mail address via a link! Only when you have done this will your application be sent! You will receive an automatic confirmation by e-mail as soon as we have received your application.
If you do not have your own PC/laptop or similar, you can use the PCs in the Folkwang University of the Arts library on the Alte Abtei campus in Essen-Werden.
Applications will NOT be accepted by e-mail. If you have technical problems, please contact foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de within the application deadline.

Information to be submitted

_Personal information (name, gender, date of birth, nationality, contact information)

_Information on personal situation (persons affected by the war in Ukraine, first-time graduates, children, disabilities)

_Information on studies

_Economic circumstances (BAföG, other scholarships)

_Social criteria (artistic/academic achievements, internships, training, extracurricular activities, special personal circumstances)

_Information on the assessor (see below)

Documents to upload

You must upload the following documents together in ONE PDF-document at the end of the form. There are various providers of free software on the Internet for this purpose.

_current curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 1-2 pages; more pages will be shortened)

_current certificate of study

_for Faculty 4: a scientific, creative or artistic work, but not a thesis, 5-7 pages, PDF format (max. data size 15 MB)

_for students with children: Birth certificate(s) of the specified child/children, copy of the mother's passport or a doctor's certificate of the expected date of birth

_for students with disabilities: Current (specialist) medical certificate, current statement from (specialist) doctors or a licensed psychological psychotherapist, (severely) disabled person's pass if applicable; ONLY THIS proof can be submitted later this year until Sun, 15.06.2025, 23:59 by e-mail to foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de.

No transcript of records is required!

Letter of recommendation required

You must also ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation. Once you have submitted your application, we will send a link for an online form to the person you have registered as a assessor. It is only possible to submit the letter of recommendation with this link, sent to this person. A change is only possible in justified exceptional cases such as illness of the assessor or similar. So that you can actually apply until the end, the deadline for the letter of recommendation is one week later on Sun, 08.06.2025, 23:59. Please contact the lecturers in good time (before you send your application!) and ask them whether it is possible to prepare the letter of recommendation during this period. If not, please ask another person for a letter of recommendation. If we don't receive it in time, your application will be considered incomplete and will be rejected. Letters of recommendation can no longer be accepted by e-mail. In case of technical problems, please contact foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de within the deadline for letters of recommendation.

Selection process

The selection process is initially organized decentrally, which means the responsible department compiles a ranking list of applications. This is different for applications with a focus on family and students with disabilities, where the ranking list is drawn up by three people: Central Equal Opportunities Officer, Representative for Students with Disabilities or Chronic Illness, University Support Officer. In these cases, the applications do not go to the departments.
The Folkwang University of the Arts awards committee then examines all scholarship applications and passes on its recommendation to the President's Office. The President's Office awards these scholarships. Once this decision-making process has been completed, you will be informed by e-mail whether you have been awarded a scholarship or not, probably at the beginning of October. Please refrain from making inquiries until then.
If you have any questions or technical problems, please contact foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de at any time. Please only use your Folkwang e-mail address for communication!
Please note that confidentiality risks and unauthorized access by third parties cannot be ruled out when communicating by unencrypted e-mail. You can also send your application documents by post to: Folkwang University of the Arts, Elina Thier, Klemensborn 39, 45239 Essen or drop them in the main building in P.O. Box No. 40.

Förderer des Deutschlandstipendiums

Die Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der Folkwang Universität der Künste e.V. (GFFF) wurde 1950 gegründet und unterstützt seitdem besonders begabte und förderungswürdige Studierende unserer Hochschule. Und das in vielfältiger, individueller Weise. Eckpunkte sind dabei die Vergabe von Stipendien, die Projektförderung und der Folkwang Preis für Studierende mit herausragenden Leistungen.

Der Lions Club Essen-Assindia fördert seit 2009 die Studierenden der Folkwang Universität der Künste, zunächst durch eigene Jahresstipendien, durch Teilnahme am Programm „Studierende mit Kind" und schließlich durch ein jährliches Deutschlandstipendium. „Die Folkwang Universität der Künste ist eine der herausragenden kulturellen Einrichtungen der Stadt Essen. Auf die hochtalentierten und engagierten Leute, die sich dort ausbilden lassen, kann die Stadt Essen und ihre Bürgerschaft stolz sein – Grund genug, deren Leben und Ausbildung nach Kräften zu unterstützen.“

Der Förderpreis des Lions Club Essen-Werethina wurde erstmals für das Studienjahr 2008 vergeben und ist ein Beitrag zur Unterstützung von deutschen und ausländischen Studierenden der Folkwang Universität der Künste, die eine deutliche Spitzenbegabung erkennen lassen und bedürftig oder sozial benachteiligt sind. 2011 wurde der Förderpreis im Rahmen des NRW Stipendiums vergeben, seit 2012 beteiligt sich der Lions Club Essen-Werethina am Deutschlandstipendium.

Die Inge und Karl-Werner Lentzsch-Stiftung wurde eingerichtet, um besonders begabte Studierende, vorzugsweise in dem Bereich Musik, zu fördern. Seit 2003 wurden ausgesuchte studentische Projekte finanziert. 2009 entschied die Stiftung, jährlich zwei Studierende mit einem Stipendium, zunächst in Verbindung mit dem NRW Stipendium, ab 2012 als Förderer des Deutschlandstipendiums, zu unterstützen.

Seit vielen Jahren vergibt die Alfred & Cläre Pott-Stiftung Stipendien für besonders begabte Studierende aus Mittel-, Ost- und Südeuropa. Unser Dank gilt hier besonders Herrn Dr. Dr. h. c. Klaus Liesen (verstorben 30. März 2017). Das unter seinem Vorsitz entstandene Förderprogramm ist eine feste Größe unseres Stipendienfonds. Seit 2018 beteiligt sich die Alfred & Cläre Pott-Stiftung darüber hinaus im Deutschlandstipendium mit dem Focus Studium und Familie. Studierende mit Kind sind einer besonderen Belastung ausgesetzt. Die Stiftung möchte junge Familien mit diesem Beitrag schützen und fördern.

Rz RAG Stiftung Wortbildmarke Verlauf RGB 2

Seit 2015 unterstützt die RAG-Stiftung das Deutschlandstipendium an der Folkwang Universität der Künste. Die RAG-Stiftung konzentriert sich bei der Förderung auf Studierende aus Nicht-Akademikerfamilien, häufig mit Zuwanderungsgeschichte, die ohne eine finanzielle Unterstützung ein Studium oft gar nicht aufnehmen oder nicht in der Regelstudienzeit absolvieren könnten.

Im Bewusstsein der Bedeutung der Kunstmusik als unentbehrliches kulturelles Erbe unterstützt der Rotary Club Duisburg seit dem Wintersemester 2024/25 das Deutschlandstipendium für hochbegabte Studierende an der Folkwang Universität der Künste im Fachbereich Musik. Vorzugsweise im Falle finanzieller Bedürftigkeit.

Die Essener ZONTA-Clubs fördern jährlich begabte und leistungsfähige weibliche Studierende der Folkwang Universität der Künste. Herausragende Leistungen und gesellschaftliches Engagement sollen honoriert sowie das Verantwortungsbewusstsein der Gesellschaft für Bildung und Begabung gestärkt werden. In den Essener ZONTA-Clubs haben sich berufstätige Frauen aus der Region zusammengeschlossen. Ihre Mitglieder engagieren sich sowohl in sozialen als auch kulturellen Projekten für Frauen und setzen sich insbesondere regional für die Bildung der Frau ein.