PROMOS Scholarship

At a Glance

Promos: Scholarship Programme promoting Students' Mobilities

The European Bologna reform has focused on increasing the international mobility of students. PROMOS, one of the DAAD's mobility programmes, fosters this goal, by awarding scholarships for short-term (up to six months) study-relevant stays abroad. PROMOS at OVGU promotes students with excellent academic achievements whose study abroad plans shall be realized in countries beyond the scope of the ERASMUS programme.

The PROMOS scholarships are awarded by OVGU in an established selection procedure. A committee made up of course coordinators from the faculties and representatives of the International Office decides on the applications soon after the respective deadline. Personal selection interviews may take place in individual cases. Following the selection process, individual email notifications are sent to the applicants.

PROMOS is a scholarship programme whose beneficiaries have the status of DAAD scholars. PROMOS ist not a placement programme. Each applicant must evidence successful placement at the time of his/her PROMOS online application.

The PROMOS programme is based on calendar years. PROMOS scholarships are awarded in the following categories:

PROMOS higher-priority projects:

1. Study semester at an OVGU WELTWEIT (non-ERASMUS) partner university. Monthly scholarships and/or a one-time travel grant may be awarded. (Students who wish to study abroad more than six months at a partner university, e.g. two semesters or three quarters, cannot apply for PROMOS. They can apply to the DAAD directly for a scholarship in the category "Jahresstipendium".)

PROMOS lower-priority projects:

2. Freemover study placements, of 3 to 6 months, at European or non-European institutions. (Generally, PROMOS at OVGU will not cover tuition fees payable at the host university. Those remain the freemover student's responsibility.);

3. Thesis projects abroad, of 3 to 6 months, at a European or non-European institution;

4. Internships/work placements abroad, of 1 to 6 months, at a non-European institution only. Please note: The internship must start in the first half of the year. For internal programme reasons, PROMOS funding is excluded for internships starting on or after 1 July of a given year. In this case, the ERASMUS WORLDWIDE Internship Grant may be a good alternative to apply for.
Unpaid internships for NGOs will be considered with preference. Paid internships or those with essential monetary benefits cannot be considered for PROMOS funding.
ERASMUS WORLDWIDE Internship Grants:

Alternatively, students who are planning an internship in a country within or outside Europe can apply for an ERASMUS Internships Worldwide grant. Please read the information provided by the ERASMUS Internship Office Saxony-Anhalt carefully and apply early. The "ERASMUS Internships Worldwide" programme offers higher grants than PROMOS. Please note that double funding with an Erasmus Internship grant and a PROMOS scholarship is not possible.

5. Short academic programme/especialized course (e. g. summer school) of 1 to 6 weeks duration, provided that the programme abroad is 1) relevant for the student's OVGU study programme, and 2) is proven to award 2 ECTS or more.

Please read the information on OVGU PROMOS Funding Directives and the hints for application carefully before you apply.

Application Deadlines in Calendar Year 2025

Start of project	Application deadline
Free mover students, thesis projects, internships, to start not before Feb. 01st:	31 January 2025
Nominated WELTWEIT students, with studies abroad to start not earlier than Feb. 01:	31 January 2025
WELTWEIT students, free-mover students, thesis projects, internships, with start not before July 01:	15 June 2025

Mobilities starting before 15th of February or after 1st of December of any given year can, for organizational reasons, not be considered for a PROMOS scholarship.

Application Documents

For mobilities planned within the calendar year 2025, the OUTGOING application portal is open for PROMOS scholarship applications in two application rounds:
- first application period: from 20 December 2024 to 31 January 2025;
- second application period: from 15 May 2025 to 15 June 2025.

To start your PROMOS online application, please register in the OUTGOING application portal and choose the category which is suitable for your situation:

PROMOS applicants of priority category 1 "PROMOS WELTWEIT Programm 2025", fill the PROMOS online application form after you have been notified that you have been nominated for a WELTWEIT study place abroad. When applying for PROMOS, use the portal login data of your WELTWEIT application.

PROMOS applicants of priority categories 2 - 5, please prepare for the following documents/materials which must accompany, each in PDF format, your online application:

confirmation of acceptance by the host institution, indicating duration/dates of the stay;
summarizing description of the planned mobility for study, specialized course or internship. If the mobility aims at course taking at a host institution, please use our text template "PROMOS Study Plan". If the mobility aims at thesis preparation, specialized course or internship, please present contents and goals of the intended mobility on a blank sheet of paper (no more than one or two pages);
current grade transcript (English version, from your LSF account). Master students must submit, in a joint data file, the current course grades and the bachelor's certificate*s (indicating the final grade of the bachelor's education);
current recommendation letter from a university teacher of your faculty, to assess your academic skills and aptitude for the planned project abroad;
proof of adequate, good language skills/level of expertise in the language of the intended mobility, by means of a language certificate of the SPRZ, or UNIcert certificate;
CV in tabular form;
most recent OVGU enrollment certificate;
in case of short academic programmes: optionally evidence of charged programme fee (please download under "confirmation of acceptance by host institution".

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Hints for Application

Regularly enrolled students on Bachelor's or Master's degree, diploma, Magister and state examination courses at OVGU may apply. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

PROMOS applicants must:

evidence excellent academic achievements and, possibly, demonstrate social commitment or similar.
not have been awarded any financial support from a public or private German foundation for the same abroad project as applied for to PROMOS. Students who have won the Germany Scholarship may in principle also apply for PROMOS funding. If in doubt, students in receipt of other funding should contact the International Office for advice.
not have received a PROMOS grant in the current level of studies.

Example calculation for first-tier projects (Category 1):
Student is to spend 4 months at a WORLDWIDE programme's partner university in the USA. The PROMOS grant for the successful candidate may comprise: study grant for up to 4 months (the monthly rate applicable for the U.S.A. being 450 EUR), and/or a one-time mobility grant (1.350 EUR).

Example calculation for second-tier projects (Categories 2 to 5):
Student is to spend 4 months at a South Korean university in order to complete his/her Master's thesis. The PROMOS grant for the successful candidate may comprise: study grant for up to 4 months (the monthly rate applicable for South Korea being 450 EUR) , or a one-time mobility grant (1.550 EUR).

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OVGU's PROMOS Funding Strategy

According to the outline of OVGU's internationalisation strategy, the PROMOS scholarship programme shall, with first priority, support the academic student mobilities in the WORLDWIDE programme. Doctoral students may apply for a PROMOS scholarship in the category above "5. short academic programme/specialized course" only.

With second priority, Individually organised study semesters abroad and internships/work placements abroad or research projects aiming at degree theses may receive funding, always depending on the budgetary situation of OVGU's PROMOS programme. The primary aim is to place a stronger emphasis on longer placements abroad at existing partner universities of OVGU and thus to drive the internationalisation of the university forward more strongly.

Please observe the existing funding programmes for traineeships abroad. We encourage you to make use of these options:

ERASMUS traineeships for students and graduates both in Europe and, to a limited extent, in other countries worldwide. More details are available here.
AIESEC community projects/traineeships abroad, an initiative of OVGU students;
Travel expenses may be funded by the DAAD for work placements undertaken with the AIESEC, bvmd and ZAD organisations. Applications for those travel expense grants must be submitted directly via the mentioned organisations.

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