Exposé Scholarships

All persons who have a commitment for the supervision of the doctorate by a professor of the University of Kassel are eligible to apply. An application is only possible once.

Only ones first doctorate can be funded.

The scholarship is endowed with EUR 1,300 per month. A family allowance of EUR 200 per month is possible upon request.

The scholarship is granted for up to nine months. The main goal of the exposé scholarship is to write an exposé which is required for the application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate at the doctoral office of the University of Kassel. It can also be used to apply for a scholarship from other scholarship foundations.
The funding period usually starts on 1 April for applications submitted in December and on 1 October for applications submitted in April.
The exposé scholarship ends at the end of the funding period or upon acceptance by the doctoral committee, provided this occurs within the funding period.

The doctoral scholarship committee decides on the awarding of scholarships based on of the letter of motivation, the academic achievements achieved so far, the abstract of the doctoral thesis and the opinion of the supervisor.
The doctoral scholarship committee consists of the responsible vice president, at least three professors and one academic staff member.

An application is only possible once. If the scholarship is cancelled due to the birth of a child, a long-term illness or the care of relatives, it is possible to reapply.

Applications must be submitted electronically via the job portal of the University of Kassel (LINK).
The following documents are to be submitted in German or English in the order stated, summarized in one PDF file (exclusion criterion):

• a letter of motivation (max. three pages) that states the motivation for a) the doctorate and b) the doctorate at the University of Kassel and in which the plans for the further financing of the doctorate are outlined,
• an abstract about the project planned (max. two pages plus bibliography); the abstract gives information about the current state of research and the own preliminary work, the goals and questions, used methods and expected scientific contribution,
• a CV in table form,
• one copy of higher qualifying university degree (if the degree is not yet available, a transcript of records will be attached),
• a letter of recommendation from the professor who will be the supervisor, in which the person assures that he / she will supervise the project and outlines how the doctorate should be financed after the end of the funding period. The applicant will add this letter to the application.

When applying for an exposé scholarship, the applicant must attach the letter of recommendation of the supervisor to his / her own application documents. In the expert opinion, the supervisor guarantees that he / she will supervise the doctorate. The person also outlines how the doctorate should be financed after the end of the funding period.
Each supervisor may only support one person per award round.

Guide for the preparation of the letter of recommendation

Please note the following regulations for the awarding of scholarships. It contains all general conditions and details about the Exposé Scholarships.

Regulations for the Awarding of Exposé and Doctoral Degree Scholarships of the University of Kassel

During the funding period, the scholarship holders should have time to work on their doctoral exposé. This exposé is required to submit the application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate to the doctoral office of the University of Kassel. Furthermore, the exposé can also be used for the application for a doctoral scholarship at a scholarship organization for gifted students.

Anyone who has a commitment from a professor at the University of Kassel to supervise the doctorate may apply.

No, only persons who have a commitment to supervise a:r professor:in the University of Kassel can apply.

Applications can be submitted in German and English.

The application is made in electronic form via the homepage of the university (https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/universitaet/stellenangebote). Here please select the item "Scholarships".

Your documents should be sent in the order mentioned (summarized in a PDF file).

• a short cover letter (max. one page),
• a letter of motivation (max. two pages) outlining the motivation for the doctorate as well as for the doctorate at the University of Kassel,
• a doctoral outline (a total of two pages plus literature; the outline addresses the points of current research and own preliminary work, goals and research question, methods as well as expected scientific contribution)
• a curriculum vitae in tabular form,
• university transcripts and
• a report of the supervising person, in which the person assures the supervision. The applicant must attach the expert opinion to the documents.

The sponsorship period is nine months. If another fellowship is started or gainful employment is taken up within this period, the Exposé Fellowship ends. The scholarship holder is obliged to inform the Research and Graduate Funding Office immediately of any changes in this regard.

The scholarship amounts to 1,300€ per month. A family supplement of 200€ per month can also be granted upon request. A family supplement is granted to parents of minor children. To receive the family supplement, the child's birth certificate must be presented.

The applications are reviewed by the scholarship award committee and a decision is made in a joint meeting as to who should receive a scholarship. All applicants will be notified of the decision in writing shortly after this meeting. Please do not call the staff office, as we are unable to provide information over the phone.

No. An application is only possible once. However, if the scholarship is discontinued due to the birth of a child, the applicant's own serious illness or the care of relatives, a reapplication is possible.

For persons who apply in the spring, funding usually begins on 01.10. of the same year. For persons who apply in the fall, funding usually begins on 01.04. of the following year. Upon justified request, funding may be postponed by a few (but no more than 3) months.

Yes, in addition to the financial support, the scholarship holders also take part in two seminars during their funding period. These deal, among other things, with writing the exposé and the question of how the doctorate can be further financed.

Yes. After the end of the funding period, a report on the completed work steps must be submitted within two months of the conclusion of the exposé grant. We will then inform you about the exact procedure.

The deadlines are usually April 15 and November 01 of each year. Please refer to our homepage for the exact dates.