TU Berlin Scholarships for International Students

It is worth being blunt about how German public universities work, because the expectation a Sri Lankan family brings from the UK or Australian market does not transfer. Technische Universität Berlin does not charge tuition fees for its degree programmes — you pay a semester contribution covering administration and a transport pass, not a five-figure fee. That, rather than any scholarship, is where the money is saved. What TU Berlin then offers is a set of small, targeted grants for students who are already enrolled, and understanding the difference will save you from planning around a scholarship that does not exist. The Deutschlandstipendium is the largest of them: €300 a month, jointly funded by the federal government and private sponsors, open to high-performing and socially committed students of all nationalities. For the winter semester 2026/27 the funding period ran from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, with applications between 15 June and 15 July 2026. The STIBET I programme is a hardship scheme rather than a merit one, paying €450 a month over six instalments — €2,700 in total — to international students facing significant financial and social difficulty, including refugees, students with a disability or chronic illness, and those caring for children or relatives. TU Berlin also awards degree completion scholarships to international doctoral candidates in the final phase of their doctorate, with rounds opening around July or August. None of these funds a student from Colombo who has not yet arrived. What actually gets a Sri Lankan student to Berlin is the absence of tuition combined with the blocked account the German student visa requires — and once here, part-time work, a research assistant post, or one of these grants.