Distance learning

Scholarships for your distance learning

• You can only apply for an IU scholarship once. 

• The window for application is one calendar month (for example, January 1st to January 31st). We select the scholarship recipients the following month. 

• Your application is valid only for the month in which you submit your application and send in your documents — not for any future months.

• If you are awarded a scholarship, you must sign your study contract within six weeks – or your scholarship expires. You may select a later date to actually start your studies.

• Four 50% scholarships are awarded for the following scholarship types: people with disabilities, women in tech, single parents and career changers. The funding for the First-Generation-Academics amounts to €1,500 plus a €1,444 tuition discount.

With the further education scholarship, you can receive funding of up to 8,700 euros for your studies  – with a personal contribution of 10% per funding measure. These measures include tuition fees, work materials, and travel costs. Only part-time degree programmes that build on your education or professional activity are eligible for funding. You should be employed at least 15 hours per week. Application is possible up to the age of 24. By taking into account creditable periods, such as voluntary service or parental leave, you may be admitted up to three years later. 

Application: Who your application goes to depends on the nature and location of your vocational training. Further information can be found at www.sbb-stipendien.de/weiterbildungsstipendium. 

With a scholarship from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung), you receive up to 735 euros per month. In principle, the Foundation supports all IU online study courses, but only in the full-time model.

www.fes.de

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation awards scholarships of up to 649 euros per month. In principle, the Foundation supports all IU online study programmes, but only in the full-time model. Second degree programmes are not funded.

www.freiheit.org

A Hans Böckler Foundation scholarship is currently 597 euros per month plus an additional 300 euros as a flat-rate payment. In principle, the Foundation supports all IU online study programmes, but only in the full-time model. Second degree programmes are not funded.

www.boeckler.de/index.htm

You are elegable to receive a maximum of 649 euros per month, depending on your parents’ income. The monthly support starts from 300 euros. In general, the foundation supports all IU online study programmes, with the exception of second degree courses.

www.sdw.org/home

Yes, you can. IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is a private, but state-recognised and system-accredited university. This means IU degrees are formally equivalent to those from state universities and meet the requirements for many funding opportunities, such as the Deutschlandstipendium and BAföG (managed via Thuringia), provided you fulfil all eligibility criteria. 

IU also offers its own IU scholarship, as well as continuing education courses and programmes that qualify for funding schemes like training vouchers from the Federal Employment Agency or low-interest loans (for example, through KfW). 

For the IU scholarship, you may apply for funding as an Auditor (Gasthörer:in) and benefit from it later as an official enrolled student. For scholarships from other providers, however, you usually need to be fully enrolled and hold official student status.  

Yes, changing your degree program is generally possible even if you already have a scholarship. The key requirement is that the scholarship conditions must continue to be met.

An exception applies to the Women in Tech scholarship: In this case, a change is only possible to degree programs in the field of IT and technology, as the funding is tied to this area.

Please always check before making a change whether the new degree program still meets the scholarship requirements.