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possibilities for financing a doctorate
With secure funding, you can invest more time and energy in your doctorate. The Graduate Academy provides you with information on funding options for your doctorate.
You have various options for financing your doctorate. Doctoral students work as research assistants at the university, part-time in a company or receive an explicitly designated, rather rare doctoral position. If applicable, you may be eligible for a doctoral scholarship and can, thus, concentrate fully on your doctorate.
For individual consultation, please contact the Graduate Academy Team via making an appointment for a consultation via this form.
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Working in academia
Some doctoral candidates at universities of applied sciences are involved in scientific work and thus finance their doctorates. Here, we distinguish between budgetary and third-party funded positions. Third-party funded positions also include doctoral positions in graduate colleges, which we will present to you separately. However, when working in science, you should urgently take the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act into account.
Working in academia
Budgetary positions are positions that are financed directly by the university. However, since universities of applied sciences are structured differently from universities, such positions are very rare. If you obtain a position as a research assistant that is intended for your qualification, i.e., your doctorate, the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act applies (see below). If you are in a qualification position, make sure that at least half of your working time is allocated to your doctorate in your employment contract (see Higher Education Act of Saxony-Anhalt, Section 42 (2)). You may be expected to work on your doctorate (also) in your free time; many positions that explicitly require doctoral work are advertised as part-time – this varies depending on the subject area.
Within the scope of available budget funds, Merseburg University of Applied Sciences provides initial funding for the initiation of doctoral projects for its professors and provides positions for research assistants for up to 12 months. The funded projects are intended in particular to promote young scientists and, above all, to initiate doctoral projects. The positions are awarded annually in a competitive process. The conditions of participation and deadlines are specified in the respective call for applications, which your supervisor at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences will receive in advance by email. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Volker Prautzsch, Research Officer.
You can also pursue a doctorate as a lecturer for special tasks (LfbA). As an LfbA, you will be teaching many courses, so the workload is usually high. Excellent time management and the integration of your doctoral thesis topic into your teaching are advantageous. Some LfbA positions are permanent, so you will have less time pressure. The Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act does not apply here.
There are also positions available as research assistants at research institutes, where it is also possible to pursue a doctorate.
Compared to budgetary positions, there are usually more positions for research assistants in third-party funded projects. Third-party funding is external funding that only universities or professors can apply for. The doctoral thesis topic and the topic of the position do not always coincide, although this is recommended. Nevertheless, the academic working environment can be very useful and stimulating for your own research and academic career. It is advisable to have clear self-management and time management skills so that both your doctoral studies and your job are successful.
If you have already found a supervisor for your doctoral thesis idea, ask them whether they have acquired a project that interests you and whether they have a project position to fill. You can also try to acquire a third-party funded project together with your supervisor. The largest third-party funding provider is the German Research Foundation (DFG), but there are also many foundations to which project proposals can be submitted for suitable calls for proposals/funding priorities. This allows you to finance your own position as a research assistant. However, there is no guarantee that your third-party funding application will be successful.
Ideally, your employment contract will allow you time to work on your doctorate. This varies depending on your funding source. You will usually be expected to work on your doctorate in your free time as well; many positions that explicitly require doctoral work are advertised as part-time – this varies depending on the subject area.
Often, the project duration is not sufficient to complete the doctoral program. It is therefore advisable to think early on about how you could finance your doctoral studies afterwards.
In graduate schools, several doctoral candidates conduct research on a specific topic. The research is accompanied by a supporting program. They receive doctoral positions or scholarships for this.
Research graduate schools are financed by third-party funds. Your supervisor will contact you if a research graduate school is planned. However, you should also regularly check the job advertisements at your university to find suitable doctoral positions.
Please note the German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (WissZeitVG) (in German):
- Among other things, it stipulates that doctoral candidates may be employed in academic positions at the university for a maximum of six years. If you have not completed your doctorate after this period, you may continue working on it, but you may no longer be employed at the university for academic activities. (This maximum time limit does not apply to teachers with special responsibilities, who are not considered academic staff under the law.)
- Parental leave, illness, and other circumstances extend this maximum time limit.
- Research positions in third-party funded projects can be counted toward this maximum time limit; this means that, after a certain number of years in third-party funded projects, it may not be possible to switch to a doctoral position. However, you can continue to be employed in third-party funded projects after this maximum fixed-term period if the position is mainly financed by third-party funds and if the funds have been allocated for a fixed period and area of responsibility.
Information on the WissZeitVG (in German)
Please note that the law is currently being revised and the information on this website may no longer be up to date (as of October 2025).
Check our job listings (German) regularly so you don't miss out on any doctoral or project positions.
