Funding and Fees - M.Sc. Economic Research / Doctoral Program
Fees / Tuition
The BGSE does not raise tuition.
Yet we ask our students to officially enroll with Bonn University as a master, resp. doctoral student and to pay a social service contribution of app. € 287 per semester for general social services. A semester ticket for public transportation is included in this service fee.
Grants
From the very beginning of the M.Sc. / Economic Research program, we can offer grants of € 1200 per month to a large number of students. Additional grants for the second year of the M.Sc. program and the following dissertation phase are available after a successful completion of the first-year course work.
Some of our international students receive grants by the German Academic Exchange Service. These grants amount to € 1000 but include health insurance and other benefits (making the total funding comparable to the BGSE funding). They also offer the advantage of an additional international network.
Only students reaching the academic goals as defined by our good standing rules receive grants and continue to be doctoral candidates (exception during the first year).
Grants are exempt from taxation. Health insurance is not included.
Travel Funds
You are encouraged to present your research papers at conferences during your dissertation phase. If your paper got accepted for presentation and if your supervisor supports your participation, we provide you with travel funds.
If you are accepted to visit one of our partner universities within the European Doctoral Program, we finance your research visit of up to six months. Similar funds are available for research stays abroad at other universities.
Additional Experience and Income with Teaching Assistantships
We encourage you to apply for teaching assistantships at our department in order to gain valuable teaching experience. Anyhow, if you receive a grant, we ask you to wait with tutoring until you have finished your second year of the M.Sc. program. The reason for this is that we want you to absolutely focus on your research first.
The average income of a teaching assistantship is around € 400 per month (on top of your grant).
Support for Parents
BGSE students who have a child and receive a scholarship can ask for a child allowance. This allowance comes on top of your grant and is currently € 400 per month for the first child. Since time is also a special issue for you as a parent, grants can be prolonged in line with the regulations of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundations, DFG). In addition, you can apply for financial help for childcare. All these offers are designed to help you as a young researcher and parent since we promote equal opportunities for students with children.
download DGF rules on child allowance
Good to Know
If you apply for admission, you do not need to apply for grants separately.
If you have not been offered a grant by the BGSE and want to look for alternative funding possibilities:
- The brochure Information on financial support for International Master and Ph.D. students by the International Office lists several German institutions offering scholarships (by the way: not only for International but also for German students).
- More information on funding possibilities can be found via the scholarship database of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD).
- The Association of German Foundations (Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen) has a foundation search engine on its website (only in German and only with German foundations).
- Study Portals is in the process of building a new scholarship portal search engine.
