FAQ – Frequently asked questions about the LGFG doctoral scholarship

The application process

When are the application deadlines?

Calls for applications for new doctoral scholarships are issued once per year in spring (March/April), depending on whether or not there are sufficient funds available.

Documents for further funding have to be submitted in the same period.

Information on the calls for applications will be published on our homepage and in the newsletter for doctoral candidates.

Applications are only possible if there is a current call for application.

In which language can I apply?

The application documents can be submitted in both German and English. Certificates and application documents written in other languages must be translated by a certified translator into German or English. The translation must be submitted in original.

What must be considered in the letters of recommendation?

Letters of recommendation must be sent to us as an original.
The letters of recommendation must be signed by the supervisor (including a wet-ink signature).
One of the two recommendation letters for initial application and
scholarships for the completion of the doctorate must be written by the main supervisor.
Letters of recommendation can be submitted together with the application documents in a sealed envelope or sent separately by the supervisor.
The letters of recommendation can be sent by e-mail in advance. The original must be submitted until the beginning of the scholarship at the latest.

What should be included in the letters of recommendation?

The reviewer should comment on the following topics:

1. The applicant’s character

2. The applicant’s previous achievements

3. The doctoral project

4. Summary

Please find the instructions on writing a letter of recommendation here.

What should be included in the doctoral thesis proposal ?

Your doctoral thesis proposal should include a description of all academic achievements directly related to your doctoral thesis.

The maximum length of the doctoral thesis proposals should not exceed twelve pages (incl. footnotes/endnotes/references and indexes) single spaced, 12 pt font. The doctoral thesis proposal wil be accepted both in German and English for the selection procedure.

Detailed information on how to write a doctoral thesis proposal is also available here.

The selection process

How does the selection process work?

The respective expert committees receive the application documents with the request to evaluate the quality of the applications. Possible recommendations are: “suitable for funding,” “suitable for funding under certain conditions,” and “not suitable for funding.” If the expert committee receives more than one application to evaluate, they must create an objective ranking.

The applications, the recommendations and the rankings are then passed on to the Central Grants Commission for a decision. The Central Grants Commission makes the final decision as to which applicants receive a scholarship.

The Central Grants Commission also decides how many scholarships can be granted in a given calendar year. The total amount of newly granted scholarships depends on the amount of available budget resources.

How are the expert committees formed and staffed?

Each faculty appoints an expert committee composed of five members: four university teachers or other persons with the authorization to supervise doctoral studies and one academic staff member. At least one member must belong to the group of professors.

How is the Central Grants Commission formed and staffed?

The central grants commission is elected by the university senate and is composed of six persons:

the member of the Rectorate responsible for research as chairperson
two university teachers
a spokesperson of a structured doctoral programme or their deputy
one academic staff member holding a doctorate
a doctoral candidate who has obtained at least a master's degree or has an equivalent qualification

My application was evaluated as „suitable for funding“. Why did I nevertheless receive a cancellation?

An application may be evaluated as “suitable for funding” but not be selected for a scholarship. This is the case when the amount of suitable applications submitted exceeds the amount of scholarships which can be granted. In the case that a scholarship is not accepted, subsequent approvals can be made on the basis of a ranking by the expert committees of all applications “suitable for funding”.

When do I get the result of my application?

You will receive the final decision with the official notification about two weeks after the meeting of the Central Grants Commission.

Can I reapply for a scholarship?

Yes, a reapplication is possible.

The scholarship

Who is being promoted?

Both german and international doctoral candidates of all faculties are eligible to apply for LGFG scholarships.

Applicants must meet the following prerequisites:

a university degree which qualifies the holder for admission to a doctoral programme;
outstanding qualifications;
a doctoral project which is expected to result in an important contribution to research;
prior acceptance as a doctoral candidate of the University of Freiburg (demonstrated by a certificate of acceptance from your home faculty): You must complete your doctoral degree at the University of Freiburg (however, it is possible to complete some of the work outside of the University of Freiburg, e.g., laboratory or archive work at home and abroad).

Adequate representation of the university’s spectrum of fields and research emphases is also a factor in the selection process.

Which funding lines are there?

There are different lines of funding. In general, there is a difference between regular and completion scholarships.

Regular scholarships: The maximum duration of funding is three years. As a rule, the scholarships are granted for three years. Before the end of the first and the second year, the scholarship holder must submit an interim report on their doctoral thesis proposal as well as an evaluation by the responsible supervisor of the doctorate to the Central Grants Commission. If, on the basis of the interim report and the evaluation, timely progress of the doctoral thesis is not apparent, the scholarship may be revoked.
The start of the scholarship is always 1 October or 1 November of each year.

The regular LGFG scholarships support doctoral candidates who are in the initial phase of their doctoral studies. No more than 18 months must elapse between being accepted as a doctoral candidate and submitting the application.

Fourth year of scholarship: In justified cases, the funding period can be extended by a maximum of one year to a maximum of four years in total upon successful application. A justified case exists in particular if the scholarship holder has to care for a child under the age of fourteen or a relative in need of care, or is significantly restricted in their work on the doctoral project due to non-temporary or chronic health impairments. The application must be accompanied by suitable evidence of the reason for the extension claimed.

Scholarship for the completion of the doctorate: Doctoral candidates who plan to submit their doctoral thesis at the end of the winter semester and need funding for the completion of the doctorate. Funding period of up to five months between 1 August and 31 December.

When is the beginning of funding possible?

As the funding period of regular scholarships begins on the 1 October, the scholarship holder can choose to have it delayed until the 1 November of the same year.

Is a research stay possible?

You may complete the work necessary for your doctoral degree outside of the University of Freiburg.

