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Oskar Karl Forster Scholarship
Applications for 2023 have closed.
The application form is currently not available for download.
Up-to-date information is expected to be posted here from April 2024.
Please be watching this page for more information.
Eligibility:
Enrolled gifted and needy students of all nationalities from the second semester onwards. The restrictive requirement of "2nd semester" does not, of course, apply to students in Master's degree programmes.
As a rule, a one-time grant for the purchase of books or other learning materials is awarded in the amount of at least 100 € to a maximum of 500 €. In exceptional cases, a grant for the printing costs of dissertations can be applied for.
Enrolment at the University of Würzburg must be proven when submitting the application by presenting a current certificate of enrolment.
Indigence is recognised without further examination if benefits are received according to the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG). If no BAföG notification can be submitted, the neediness must be proven in another credible way. For the corresponding examination, the income of the "person obliged to pay maintenance" must then be proven by submitting suitable documents (for applications in 2023, this is generally the income tax assessment of the parents for the year 2021). The income tax assessment of the penultimate year before the application is decisive for the net income ([taxable income minus taxes] / 12), whereby negative income (e.g. from business or renting and leasing) is to be deducted and thus fictitiously increases the taxable income. Own income must also be proven.
Other suitable documents (if no income tax assessment can be submitted):
Income of the person obliged to pay maintenance: the pay slips for the last twelve months; annual income tax certificates; pension statements; statements on receipt of unemployment benefit; in the case of self-employed persons also the profit and loss account.
Own income: e.g. employment contract and pay slips from own gainful employment; statements on current scholarship benefits.
Please note that foreign documents can only be utilised in officially certified translations or in English-language copies.
Definition of indigence:
Indigence is assumed if the current net income of the person obliged to pay maintenance is not higher per month than twice the tax-free allowance according to § 25 Para. 1 BAföG plus the single tax-free allowance according to § 25 Para. 3 No. 2 BAföG for each dependent child including the student him/herself.
The allowances are (figures for applications in 2023):
- monthly allowance from the net income of married parents or partners, if they are not permanently separated: € 4,830
- monthly allowance from the net income of each parent to be considered individually in other cases: € 3,210
- additional monthly allowance for each dependent child including the student: € 730. The amount is reduced by the income of the children.
In the case of grants for the printing of the dissertation, indigence is only given if the applicants themselves do not earn a higher net income than 1,800.00 euros (limit 2023) per month.
In the case of an application for a grant for the purchase of books or other learning materials, the approval of a university lecturer (lecturers employed full-time at the university (professors, research assistants, teachers for special tasks)) regarding the appropriateness of the planned purchase is required for the grant to be awarded. In addition, the applicant's eligibility for funding must be confirmed, taking into account previous academic achievements (components of the application form).
As a rule, eligibility for funding is given if the usual achievements in an orderly course of study have been achieved by the end of the respective semester reached and the standard period of study has not been significantly exceeded. In principle, 30 ECTS points are to be acquired per semester. It is generally accepted that approx. 20 ECTS points per semester indicate that the student will continue to study successfully.
Particularly outstanding academic achievements are NOT a prerequisite here.
In principle, the grant can only be claimed once. The use of the grant must be documented to the Scholarship Office by the date stated in the notification of award by submitting corresponding proof of payment.
