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Deutschlandstipendium
Folkwang University of the Arts will be awarding Deutschlandstipendium scholarships for the winter semester 2026/27. 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 2026, ends on 30. September 2027 and amounts to € 300 per month. It is expected that 65 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. 2026).
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 procedure
You can apply using the online form on the right (in the mobile view at the bottom of the page). Please use your Folkwang login details to log in (e.g. webmail login): Username and password
The application deadline is Fri, 01.05.2026. Only the proof of impairment can be submitted later by Sun, 10.05.2026, 23:59, by e-mail to foerderung(at)folkwang-uni.de. In this case, the rest of the application must also be submitted in full by 01.05.2026.
Unfortunately, you cannot save the online form temporarily. 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 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 request a letter of recommendation from a Folkwang teacher or someone outside the university. Letters of recommendation from external individuals are equivalent to those from Folkwang teachers. We are happy to assist you in contacting potential assessors. In addition to Folkwang teachers, these can be, for example, teachers at general education schools (music/art teachers), teachers at music schools, or artists or musicians with whom you collaborate.
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 around mid-September. 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, Lea Kroll, Klemensborn 39, 45239 Essen or drop them in the main building in P.O. Box No. 40 (Geschäftsstelle des Rektorats).
Förderer des Deutschlandstipendiums
The Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der Folkwang Universität der Künste e.V. (GFFF) was founded in 1950 and has been supporting particularly talented and deserving students at our university ever since. And it does so in a variety of individual ways. The cornerstones are the awarding of scholarships, project funding and the Folkwang Prize for students with outstanding achievements.
The Lions Club Essen-Assindia has been supporting students at the Folkwang University of the Arts since 2009, initially through its own annual scholarships, through participation in the "Students with Children" program and finally through an annual Germany Scholarship. "The Folkwang University of the Arts is one of the outstanding cultural institutions in the city of Essen. The city of Essen and its citizens can be proud of the highly talented and committed people who train there - reason enough to support their lives and education to the best of our ability."
The Lions Club Essen-Werethina sponsorship prize was first awarded for the 2008 academic year and is a contribution to supporting German and foreign students at the Folkwang University of the Arts who show clear top talent and are in need or socially disadvantaged. in 2011, the prize was awarded as part of the NRW Scholarship, and since 2012 the Lions Club Essen-Werethina has been involved in the Deutschlandstipendium.
The Inge and Karl-Werner Lentzsch Foundation was set up to support particularly talented students, preferably in the field of music. Selected student projects have been funded since 2003. in 2009, the foundation decided to support two students each year with a scholarship, initially in conjunction with the NRW Scholarship and from 2012 as a sponsor of the Deutschlandstipendium.
The Alfred & Cläre Pott Foundation has been awarding scholarships to particularly talented students from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe for many years. Our special thanks go to Dr. Dr. h. c. Klaus Liesen (deceased 30 March 2017). The scholarship program that was created under his chairmanship is a permanent feature of our scholarship fund. Since 2018, the Alfred & Cläre Pott Foundation has also been involved in the Germany Scholarship with a focus on study and family. Students with children are under particular pressure. The foundation would like to protect and support young families with this contribution.
The RAG-Stiftung has been supporting the Deutschlandstipendium at the Folkwang University of the Arts since 2015. The RAG-Stiftung focuses its support on students from non-academic families, often with a migrant background, who would often not be able to study at all or complete their studies within the standard period of study without financial support.
Aware of the importance of art music as an indispensable cultural heritage, the Rotary Club Duisburg has been supporting the Deutschlandstipendium for highly talented students at the Folkwang University of the Arts in the Department of Music since the winter semester 2024/25. Preferably in case of financial need.
Every year, the ZONTA Clubs in Essen support talented and capable female students at the Folkwang University of the Arts. Outstanding achievements and social commitment are honored and society's sense of responsibility for education and talent is strengthened. Working women from the region have joined together in the Essen ZONTA Clubs. Its members are involved in both social and cultural projects for women and are particularly committed to women's education in the region.