heiDOCS Bridging Grants – Apply now!
Purpose
Prerequisites for an application
Application deadlines
Grant amounts and duration
Good to know
FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a grant to support a doctoral initiative
Application Procedure and Forms
Payment Procedure and Forms
- Are you a doctoral candidate in Heidelberg University who is in a transitional phase of your project - either just starting out or almost ready to defend?
- Do you need some financial support while you sort out organizational issues like looking for long-term funding at the beginning of your doctoral training? Or are you nearing the end of your doctoral training and are working on concrete plans for a mid- or long-term postdoctoral project that hasn't started yet?
If so, why not apply for a bridging grant either for your doctoral or postdoctoral project through the Graduate Academy heiDOCS funding program for doctoral candidates at Heidelberg University?
Purpose
a) Starting grant for your doctoral project
This grant provides financial support for the initial phase of your doctoral training during which you may be clarifying issues that could prevent you from successfully beginning your doctoral project or during which you are carrying out preliminary work on your doctoral project. This could include issues such as finding a source of long-term dealing with the formalities of moving to Heidelberg from abroad, organizing childcare, balancing your doctoral training with a career or investigation questions regarding the contents of your project.
b) Starting grant for your postdoctoral project
This grant provides financial support for the transition from a doctoral training to a postdoc project, during which you may need to write a project proposal, apply for postdoc funding or carry out initial work leading up to the start of a concrete postdoc position at Heidelberg University.
Funding before the disputation requires that your disputation takes place no longer than 3 months after the start of funding.
Please note: Bridging grants for the completion of your dissertation are awarded twice a year through the completion grant section of the LGF program.
Prerequisites for an application
- have successfully completed a university degree that entitles you to pursue a doctoral degree (In Germany, this is usually a Diplom, Magister or master's degree) and
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have been officially admitted to one of the 13 Faculties at Heidelberg University*
- As a general rule, confirmation of admission to the faculty must be submitted with the application. You must be admitted as a doctoral candidate to your faculty no later than the start of the funding. The funding must start within 8 months after you have been admitted to your faculty.
- You are not eligible for this grant if you have already received funding for your doctoral training from other sources that had the same funding purpose.
- Eligibility for funding ends at the end of the month in which your doctoral training at Heidelberg University ends (e.g. termination of your doctoral training or transfer to another university to pursue doctoral training. Eligibility for funding ends at the beginning of the month in which you take up employment that is not compatible with the funding or in which you start receiving an equivalent grant for your doctoral training from private or public sources.
- have successfully completed a university degree that entitles you to pursue a doctoral degree (In Germany, this is usually a Diplom, Magister or master's degree),
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have been officially admitted to one of the 13 Faculties at Heidelberg University*,
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you have submitted your doctoral thesis to the faculty or, in exceptional cases, will be submitting your doctoral thesis to the faculty by the start of your funding,
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you have concrete plans for your postdoctoral project and
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you are not receiving/will not receive funding that is equivalent to this grant (e.g. in the form of a full or part-time fellowship from a German or international institution or funding organization)
- Your oral examination (Disputation/Rigorosum) must take place no later than 3 months after the beginning of this grant.
- You are not eligible for this grant if you have already received funding for your postdoctoral training from other sources that had the same funding purpose.
- Eligibility for funding ends at the end of the month in which your postdoctoral training at Heidelberg University ends (e.g. termination of your postdoctoral training or transfer to another university to pursue postdoctoral training. Eligibility for funding ends at the beginning of the month in which you take up employment that is not compatible with the funding or in which you start receiving an equivalent grant for your post doctoral training from private or public sources.
Application deadlines
Grant amounts and duration
The bridging grant can be awarded for a maximum of 6 months. The grant is paid monthly.
Child benefits
If you have one or more children, you can apply for child benefits. The child benefit is 400 Euro for one child and 100 Euro for each additional child. Please indicate in the online registration form whether you have children.
Good to know
- You are not legally entitled to funding.
- The funding is awarded in the form of grants. The award of a grant does not establish an employment relationship between Heidelberg University and the recipient. The recipient of the grant may not be obligated to perform any specific academic service or employment activity in connection to the grant.
- The awards notifications are sent out in writing after the entire evaluation process is completed; this process takes about 8 weeks after each application deadline
- We will not consider applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications.
- You must adhere to the principles of good scientific practice (§3 Abs. 5 LHG). Please note the rules for safeguarding good academic practice of Heidelberg University.
FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a bridging grant
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS
When should I apply?
Application deadlines are February 15, June 15 and October 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 if the deadline falls on the weekend or a public holiday.
We will not consider applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications. An application is incomplete if documents are missing or if significant information in missing from the application form.
What is considered in the selection process and who awards the funding?
The following criteria are decisive for the selection process:
- 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 high 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 high 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 in the online registration form whether 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 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 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 want to check on the status of your application, please send an email to: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.
Please note that we will not consider incomplete applications.
When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?
The awards notifications are sent out after the entire evaluation process is completed; this process takes about 8 weeks after each application deadline. It is not possible to inform you about the results of your application before all evaluations are completed.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION FORM
Who is going to read my application?
Your application will be reviewed by evaluators who are both from your research field as well as outside your field. Therefore, it is important to present your project in a way that can be understood by experts who are unfamiliar with your field.
What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
Please fill out the application form electronically; do not handwrite your application. In order to ensure that the electronic forms work with all versions of the Adobe software, we strongly recommend that you first download and save the empty application form on your computer and then fill the form out and save it again.
Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to fill out the forms. The forms are not compatible with a Linux system.
Please use only the space provided in the existing fields on the application forms. The evaluators will not be able to read any text that extends beyond the existing limits of the fields.
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 various 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 indicated in detail here. Additional documents that are 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.
Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?
The evaluation form for your application must be issued and submitted to the Graduate Academy by your (post)doctoral supervisor or mentor. Please note that the evaluation is to be treated confidentially and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de.
If it is not possible for your primary (post)doctoral supervisor to fill out the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave etc.), you can ask another professor in your subject area who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.
Please be aware that the application deadlines also pertain to the receipt of the evaluation form.
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 here.
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 submit a notification of the 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 interrupt the grant?
Yes. In exceptional cases (for example illness, pregnancy, family reasons) it is possible to interrupt the grant for up to 6 months, as long as your (post)doctoral supervisor confirms that the successful begin of your (post) doctoral studies is not jeopardized by the interruption.
Please contact the Graduate Academy immediately if you think that you will need to interrupt your grant (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg).
Application Procedure and Forms
The application deadlines are February 15, June 15 and October 15 of every year. Please complete the following three steps to apply for a bridging grant within the heiDOCS funding program of the Graduate Academy:
1. Fill out and submit the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM
a) ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM DOCTORAL PROJECT
b) ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM POSTDOCTORAL PROJECT
2. Submit the APPLICATION FORM (PDF) and accompanying documents to the Graduate Academy:
ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
To be submitted:
- Application form (PDF).
- Acopy of the letter of admission as a doctoral candidate to the Faculty (Annahme als Doktorand:in) or your enrolment certificate (with the intended degree "Promotion m. Abschlusspfrg.") .
- A copy of the university degree that qualifies you for your doctoral training (i.e. your master's degree). This document must indicate your final grade.
- If applicable, please submit a copy of the approval letter for external funding
Please attach your documents separately to the email; it is not necessary to combine them into one PDF.
3. Ask your (post)doctoral supervisor or your mentor to submit the EVALUATION FORM (PDF)
Your (post)doctoral supervisor or mentor must submit the evaluation form directly to the Graduate Academy via email by the same deadline that applies to your application: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
If it is not possible for your primary (post)doctoral supervisor to fill out the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave etc.), you can ask another professor in your subject area who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.
Please note: The evaluation is to be treated confidentially by your (post)doctoral supervisor or mentor.
Payment Procedure and Forms
Step 1: Formal verification of our funding eligibility
After 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 to request the necessary information and following documents:
- Information for the receipt of a bridging grant
- if applicable: Compatibility of funding and (previous) employment at Heidelberg University
- if applicable: Application for child benefits
Please do not submit the application form for child benefits or the above funding eligibility forms with your original grant application. Please wait until your grant application has been approved and you have been asked to submit the necessary forms.
After a successful verification of your funding eligibility, you will receive the official awards notification that contains all of the necessary information about your funding.
Step 2: Confirmation of your acceptance of the grant
The bridging grant cannot be paid out until you submit the following confirmation form to the Graduate Academy:
Please submit your documents in person or by postal mail to the Graduate Academy at:
Graduate Academy Heidelberg University
heiDOCS program
Im Neuenheimer Feld 370
69120 Heidelberg