Further academic job listings:
- Academics.de (German)
- Hochschuljob.de (German)
- PhDGermany – German and English-language doctoral positions in Germany from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- Academicpositions.de (German) – German and international doctoral positions
- Euraxess – German and international doctoral positions funded by the EU
Working outside academia
It is possible to pursue a doctorate while working in a non-academic profession. However, this requires careful planning and good time management, as it can be a considerable strain in terms of both time and mental energy. Here are some important aspects to consider when pursuing a doctorate while working.
Working outside academia
- Support: It is important that your employer supports your doctoral studies, e.g. through flexible working hours, time off for research and writing, or financial support.
- Communication: Clear communication with your supervisors and colleagues about your plans and needs is crucial to avoid potential conflicts.
- Planning: Create a detailed schedule that takes into account both work and research time. Set realistic milestones and deadlines.
- Set priorities: There will be phases when your doctoral studies take up more time, and others when your job takes priority.
- Understanding: Find a mentor who understands your professional situation and is willing to support you accordingly.
- Regular meetings: Arrange regular meetings with your mentor to discuss progress and receive feedback.
- Choosing a topic: Choose a doctoral thesis topic that ideally relates to your professional environment. This can create synergies and increase the relevance of your research.
- Increase efficiency: Use work projects and data for your research, if possible and permitted.
- Professional network: If your work environment does not provide a connection to academia, it can be particularly important and challenging to build a professional network. Take advantage of colloquia, conferences, and continuing education opportunities to engage in conversation with other experts in your field.
- Support system: A strong support system consisting of family, friends, and colleagues can help you cope with the double burden.
- Health: Take care of your physical and mental health. Regular breaks, exercise, and relaxation are important for preventing burnout.
doctoral scholarship & grants
With a full doctoral scholarship, you can usually concentrate fully on your doctorate because it provides you with funding for several years (see sections “Graduate funding at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences” and “Scholarships from scholarship organizations and foundations”).
However, there are also other types of scholarships, e.g., one-time payments for specific purposes such as travel, conference and workshop participation (see “Grants”).
doctoral scholarship & grants
If you receive a scholarship, you will earn a certain amount of prestige, depending on the institution offering it. Incidentally, scholarships are not just for “high achievers.” The selection of scholarships is so large that it is worth searching through the scholarship landscape. Smaller institutions in particular sometimes do not award all of their funding because there are not enough applications.
While some scholarships also offer non-financial support, such as participation in workshops and conferences, mentoring by trusted individuals, and networking opportunities, you may feel isolated as a scholarship recipient. To prevent this, it is beneficial if your mentor actively involves you in the academic environment. Some full-time scholarships also allow you to work a few hours per week.
Please note that you are not covered by social security when you receive a scholarship. During this period, you do not pay into your pension insurance and unemployment insurance and must arrange your own health insurance. More information on social security for doctoral students can be found in a guide published by the Education and Science Union (PDF) (in German). In addition, employers may not accept scholarship periods as “working hours” or relevant professional experience that would justify a higher salary, for example. Often, the scholarship period is not long enough to complete your doctorate. It is therefore advisable to think early on about how you could finance your doctorate afterwards.
Some scholarship providers only offer non-financial support, without any financial assistance.
Doctoral candidates at the doctoral centers and cooperative doctoral candidates can apply for state graduate funding from Merseburg University of Applied Sciences. The basic scholarship is currently €1,400 per month. Additional supplements are available for children, severe disabilities, or chronic illnesses. The scholarship is initially awarded for one year with the option of extension for a further year. The maximum funding period is three years.
The university awards doctoral scholarships on the basis of the Graduate Funding Act of the State of Saxony-Anhalt of July 30, 2001, the Graduate Funding Ordinance issued for this purpose, and the ordinances amending the Graduate Funding Act. There is no legal entitlement to the scholarship.
Application
To apply, please submit the documents listed in the application guidelines by October 15. Applications must be submitted with the complete application documents to the Vice Rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer, and Start-ups, who chairs the award committee at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, by mail and electronically.
By mail
Hochschule Merseburg
Prorektorat für Forschung, Wissenstransfer und Existenzgründung
Eberhard-Leibnitz-Straße 2
06217 Merseburg
digital
prorektorat.forschung@hs-merseburg.de
Granting Commission
The Senate Commission for Research and Knowledge Transfer (KFW) decides on the awarding of the state graduate scholarship. The decision on the awarding of the scholarship is made by an award committee on the basis of the submitted documents and a personal presentation of the doctoral project at the KFW meeting at the beginning of November.
There are 13 organizations for the support of gifted students in Germany, each with a different ideological orientation. The central website for the 13 organizations is StipendiumPlus.
The scholarships awarded by the organizations for the support of gifted students amount to €1,450 per month (tax-free; as of June 2024); in addition, there are supplements for research costs, health insurance, and, if applicable, children. The scholarships are usually awarded for three years, but this period can be extended under special circumstances. You can work in addition to receiving the scholarship if the work does not exceed 10 hours in the academic field and 5 hours in the non-academic field.
