Financing your Studies

To calculate the total cost of your part-time continuing education degree program, there are several cost items to consider.

Unlike regular degree programs, which you complete full or part-time at a university, tuition fees are charged for the Professional School's continuing education programs, as all services are financed from participation fees and no additional subsidies are provided by the state as part of the separation calculation. The tuition fees are used, for example, to finance teaching materials, the holding of classroom events, the e-learning platform, and the support provided by the program coordinator and the Professional School team.

A semester contribution is due each semester. It comprises the Studentenwerk contribution, a student contribution (AStA) and an administrative charge. Students at the Professional School are issued with a student ID card that offers a wide range of benefits such as discounts on cultural events and special student prices from a number of providers. The semester ticket does not apply to the students of the Professional School. For all students of the Professional School, the semester fee is therefore reduced by the corresponding amount.

For the block seminars on the professional programme, you may need to travel to Lüneburg and stay in a hotel or guest house. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need advice on accommodation.

Once, those seeking professional development opportunities had no funding options other than those offered by their organisations. The past few years have seen a gradual change in this situation. In line with the growing demand for life-long learning, traditional funding options for training and study are increasingly being extended to continuing education, and new funding options are being developed.

Student loans and education funds are one way to fully cover the costs of part-time study. With most providers, you can apply for loan amounts of up to five figures to finance your studies. The loan must be repaid, usually with interest, after completion of the degree and a grace period of up to two years. However, there are also some providers who offer interest-free loans. Please note the different funding requirements of the providers: Unfortunately, international students and part-time studies are not always considered. To show you one example for a student loan we have compiled some information on the KfW student loan:

• KfW student loan: The KfW Student Loan (KfW-Stu­di­en­kre­dit) has been avail­able sin­ce 2006 is one of the most po­pu­lar stu­dent lo­ans in Ger­ma­ny. It is of­fe­red pri­ma­ri­ly through Stu­die­ren­den­wer­ke stu­dent or­ga­ni­sa­ti­ons, selec­ted banks and Spar­kas­sen. The following people can apply for a KFW student loan: 
  • German nationals residing in Germany
  • EU nationals who have been permanently resident in Germany for at least 3 years and are registered here
  • family members (regardless of citizenship) of a German or EU citizen who reside with the latter in Germany and are registered here

(December 2022. All information is without guarantee for completeness and correctness. Please obtain information directly from the respective provider/tax advisor.)

A wide range of scholarships are available and the award criteria vary. Options include:

• Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD): The DAAD's ex­ten­si­ve scholarship database for for­eign stu­dents, gra­dua­tes and aca­de­mics of­fers ap­p­li­cants a wide ran­ge of tips and in­for­ma­ti­on to help them suc­cess­ful­ly ap­p­ly for a scho­lar­ship for a cour­se of stu­dy, a re­se­arch as­si­gn­ment or a teaching as­si­gn­ment in Ger­ma­ny.
• Deutschlandstipendium: The Deutschlandstipendium pro­vi­des fi­nan­ci­al and non-ma­te­ri­al sup­port to high-achie­ving and com­mit­ted stu­dents from all over the world. Mo­del­led af­ter the prin­ciple of pu­blic-pri­va­te part­nership, busi­nes­ses, foun­da­ti­ons or pri­va­te in­di­vi­du­als spon­sor young ta­lents in col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with the Ger­man Go­vern­ment. Ad­di­tio­nal­ly, the Deutsch­land­sti­pen­di­um sup­ports you through con­cur­rent men­to­ring pro­gram­mes, net­wor­king events and in­ternships.
• Stipendienlotse (funding guide - only available in German): Sti­pen­dien­lot­se is a database pro­vi­ded by the Bun­des­mi­nis­te­ri­um für Bil­dung und For­schung (BMBF).
• MAWISTA - Scholarship for students studying abroad with a child: The MAWISTA scholarship is sup­porting stu­dents stu­dy­ing ab­road with a child. The ap­p­li­ca­ti­on dead­line is Ja­nu­a­ry 15th.
• MyStipendium.de (only available in German): MyStipendium.de pro­vi­des an over­view of scho­lar­ships that are avail­able for stu­dents with nu­merous dif­fe­rent cha­rac­te­ris­tics.

(January 2023. All information is without guarantee for completeness and correctness. Please obtain information directly from the respective provider/tax advisor).

You can deduct the full cost of your part-time studies at the Professional School as income-related expenses from your taxes in Germany if this is your second degree program. If it is your first degree and you have not completed a vocational training, you can still deduct your study costs as special expenses up to a maximum of 6,000 Euros per year.

(January 2023. All information is without guarantee for completeness and correctness. Please obtain information directly from the respective provider/tax advisor.)

It can also be worth enquiring about possible funding or support from your employer for a professional degree. Employers often offer their staff various forms of assistance for external professional development – after all, they also benefit from their employees’ new expertise. For example, employers may contribute to tuition or travel costs, give you days off work or educational leave for the block seminars, or agree flexible working time.

Your student status qualifies you for a wide range of discounts, for example in the purchase of hardware such as laptops and smartphones, for Internet and mobile contracts, bank accounts, credit cards and insurance, newspaper and magazine subscriptions and travel, to name but a few. You will find a list of possible student discounts on the mystipendium site (in german).