Students need money - not only for teaching materials and books or certain technical equipment such as PCs and printers, but also for tuition fees, living expenses, housing, etc.
An individual solution must always be found for financing a course of study. In most cases, this is a mixture of financial support from parents, BAföG benefits and/or your own income from part-time jobs.
All information is provided to the best of our knowledge, but without guarantee. Subject to change without notice.
State benefits
Support from parents/child benefit and tax allowances
Student financing in Germany is largely dependent on parents. If the parents' income exceeds a certain level, they must support their unmarried children who are studying. They are then legally obliged to finance their children's education up to their first professionally qualifying degree, i.e. to pay maintenance.
How much students receive depends on the generosity and financial means of their parents. The "Düsseldorf table" - a guideline of the family courts for assessing maintenance, which is consulted in cases of dispute - provides guidance.
In return, parents continue to receive child benefit and tax allowances from the state. Up to the age of 25, the state pays child benefit to parents if the unmarried child is studying. This alleviates the financial burden on families with children. However, if the child earns additional income while studying, the amount of income must be taken into account so that the child benefit entitlement is not lost. The family benefits office also takes into account the 50% BAföG grant.
If you have any questions about child benefit, please contact your child benefit fund; if you have any questions about tax contributions, please contact your tax office.
Housing benefit/social welfare
For further information on whether housing benefit or ALGII can be paid for students in certain cases of hardship, please contact the relevant offices.
Loans
DAKA loan
If other funding channels are not or no longer available - e.g. if the maximum BAföG funding period is exceeded - the DAKA loan can be used to finance students' living costs. However, a guarantor must be provided. If the loan is repaid properly, it is interest-free.
Loan Albertus Magnus Association
The Albertus-Magnus-Verein Paderborn supports Catholic students in the archdiocese of Paderborn (which includes Dortmund). The association grants interest-free loans for studies. The applicant applies for the funding themselves.
Loan Hildegardis Association
The Hildegardis-Verein, the oldest association for the promotion of women's studies in Germany, grants interest-free loans as part of individual monetary support. The loans are granted to Christian female students in special situations (students with children, students from abroad or students about to graduate). With the Else-Mayer loan, there is also an offer for female students who do not fall into any of these special categories.
Education fund
Education funds are a type of student financing that differs from other types of financing such as BAföG and student loans in terms of repayment modalities. Repayment depends on income and is only made after successful entry into employment.
Within an individually defined period of time, a predetermined percentage of the gross salary is paid back to the education fund. Education funds therefore offer a significantly lower risk of over-indebtedness and are limited by a maximum repayment limit. In the event of long-term unemployment, repayment is often not required.
Education funds often offer additional services such as soft skills development, company contacts or other career preparation courses.
After being developed in America in the 1990s, the principle of education funds also came to Germany in the 2000s. There are two different forms. On the one hand, there are university-run funds (e.g. TU Munich; Fachhochschule Dortmund University of Applied Sciences does not have one!) and on the other hand, there are commercial, nationwide providers such as Deutsche Bildung, the Career Concept AG education fund or the Festo education fund, which operate with the intention of making a profit.
Education funds are not banks, but companies that specialize in student funding. These companies provide the money for student financing from their education funds, in which investors usually participate.
The education funds are the interface between the study funds and the students. They select the students, oversee the financial processing and organize the repayments to the study fund in order to enable new generations of students to study independently of their parents.
Student loans
Student loans can be divided into state and private sector loans, and also according to the scope of funding - tuition fee loans for tuition fees at public universities and student loans for living costs.
The various offers basically work according to the principles of a loan. You conclude a loan agreement, then receive the agreed monthly payments and later repay them with interest and repayment over a certain period of time. In most cases, you therefore pay back more than you received in nominal terms. In contrast to traditional loan transactions, collateral is not required, but interest payments are sometimes due during the disbursement phase and therefore during your studies.
Student loan options:
BMBF education loan
The target group for the BMBF education loan are pupils and students in an advanced phase of their education. The loan program is a supplement to BAföG funding and can be applied for independently of it.
With a maximum loan amount of 1,000 to 7,200 euros per training period, trainees will be able to freely choose up to 24 constant monthly installments of 100, 200 or 300 euros. They can also apply for a one-off payment of up to 3,600 euros for training-related expenses instead or in addition to the maximum loan amount of 7,200 euros.
Borrowers can cancel the education loan at any time free of charge at the end of the month. The repayment obligation begins four years after the date on which the first loan installment was due.
Important for students:
- In line with the aim of the program, the loans will continue to be granted only to trainees in advanced stages of training. However, in the case of Bachelor's degree courses that do not include a preliminary examination, this is already accepted if the training institution declares that the student has completed the usual achievements of the first year of training (= 60 ECTS).
