Financing

Anyone who embarks on academic studies must give thought to the matter of how to finance this period in their lives.
Of course, there is always the option of making some extra money with a  side job as student employee at the University or in an enterprise. But this should not put too much of a strain on your studies – so have a look at some alternatives:

BAföG

You can also obtain general BAföG information at the  Kölner Studentenwerk Info Point.

Loans

The Kölner Studentenwerk moreover arranges student loans: the  KfW-Studienkredit and the  Studienabschlussdarlehen der Daka. The latter has been awarded the quality seal of the German Centre for Higher Education (CHE), and has received favourable ratings by the leading German consumer safety group Stiftung Warentest (Finanztest).

Or apply for Cologne University’s interest-free loan in support of students about to take their degree:  Studierendenförderungsfonds der Universität zu Köln (SFF).

Academic Foundations and Scholarships

As a rule, the advantage of financial support granted by academic foundations – vis-à-vis loans, credits and BAföG – is that it need not be repaid. Such grants, however, are generally subject to application procedures with highly varied eligibility requirements, depending on the foundation. The best way to go is to enquire directly at the websites of the respective scholarship institutions.

The University of Cologne has created a specific portal with an  overview of university foundations, and also offers the option of applying for a scholarship under the NRW grant programme:  NRW-Stipendienprogramm.

Then there are several pro-university foundations that also afford numerous possibilities for gaining scholarships. For an up-to-date list, please click PDF here.

A comprehensive survey of national and international scholarships is moreover available under  http://www.scholarshipportal.eu/.

International students will swiftly find all they need to know on the webpages of the  Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD).