Financing Your Stay

One way to finance your PhD is through a scholarship. While they are usually also limited to a fairly short period of time, they usually cover a fair bit of your PhD studies. There are a number of options:

» For funding opportunities at the University of Siegen, please visit the House of Young Talents Young Academy's website.

» The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) also has a number of different scholarship programs to offer.

» The EURAXESS Germany portal offers information for internationally mobile researchers and is part of an EU-wide network. It includes a funding database that offers information about funding programs and includes a job portal. Furthermore, much information on living and working in Germany is given.

» The Research in Germany website also offers an overview of various scholarship databases and funding opportunities.

This list is not exhaustive and you will find many other funding opportunities online.

It is quite common to finance your PhD with a work contract at your new department. These can range between approximately 20 and 40 hours per week and are usually limited to a few years only. Please check the University's job portal to see if there are any vacancies.

While a job at the University is, of course, ideal, you could also finance your stay through another job. Please be aware, however, that the number of hours of work and the type of job you do have an effect on your residence permit. With many jobs in the region you will also need a good knowledge of German.

One way to finance your PhD is to live off of your savings. Should this be an option for you, please make sure you have the required sum available as proof for the Ausländerbehörde (Foreigners' Office) when applying for your residence permit.