Before applying, check whether the ideological (party-affiliated/political or religious) and thematic orientation of the respective funding organization is compatible with your personal views and your doctoral thesis topic. A prerequisite for a scholarship from a scholarship foundation is usually proven social commitment.
In addition to the scholarship foundations, there are also foundations and other sponsors.
Click here for an overview of funding organizations and some foundations (PDF).
There is a wide variety and large number of scholarships available in Germany. It is therefore worth doing thorough research.
Service center for electronic research funding information ELFI: Database for research funding programs. ELFI cannot distinguish between study and doctoral scholarships. Therefore, you should use the following terms in the search bar to find doctoral scholarships: “doctoral candidate,” “doctoral students,” “graduates,” “doctorate.”
Scholarship database of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for foreign doctoral candidates who want to come to Germany and for Germans and equivalent persons who want to go abroad.
Funding database of the German Foundation Center (in German), which manages almost 700 foundations – filter by “doctoral scholarships” under “type of funding.”
Mystipendium (in German) is a database with a wide selection of scholarships, including smaller grants and loans. After registering for free, the platform shows you funding opportunities that match your profile.
Academics (in German): Calls for scholarships, prizes, and funding programs on Academics (also for postdocs). Academics is an academic career portal operated by DIE ZEIT.
Euraxess – Funding opportunities in Germany and internationally.
European Funding Guide is the European, English-language offshoot of the German website mystipendium. It is a database for funding doctoral studies at your own university and for stays abroad (scholarships, grants, loans), which you can use after registering free of charge. Funding opportunities are displayed individually according to your profile.
This is a small selection of targeted scholarships and financial aid that may be relevant to you. You can use the scholarship databases to search for further grants.
- Grants for travel and publication costs: Active participation in seminars as part of the CASE qualification program or in conferences is an important part of your doctoral studies. Discussions with your mentor can also be very useful for your career. Your university's young talent program supports you with grants for your travel expenses. In addition, you can receive grants for publication costs as part of your cumulative doctoral program. All the necessary information can be found in the document Guidelines for the distribution of grants for travel and publication costs to doctoral students at universities of applied sciences in Saxony-Anhalt. These guidelines are valid as long as they are available on the website. To apply for reimbursement, please use the application form Grants for Doctoral Students. Both documents can be found in the download area. If you have any questions, please contact Maria Löffler, the advisor for the promotion of young scientists.
- Grants from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD):
- Scholarships for various research stays abroad,
- for conference trips abroad (in German) specifically for HAW doctoral candidates and HAW employees,
- for conference trips abroad (in German),
- and for lecture trips abroad (in German).
- ERASMUS+: Grants for doctoral students to spend time abroad, e.g. for an internship at a research institution.
- Fulbright Doctoral Program (in German): 4- to 6-month scholarship for a research stay at a university in the US, open to individuals with German citizenship
- German Academic Women's Association (Deutscher Akademikerinnenbund e.V.): Final scholarships (in German) for female scientists in difficult life situations, €500/month for a maximum of one year, but also printing and travel expense grants
- Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Foundation: Grants for childcare and domestic help for female doctoral students in the natural sciences who work full-time
- Payouts from VG-Wort (in German): If you publish texts, you can register yourself as the author and your text with VG Wort. VG Wort distributes money annually to authors, the amount of which depends on how often your text has been read. Click here for FAQs about VG Wort (in German).
- Calls for entries for prizes and funding programs on Academics (in German), also for postdocs
Scholarship guide from ApplicAid e.V. (in German), which guides you step by step through the process of searching for and writing your scholarship application: ApplicAid is a non-profit organization that contributes to equal opportunities in the German scholarship landscape.
Fact sheets (in German) such as sample application documents and testimonials from scholarship recipients from ApplicAid e.V.
Documents for download
Grants for Doctoral Students
Grants for Travel and Publication Costs
Active participation in seminars as part of the CASE qualification program or in conferences is an important part of your doctorate. Exchanges with your mentor can also be very useful for your career. Your university's promotion of young researchers will support you with subsidies for your travel costs.
In addition, you can receive grants towards publication costs as part of your cumulative doctorate.
You will find all the necessary information in "Guidelines for the distribution of grants for travel and publication costs to doctoral students at HAWs in Saxony-Anhalt". This guideline is valid as long as it can be found on the website. For the request for cost absorption, use the form in the download.
If you have any questions, please contact your Speaker of Promoting Early Career Researchers, Sandra Dietzel.
Contact
Download
- PDF
- PDFApplication Form for a Grant for Doctoral Studentspdf | 691 KB
Mobility Grants
The International Office of Merseburg University supports the mobility of university members.
Further information on mobility funding can be found on the website of the German Academic Exchange Service.
Center of Advanced Scientific Education (CASE)
funded by
