PROMOS Scholarships of the DAAD

As part of the DAAD’s PROMOS program to promote the mobility of students enrolled in Bachelor’s and Master’s programs at German Universities, the Leuphana University Lüneburg awards partial scholarships for study stays abroad. Eligible activities include:

• Stays of up to six months at a state-recognized or accredited university outside Europe. In exceptional cases, a scholarship can also be awarded for studying at a state-recognized university within Europe if no Erasmus+ cooperation agreement exists or is possible.
• Short stays of up to 2 months (for BA students) or 4 months (for MA students) for the completion of a final thesis at foreign universities and companies. Theses not conducted at a company or university can be funded in exceptional cases with the school’s approval. The thesis must be registered during or within one month after the funded stay abroad.

The minimum duration of stay is one month. Stays of two semesters cannot be funded through PROMOS, not even partially. Students planning a two-semester stay can apply directly to the DAAD for an annual scholarship.

All documents and forms can be found at the end of this page in the download section.

Funding Period: January 1 – December 31, 2025

Semester stays in the winter semester 2025/26 can be funded under until February 28, 2026

Funding Benefits:

You can apply for scholarships of 350-550 EUR per month (depending on host country) for a maximum of  4 months. Travel expenses and tuition feels are not eligible for funding.    

Combining with other funding

You can receive the “Deutschlandstipendium” and PROMOS funding simultaneously. Concurrent funding with Auslands-BAföG is generally also possible; the PROMOS scholarship must then be reported to the relevant Auslands-BAföG office.
PROMOS funding is not possible if you receive Erasmus or SEMP funds, or if your stay abroad is already supported by German public funds, such as Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, etc. PROMOS funding must be reported to other public German scholarship providers. Private scholarships can be received alongside PROMOS without restrictions.

Funding is only possible if there are no (partial) travel warnings for the region from the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).

For students with a disability (GdB of at least 50) or a chronic illness, the International Center can apply for additional funding from the DAAD to cover additional expenses (e.g., travel and accommodation costs, medical care, special didactic material, etc.). Please contact Sandra Schnell (Sandra.schnell@leuphana.de) early, but no later than three months before your mobility.  

Application Deadlines

• December 5, 2024, for study stays in the summer semester 2025
• May 8, 2025, for study stays in the winter semester 2025/2026

Application Requirements/Selection Criteria

Scholarships are awarded based on the following criteria:

1. Excellent/good academic performance: Maximum GPA of 2.2 (German) (40%)
2. Convincing and feasible study plan abroad, including Learning Agreement (30%)
3. Relevant language skills for the language of instruction (20%)
4. Active and documented engagement in academic self-administration, university politics, or other political, social, and cultural interests during studies (10%)

Approval is conditional upon adhering to the agreed study plan (Learning Agreement) and full-time study in the current degree program (BA/MA). Changes at the host university must be reported immediately to the International Center, and scholarship allocation will be reevaluated.

Efforts are made to consider students from all schools at Leuphana. Depending on the number of applications per school, corresponding quotas are calculated. This aims to encourage less mobile students and ensure equal opportunities for students from all programs.

Application Documents

A complete application includes:

1. Fully completed and signed application form
2. Current Transcript of Records (myCampus, with total credits and GPA)
3. Certification of language proficiency, no older than 2 years (for accepted proofs click here)
4. Academic reference from a professor or doctoral academic staff member (Professor*in or promovierte Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in) from the Leuphana University Lüneburg of the specific field of study/study program.

Additionally, include:

• For Master’s students: Bachelor’s certificate including individual grades (simple copy)
• For pending grades: List of completed but not yet graded performances (MyCampus extract)
• For Free Movers: Acceptance Letter from the host university
• For semester stay: Learning Agreement
• For theses: project description, detailed schedule, approvals from supervisors abroad, school  consent if applicable
• If applicable: proof of volunteer engagement during studies
• Current enrollment certificate

Application Procedure Checklist 

Step 1: Request an academic reference from a professor or doctoral academic staff member Professor*in or Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in)  in your filed in good time

Step 2: Fill out scholarship application electronically and send it signed and in time as a scan with all documents in one PDF named:

• Last name_first name_promos_summer25.pdf or
• Last name_first name_promos_winter25.pdf

To sandra.schnell@leuphana.de

Step 3: Send the scan to the chosen staff member along with the reference form

Important! References must be sent directly by the staff member to the international center (sandra.schnell@leuphana.de) by the deadlines (January 10, 2025/ May 23, 2025).

Incomplete and/or late applications will not be considered. There is no legal entitlement to funding.