- Funding is also available for second or subsequent courses of study and training-related internships in Germany and abroad.
- No proof of performance required after approval.
- Low monthly repayment installment of 120 euros.
- Extraordinary repayment possible at any time and in any amount free of charge.
In addition, various other points have been clarified, some of which have already been regulated by decree. The following points should be emphasized:
- Borrowers can terminate the education loan at any time at the end of a month.
- The deferral of interest until the start of repayment does not require an application.
- The repayment obligation begins four years after the date on which the first loan installment was due.
- Educational loans are granted until the student's 36th birthday at the latest.
- No more than 12 university semesters can be endowed.
- (from the 12th semester onwards, you must provide proof of registration for the thesis)
Kfw student loan
The kfw student loan can finance your living costs if you are
- an undergraduate first degree,
- a second degree (further undergraduate studies),
- an additional, supplementary or postgraduate course (postgraduate studies),
- a Master's degree (postgraduate studies) or
- a doctorate
regardless of the chosen subject.
Semesters abroad can only be funded if the student is still enrolled at a state or state-recognized university based in Germany.
Funding through the kfw student loan is available for students aged between
- 18 to 44 years of age who
- at a state or state-recognized higher education institution based in Germany
- on a part-time, full-time or part-time basis.
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- German citizenship with a domestic registration address or
- be a family member (child or spouse) of a German citizen, reside with them in Germany and be registered here (your citizenship does not matter.)
- EU citizenship with legal, permanent residence in Germany for at least three years and you are registered here or
- be a family member of such an EU citizen, reside with them in Germany and be registered here (your citizenship and the duration of your previous residence in Germany are irrelevant).
- be a resident of Germany and registered in Germany.
Financing is provided without collateral and regardless of income. Flexible monthly payment amounts between 100 and 650 euros are possible, as well as flexible and moderate repayments.
The loan term of the kfw student loan is divided into 3 phases (disbursement phase, waiting phase and repayment phase):
The duration of the disbursement phase when applying for financing for an undergraduate first/second degree depends on the start of financing and your age on 01.04. or 01.10. before the start of financing. If you are at most
- 24 years old, you will receive a commitment for up to 14 semesters of funding.
- 34 years old, you will receive a commitment for up to 10 semesters of funding.
- 44 years old, you will receive a commitment for up to 6 semesters of funding.
When applying for funding for postgraduate studies or a doctorate, students who are 44 years old or younger on April 1 or October 1 before the start of funding will receive a commitment for up to 6 semesters.
The subsequent grace period of 18 to 23 months is a repayment-free period during which you only pay interest on the disbursed loan amount, unless you have chosen to defer interest. At your request, the grace period can be shortened to up to 6 months. In the subsequent repayment phase, you repay your loan in monthly installments (annuities consisting of interest and repayment) within a maximum of 25 years or until the age of 67. A minimum installment of 20 euros applies.
Emergency assistance
Special funding from the Studierendenwerk
The Studentenwerk Dortmund grants students who find themselves in an economic emergency situation the following special funding, among other things:
- Free canteen meals (so-called "Freitische")
- Grants for rent arrears and incidental rental costs
- Arrears in health insurance contributions
- Support with the payment of semester fees (re-registration, no initial enrollment)
- Compensation for uncovered medical expenses
- Subsidy for financing baby and toddler equipment
Reimbursement of the semester fee
For a refund of the semester fee in the event of exmatriculation, please contact the Office for Student Affairs.
In cases of hardship, the AStA offers a refund of the semester ticket fee.
Loans in emergencies
In emergencies, the AStA may offer a small interest-free loan.
International students can obtain information about emergency financial aid from the International Office.
Information for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses
Students with disabilities and chronic illnesses very often have to clarify additional financial issues in addition to the usual questions about financing their studies. You can find more information on this on the website of the Deutsches Studierendenwerk.
Consumer and budget advice
Advice from the consumer advice center
The NRW consumer advice center has published a guide: "Clever studying - with the right financing". Information on the brochure can be obtained from the consumer advice center in Lünen by calling 02306/18975.
Budget consulting
Students at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts can take advantage of budget counseling. This debtor and insolvency counseling supports students in securing their livelihood, debtor protection, regulation and debt relief, among other things. Consumer insolvency counseling and budget counseling are also provided.
Contact for student financing questions except BAföG and except abroad / international
Katja Hensel, M.A.
- +49 231 91129768
Appointments for general student counseling by e-mail to: studienberatung@fh-dortmund.de
Scholarship appointments by e-mail to: stipendienberatung@fh-dortmund.de