Financing Your Studies Abroad

  Front of SuperC © Victoria Busch

Costs and funding opportunities play a decisive role when choosing where to study abroad. In most countries, universities charge high tuition fees. If you participate in an exchange program, you will be exempt from such fees with the exception of studies abroad in the USA and Canada.

 

Costs and Finances

In addition to tuition fees you should take into account costs of living such as accommodation, food, clothing, health insurance, travel costs, etc. In some countries these costs are higher than in Germany. Therefore, studying abroad may turn out to be more expensive than studying in Germany. This should be taken into serious consideration when securing financing for a stay abroad.

The International Office offers scholarships for some countries but there are more exchange spots available than funding. As a result not every exchange student can be awarded a scholarship.

Under certain conditions you can apply for a scholarsip, such as a PROMOS grant. Research stays in Korea can be funded via MOGAM and those in Japan through MIRAI, for example. The DAAD and education loans are additional options. BAföG for abroad has different funding conditions than BAföG within Germany – we recommend talking to someone at the BAföG office.

Make sure you calculate all costs realistically for your entire stay. A prerequisite to apply for study abroad is the assumption you can fund your stay without of a scholarship.

 

Funding Opportunities for Study Abroad Periods

Here you can find an overview of funding programs for study abroad periods.

General Funding Programs

German Academic Exchange Service – DAAD

On the DAAD website, you are provided with in-detail information on funding opportunities for your study, research, or teaching abroad project. Using the Service's database in German, you can perform a targeted search according to selected criteria such as subject area, target country, and academic status, for example undergraduate, graduate student, doctoral student, etc.

Federal Training Assistance Act for students studying abroad

Irrespective of whether you are receiving funding through the Federal Training Assistance program – in German, Bafög –, you can apply for support from the Federal Training Assistance Program for students studying abroad, also called Auslandsbafög. Due to the fact that studying abroad is typically significantly more expensive than studying in Germany, funding could be available for students who are not eligible for Bafög for studies within Germany.

PROMOS Scholarships

PROMOS Scholarships for study abroad as part of a degree program or a study-related internship - not open to doctoral candidates

Scholarship Database of RWTH Aachen University

RWTH Aachen University offers you a broad range of scholarships. For an overview of stipends and scholarships, please visit our Scholarships and Funding Opportunities web pages.

Country-Specific Funding Programs

RWTH Scholarships for research periods abroad
Program Country
RWTH Ambassador Program Canada and USA
UROP Abroad Canada and USA
Strategic Partnership of RWTH Aachen University and Tsinghua University China, Bejing
Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) India
MOGAM Scholarship of RWTH Aachen Korea
MIRAI Scholarship of RWTH Aachen Japan
IDEA League Research Grant Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland
Strategic Partnership between RWTH Aachen and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras India
TU9 BIT Summer School China

 

 

Scholarships for Courses of Studies at Partner Universities

Scholarships by External Providers
Program Countries
Fullbright Stipendien USA
China-Stipendien-Programm der Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes und der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung 2022/23 China
Chinese Government Scholarship-EU Program for Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral candidates China
Sino German Center for Research Promotion Scholarship Program China
Bildungsbrücke MINT – Chinakompetenz im MINT-Bereich 2023 (de) China
Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Program Chinese Government Scholarship China