For instance, it is possible to conduct laboratory work or visit archives (also abroad). However, you must complete the doctoral degree at the University of Freiburg.

As a rule, stays of up to four months for preparatory measures that are funded by other organizations will not be counted toward the total duration of the funding period (section 6 subsection 7 of the Statutes of the University of Freiburg on the implementation of the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden Württemberg (LGFG)).

Please announce the planned stay as early as possible to the Graduate Centre (GraCe),

Is it possible to receive funding in addition to the LGFG scholarship?

Due to section 2 subsection 5 of the Statutes of the University of Freiburg on the implementation of the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden Württemberg (LGFG) a scholarship may only be received by a person who does not receive financial support for the same doctoral project from other public or private sources.

Is an interruption of the work on the doctoral project possible?

You may interrupt your work on your doctoral project due to illness, pregnancy, extraordinary familial burdens, or other important reasons (section 8 subsection 2 LGFG) for up to a year (in exceptional cases up to two years).

Please inform the Graduate Centre (GraCe) immediately about the interruption and hand in a written application. It should include the following documents:

An application due to section 8 subsection 2 LGFG
Proof of the reason for the interruption: an attestation or another official statement
A statement from your supervisor that the interruption does not affect the finalization of your work on the doctoral thesis

The scholarship will be paid in full up to the end of the month in which a period of six weeks has passed since the beginning of the interruption.

Is it possible to interrupt the scholarship?

May I take on an employment relationship outside the University of Freiburg and have an income besides the scholarship?

In principle, LGFG scholarship holders should dedicate their time to their doctoral project. However, they may be employed whereby the duration of up to one quarter of the monthly working hours of a full-time position and the income of max. a quarter of the yearly income of salary group TV-L E 13, level 2 may not be exceeded.

Please also note that you must inform the LGFG office about any changes to your employment relationship and income level immediately by showing your working contract or other evidence.

May I take on employment relationship at the University of Freiburg and have an income besides the scholarship?

If you are currently or will be employed by the University of Freiburg during the funding period, you must notify the Human Resources Department of the scholarship at an early stage. The HR Department will check whether the position is compatible with the scholarship. According to the guidelines of the German Pension Insurance, scholarship and employment relationship are separable and thus only compatible if there is no connection between scholarship (research topic) and employment relationship (field of activity) in terms of content, time and location. If an examination shows that there is a connection in terms of content, time and location, the scholarship is also subject to income and compulsory social security contributions

In case of an administrative or technical position, the necessary separation in terms of content, time and place is clearly identifiable. Thus, simultaneous employment relationship at the university, e. g. in administrative or technical positions – even in the same scientific institution as your doctorate (institute, seminar, professorship) – is permissible.

In case of an academic position in the same academic institution (institute, seminar, and professorship) of your doctorate, the necessary separation in terms of content from the scholarship can be problematic. In this case it is essential that the respective employers, together with the supervisor of the scholarship holder, contact the Human Resources Department (Mr. Schindler, Tel. 4344, Harald.Schindler@zv.uni-freiburg.de) at an early stage. Please refer to the explanations in circular 23/2018 (see below).

Employment relationship is permissible for up to one quarter of the monthly working hours of a full-time position according to TV-L and one quarter of the annual income of salary group TV-L E 13, level 2.

Please refer to university circular no. 23/2018: Compatibility of a university scholarship, which is exempt from tax and compulsory social security contributions , with employment as a research assistant or academic assistant (subject to directives, tax and compulsory social security contributions).

Is a training programme / an internship beside the scholarship possible?

Training programmes and internships with a duration of max. 40 hours per month are permitted under section 5 subsection 2c of the Statutes of the University of Freiburg on the implementation of the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden Württemberg (LGFG), but must be approved by the Central Grants Committee before they begin.

Please note that the completion of your doctoral thesis should take precedence over all other training programmes or internships. Not all training programmes are permitted.

Is my social insurance covered by the scholarship?

The scholarships are tax free as per section 3 no. 44 EstG (German Income Tax Law) and are not considered as employment relationship for tax purposes. They are not subject to compulsory social security contributions as they are not a form of remuneration as described in section 14 SGB IV (German Social Security Code).

What do I have to do if I want to abandon the doctoral project?

Please inform the university immediately in written form in the event that you decide to abandon your doctoral project.
You will stop receiving the scholarship at the end of the month in which you abandon your doctoral project.
Findings and results of the doctoral project have to be made accessible to your main supervisor.

What do I have to do if I want to abandon the scholarship?

Please inform the university immediately in written form in the event that you decide to abandon your scholarship.
You will stop receiving the scholarship at the end of the month in which you abandon your scholarship.

What do I have to consider after the end of funding?

If the further funding is not applied for or if the funding runs out, you must submit a progress report and a statement from your main supervisor along with it no later than six months after the end of the funding period.

This report must include an account of the work you completed during the entire period of funding, the reasons for the delay and describe the findings of your project.

You are required to complete yearly progress reports for two further years. A statement from your main supervisor must be included along with every progress report.

The obligation to submit reports ends two years after the termination of funding. If you have submitted your doctotal thesis, you have to send the confirmation of submission to the GraCe. In this case, the requirement to provide further progress reports does not apply any longer.

Legal Framework

Click here to download the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (from 23 July 2008) and the translation.

The Statutes of the University of Freiburg on the implementation of the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (LGFG) from 30 September 2009 and the Amendments of the Statutes are available in the university publication. You can download the current reading version from 30 June 2023 here .

Please note: The most recent versions of these legal documents apply.

The Directive of the University of Freiburg for the application of the statutes for the implementation of the Act on Graduate Funding of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (LGFG) from 14 March 2024 are available here.