Universität Hamburg Merit Scholarships for International Students

Universität Hamburg's merit scholarships (Leistungsstipendien) are among the more substantial university-funded awards in Germany for international students, and unusually for a German public university they pay a living stipend rather than a fee waiver — German public universities charge no tuition to begin with. The award is worth up to EUR 992 a month, about LKR 342,000, paid on the first of each month for twelve months, and can be renewed to a maximum of two years' total funding. There is no restriction on subject area or degree type. The catch, and it is a big one for anyone planning from Colombo, is that this is not an entry scholarship. You must already be enrolled at Universität Hamburg and have completed at least two semesters in your subject, or one completed semester if you are on a master's programme. So it belongs in your second-year plan, not your arrival plan — you need to have funded your own first year in Hamburg before you can apply. The conditions are strict and worth reading before you build hopes on it. Only non-German nationals may apply. You must not be eligible for BAföG, the German federal student support scheme, under section 8 of the act. Doctoral researchers are excluded outright. You need good to excellent grades and two evaluations from full-time doctorate-holding academic staff at Universität Hamburg, which means building real relationships with your professors from your first semester. While funded, your part-time earnings are capped at EUR 603 a month, you cannot hold any concurrent external funding, and the scholarship cannot support a semester abroad. Payments go only to a German bank account. From 2026 the university has moved to a single annual call with a 15 April deadline, funding running from 1 October.

From 2026 there is one call a year, closing 15 April, for funding that runs 1 October to 30 September. The previous 15 October deadline has been discontinued — plan around a single April application each year