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Faculty of Law: Guidelines / FAQs for applying for a family support grant
The heiDOCS funding program of the Faculty of Law ended in autumn 2023 and it is no longer possible to submit applications.
https://www.graduateacademy.uni-heidelberg.de/foerderung/heidocs_main_en.html
General questions
► Who can apply for this funding?
► What is the purpose of the family support grant?
► Which periods should I take into consideration when applying?
► When does the funding start and for how many months will I receive it?
► How high is the funding?
► How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?
► When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?
► Can I suspend the funding?
Questions about the application forms
► What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
► Do I need to submit any additional documents apart from those requested on the application form (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?
► What is meant by "external funding"?
► Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?
General questions
Who can apply for this funding?
This funding is only open to doctoral candidates who were officially admitted to the Faculty of Law at Heidelberg University.
Eligibility for funding ends at the end of the month during which the oral examination (thesis defense) takes place or at the end of a month during which a circumstance arises that is not compatible with funding offered through the Faculty’s heiDOCS program. This includes the termination of the doctoral project.
What is the purpose of the family support grant?
The family support grant aims at freeing up time for doctoral candidates to work on theor doctoral projects by paying for assistance in the household or for childcare. This funding is intended for candidates with children up to the age of 10.
Please explain in detail the necessity of the family support grant in the application form (see » Application procedure and forms).
The family support grant can be awarded for a maximum of 24 months and the award is conditional upon the fulfillment of the eligibility requirements.
Note: 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 with the grant.
Which periods should I take into consideration when applying?
Applications can be submitted at any time.
The applications will be collected as a group after the deadlines indicated below. Funding can begin within the period indicated for the respective deadline.
| Deadlines | Start of funding |
| January 10 | March 1 until May 1 of the same year |
| April 10 | June 1 until August 1 of the same year |
| July 10 | September 1 until November 1 of the same year |
| October 10 | January 1 until February 1 of the following year |
Please take note of the deadlines and corresponding funding periods. The awards notifications will be sent out about 6 to 8 weeks after each deadline.
Important:
- Funding cannot be approved retroactively.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
When does the funding start and for how many months will I receive it?
The funding can begin within the period indicated for the respective application deadline and it will be paid out for a maximum of 24 months, conditional upon the fulfillment of the eligibility requirements. You can determine the starting point and duration of the funding according to your needs, taking into account the deadlines and the corresponding time periods. The funding 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 application form (see » Application procedure and forms).
How high is the funding?
The family support grant amounts to 200 Euro per month and per child. The grant will be paid out monthly.
In order to be awarded the family support grant, please send us a copy of the birth certificate(s) of your child/children with the application form (see » Application procedure and forms).
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.de.
Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
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 6-8 weeks after each application deadline. It is not possible to inform you about the results of your application before all evaluations are completed.
Can I suspend the funding?
Yes. It is possible in exceptional cases (for example illness, pregnancy, family reasons) to suspend the funding for up to 12 months, as long as your doctoral supervisor confirms that the completion of your dissertation is not jeopardized by the interruption. Please contact the Graduate Academy immediately if you think that you will need to suspend your funding (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de).
Questions about the application forms
What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
Please fill out the application form (see » Application procedure and forms) 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 out the form 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 apart from those requested on the application form (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?
No. The application procedure and required application documents are indicated in detail here. All of the information necessary to evaluate your application can be provided on the application form. No additional documents that are not listed on the website such as publication lists, literature lists, or CVs will be sent to the evaluators.
What is meant by "external funding"?
“External funding” refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization for your doctoral project in general or for another 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 doctoral supervisor. Please note that the evaluation is to be treated confidentially by your supervisor and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
Please be aware that the application deadlines also pertain to the receipt of the evaluation form.
If it is not possible for your first 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.
