Bridging grants FAQs / Guidelines for applying
Table of Contents
General questions about the application process
When should I apply?
Application deadlines are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 of every year.
You must submit a complete application by the relevant deadline in order to be considered for funding.
Please note that this also applies even if the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday.
Please submit your applications according to when you wish to start receiving funding and the relevant deadline:
Table
Marz 15 | June 1 - October 1 |
June 15 | September 1 - January 1 |
September 15 | December 1 - April 1 |
Dezember 15 | March 1 - July 1 |
The awards notifications will be sent out about 6-8 weeks after the deadlines.
Applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications will not be considered. An application is incomplete if any documents are missing or if essential information in missing from the application form.
What is considered in the selection process and who awards the funding?
The selection process is based on the following criteria:
- academic qualification of the applicant
- quality of the research project
- feasibility of the work plan and schedule
- necessity of the funding
- supervisor's or mentor's evaluation
The award will be granted by a selection committee of the Council for Graduate Studies (CfGS). If necessary, the responsible faculty will be consulted.
How much is the grant?
a) Starting grant for your doctoral project
The starting grant for a doctoral project is max. 1,300 Euro per month.
b) Starting grant for your postdoctoral project
The starting grant for a postdoctoral project is max. 1,500 Euro per month.
The bridging grant can be awarded for a maximum of 6 months. The grant is paid monthly.
If you have children you can apply for child benefits after you have been awarded the grant.
How much is the child benefit and what do I have to do in order to receive it?
The child benefit is 400 Euro/month for one child and 100 Euro/month for each additional child.
Please indicate on the online registration form if you have children. If you have children you can apply for child benefits after you have been awarded the grant.
Please note the following conditions for receiving child benefits. You can apply if you
- or your spouse has been granted child allowance payments (Kindergeld) for a common child under Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act,
- you, as a single parent, receive child allowance payments (Kindergeld) for a child under the Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act,
- you, due to your non-German citizenship, have no legal claim to child allowance payments under the Income Tax Act or the Federal Child Allowance Act but can prove with a certificate from the local residents' office (Einwohnermeldeamt) that your child lives in your household.
When does the grant begin and how long will I receive it?
The grant will be paid out for a maximum of 6 months.
You can determine the starting point and duration of your grant according to your needs, taking into account deadlines and the corresponding funding periods. The grant can begin only at the beginning of a month and ends at the end of a month. Please indicate the time period during which you would like to receive the grant on the online registration form.
Please note: The duration of the grant should correspond to the period and the tasks that you need to complete in order to deal with the issues that are delaying the start of you (post)doctoral training and/or to carry out initial work in you (post)doctoral project. Please explain how you plan to structure the period supported by the bridging grant with reference to your specific situation in the application form.
Can I receive another grant or fellowship while I receive the bridging grant?
It is not possible to receive this bridging grant if you are simultaneously receiving another equivalent grant or fellowship.
If you take a research trip abroad, additional, external grants for living expenses and housing are permissible up to an amount that is equal to the difference between the present bridging grant and the (post)doctoral funding rate of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the country in question. Any external funding that exceeds this amount will be counted against the bridging grant funding.
Can I be employed while I am receiving the bridging grant?
The purpose of this grant is to help you to start your research project successfully and efficiently, to clarify external issues that might delay this start, to carry out initial work on your project or similar reasons that should be illustrated in your application. Therefore, while you are receiving the grant, you should concentrate your efforts only on dealing with these issues or this work.
For this reason, your working hours must not exceed 25% of a full-time position, which is a maximum of 40 hours per month.
Exception: If you are employed at Heidelberg University as a Mitarbeiter:in in the TV-L system for qualification purposes (a "Qualifizierungsstelle"), your working hours can comprise 26% of a full-time position (42 hours per month). Please check your employment contract to determine whether this applies to you.
Additionally, the employment must be of an academic nature and/or be related to a possible career path after the (post)doctoral project.
If you plan to be employed while you receive this grant, you must indicate the reasons for this clearly in your application.
Important: if there are changes to your employment situation while receiving the grant, please contact the Graduate Academy immediately (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de).
What do I have to consider if I am employed at Heidelberg University* while I am receiving the bridging grant?
In this case, there must be no overlap between the work carried out within your employment and the activities that are funded through the bridging grant. It is not possible to receive the bridging grant if your employment involves work directly related to your (post)doctoral project. If this describes your situation, please contact the Graduate Academy.
