LFG application – Individual fellowships through the Landesgraduiertenförderung (LGF)
Call for Applications
New application
Submit your request for extension
FAQ
Statutes
The Heidelberg Graduate Academy will be awarding individual doctoral fellowships funded through the LGF program to doctoral candidates with above-average qualifications (depending on the allocation of funds by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts).
Due to budget cuts by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg, there will be no call for applications for individual fellowships in 2025.
Applications for the extension of already awarded individual fellowships can be submitted to the Graduate Academy as of March 2025.
General Information about the Application for LGF-Fellowships
Important Dates for applications for the extension of individual LGF fellowships in 2025:
Call for applications: | 01 March 2025 |
Application deadline: | 11 April 2025 |
Continuation of fellowship: | 01 August 2025 |
Duration: | Up to 3 years |
Amount: | 1,650 Euro/month incl. a travel and materials allowance of 100 Euro/month |
Prerequisites for an application:
- Successfully completed university degree (Masters level or equivalent)
- Confirmation of admission as a doctoral candidate to your Faculty at Heidelberg University or enrollment certificate on which your intended degree is listed as "Promotion m. Abschlussprfg."
- Academic supervision by a professor or associate professor
- Outstanding qualifications and a scientific project that is expected to make a significant contribution to current research
Please note:
- Applications submitted after the deadline, as well as incomplete applications, will not be considered.
- If you wish to withdraw your application, please notify the University of Heidelberg Graduate Academy immediately.
- Please only submit the number of evaluations indicated in the application instructions. Additional evaluations will not be considered.
- As a general rule, you are not eligible for a doctoral fellowship if you are currently receiving an equivalent fellowship for your doctoral studies from public or private sources or if you have received such a fellowship in the past for a duration of more than 12 months. The duration of funding received from another source will be deducted from the duration of an LGF doctoral fellowship. If you have any questions about this, please contact the Graduate Academy.
- It is not possible to receive an LGF fellowship if the following conditions apply to you:
- you were employed as a Mitarbeiter/in nach TV-L or a wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft at Heidelberg University (not including the University Hospital) in the three months before the start of the funding AND
- your employment consisted of a contract of more than 25% of a full-time position AND
- the work you did has a direct connection to your doctoral project (this means that through the contract you earned income for doing the research that makes up your doctoral project).
If this describes your funding situation, please contact the Graduate Academy.
- It is possible to be employed while receiving the fellowship only if the working hours are not more than 25% of a full-time position. Additionally, the employment must be related to the subject area of your doctorate or to a possible field of work that you could pursue after obtaining your doctorate. However, there can be no overlap between the work carried out within your employment and the activities that are funded through the fellowship.
- After you have combined your application documents into one single PDF, please check to make sure that the PDF can be opened and the contents can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Submit your application
If you are applying for the first time, please follow these steps:
- Fill out and submit the online registration form with the following attachments (in a single PDF file):
1. Outline of your doctoral project (max. 5 pages) and a bibliography
2. Schedule until completion of the project
3. Curriculum vitae in table form
4. Qualifying university degree and certificates (generally Diplom or Master; in German or English)
5. Certificate of admission as a doctoral candidate to your faculty
- Ask two university professors to each fill out and submit a report by the application deadline.
Submit your request for an extension
Application for the extension of an individual fellowship
To apply for an extension of your individual fellowship, please follow these steps:
- Fill out and submit the online registration form with the following attachments (in a single PDF file):
1. Interim report (max. 5 pages) on the status of the dissertation
2. Schedule until completion of the thesis
If you are applying for a third extension, please include in the PDF a document that explains in detail the challenges and circumstances that have led to a significant delay in the progress of your doctoral project (e.g. caring for a child).
- Ask your doctoral supervisor to fill out and submit an assessment of your interim report by the application deadline.
How your application is handled:
The online registration form, your application documents as well as the report(s) to accompany your application must be submitted to the Graduate Academy by the application deadline. An automatic email will be sent to you as soon as
- you have filled out and submitted the online registration form. This email will provide you with your LGFG identification number and the relevant additional information required for the application for the fellowship,
- an evaluation for your application has been uploaded. Please note that a new application for an individual fellowship requires two reports from two university professors. Therefore, you should receive two emails, each confirming the receipt of one evaluation report. Please also check your spam folder.
After the application deadline your application and the accompanying report(s) will be ranked by a faculty board. The university committee of the LGF program will make a final decision afterwards.
Privacy notice:
Your information and documents – unless submitted voluntarily – are necessary in order to decide on your application. Without this information, your application cannot be processed.
Please see the Data Protection Declaration of Heidelberg University for further information.
Frequently Asked Questions
A page with the most frequently asked questions about LGF fellowships is available here:
► FAQs about individual doctoral fellowships within the LGF program
Statutes
- Landesgraduiertenförderungsgesetz (LGFG) (German only)
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(German version) Satzung zur Durchführung des LGFG an der Universität Heidelberg
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Statute for the Implementation of the LGFG at the Universität of Heidelberg (English version)