If you are employed at Heidelberg University as a Mitarbeiter:in in the TV-L system for qualification purposes (a "Qualifizierungsstelle"), your working hours can comprise 26% of a full-time position (42 hours per month). Please check your employment contract to determine whether this applies to you.
In the case of an employment as a wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft your working hours must not exceed 25% of a full-time position (40 hours per month).
*You have an employment contract as Mitarbeiter:in nach TV-L or a wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft with Heidelberg University (not the University Hospital) and you have an 8 digit LBV personnel number.
I was employed at Heidelberg University* in the 3 months before the beginning of the funding. How does this effect the receipt of the grant?
It is not possible to receive the bridging grant if the following conditions apply to you:
- your employment consisted of a contract of more than 25% of a full-time position AND
- the work you did was connected to your individual doctoral project.
If this describes your situation, please contact the Graduate Academy.
*You have an employment contract as Mitarbeiter:in nach TV-L or a wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft with Heidelberg University (not the University Hospital) and you have an 8 digit LBV personnel number.
How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?
Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to automatically notify each applicant that their application has been received. If you would like to check on the status of your application, please send an email to: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?
Award notifications will be sent once the entire evaluation process has been completed; which takes approximately 6-8 weeks after each application deadline. It is not possible to inform you of the outcome of your application before all evaluations have been completed.
Questions about the application form
What should I consider when writing my application?
Your application will be reviewed by evaluators from both within and outside your field of research. It is therefore important to present your project in a way that can be understood by experts who are not familiar with your field.
What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
Please fill out the application form electronically; Do not complete it by hand. To ensure that the electronic forms work with all versions of Adobe software, we strongly recommend that you first download the blank application form, save it to your computer, then fill it in and save it again.
Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to complete the forms. The forms are not compatible with Linux.
Please use only the space provided in the fields on the application forms. The evaluators will not be able to read any text that goes beyond the existing field limits.
Please do not change the formatting of the fields on the application forms.
Please send the application documents as separate attachments in your email. You do not need to merge the different documents into one PDF-file.
Do I need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV, etc.)?
The application procedure and required application documents are described in detail (see Application procedure and forms). Additional documents not listed on the website, such as publication lists, literature lists or CVs, will not be sent to the evaluators.
What is meant by "external funding" and why am I asked about it?
"External funding" refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization (e.g. DAAD, Begabtenförderungswerke, other funding organizations) for your planned research project. The fact that you have been awarded external funding can be of advantage to you in the evaluation process. For example, the receipt of an external grant of fellwoship will be treated as an award or distinction on your part.
Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?
The evaluation form for your application must be completed by your supervisor or mentor and submitted to the Graduate Academy. Please note that the evaluation is confidential and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de. Please note that the application deadlines also apply to the receipt of the evaluation form.
If it is not possible for your first supervisor to complete the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave, etc.), you may ask another professor in your field who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.
Questions on the procedure after approval of the bridging grant
What happens if my application is approved?
If your bridging grant has been approved by the selection committee from an academic/qualitative perspective, we must verify your formal funding eligibility especially with respect to budgetary rules and social security law. To this end, the Graduate Academy will contact you by email.
All the information and forms to receive the bridging grant are provided in the section Payment procedure and forms.
What deadlines do I have to meet if my application is approved?
Payment of funding
In order to receive the funding, you must submit the documents necessary for the verification of your funding eligibility (see step 1 above) and subsequently the confirmation of acceptance of the grant/information for grant payment (see step 2 above) at the latest by the deadlines set by the Graduate Academy.
Mandatory reporting after the end of the funding
You must provide a statement of successful completion of the work planned for the funding period as outlined in your application. This notification (300-500 words) must be received by the Graduate Academy no later than 3 months after the end of your funding.
If the project planned for the funding period is not completed within 3 months of the end of your funding, you must at this time submit an interim report on the status of the project (incl. a detailed explanation on the delay) and a schedule for its completion as well as a short evaluation by your supervisor to the Graduate Academy.
The Graduate Academy reserves the right to completely or partially revoke your grant if these documents are not received by the Graduate Academy within the three months deadline as outlined above.
Can I pause the grant?
Yes. In exceptional cases (for example illness, pregnancy, family reasons) it is possible to pause the grant for up to 6 months, as long as your (post)doctoral supervisor confirms that the interruption will not jeopardize the successful start of your (post)doctoral studies.
Please contact the Graduate Academy immediately if you think that you will need to pause your grant (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg).