Guidelines / FAQs for applying for a grant to support a doctoral initiative at the Faculty of Theology

General questions
 

► Who can apply for a grant for a doctoral initiative?
► What is a "doctoral initiative"?
► Which expenses can be reimbursed by this grant?
► When should we apply?
► How do we know if the Graduate Academy has received our application?
► When will we be notified of the decision regarding our application?
► What do we have to submit to have the grant paid out?
► When will we receive the grant?
► Can we apply for an advance payment of the costs?
► What happens to our grant if we cannot carry out the initiative?
► What happens if we have to postpone the initiative or make other fundamental changes?

Questions about the application forms

► What do we need to consider when filling out the application form?
► Do we need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?
► What is meant by "external funding" and why are we asked about it?
► Who can issue the evaluation forms for our application?

General questions

Who can apply for a grant for a doctoral initiative?

These grants are only open to doctoral candidates who have been officially admitted to the Faculty of Theology at Heidelberg University.

The application should be made by at least two doctoral candidates of the Faculty.

Eligibility for funding ends at the latest three months after the end of the month in which you take your final examination or at the end of the month in which your doctoral studies at Heidelberg University are completed for other reasons (e.g. through publication of your thesis, termination of your doctoral studies in Heidelberg or transfer to another university to pursue doctoral studies).

Each doctoral candidate can apply once per semester.

When evaluating the applications, the committee will prioritize both the academic relevance of an initiative as well as initiatives for which an application is being submitted for the first time.

What is a "doctoral initiative"?

The grant is intended to support group-related activities or events that are developed and implemented by the doctoral candidates in the Faculty of Theology themselves (such as doctoral conferences focusing on networking and the exchange of methodologies and research results, workshops etc.).

Which expenses can be reimbursed by this grant?

Expenses up to a maximum of Euro 2,000 can be reimbursed for a doctoral initiative for the organization of a conference and up to a maximum of Euro 4,000 for a series of conferences (including preparation and postprocessing).

The following expenses, which are directly related to the organization and implementation of the doctoral initiative, can be reimbursed through the grant:

• Fees, travel expenses and accommodations for external trainers and guest speakers
• Catering (if compatible with the budgetary rules of Heidelberg University, see here for more information)
• Materials (e.g. for posters, brochures, flyers, programs)
• Room rentals

Important:

• If the actual final cost of the initiative turns out to be more than the approved grant amount, the difference will not be reimbursed.
• The reimbursement of expenses incurred by a doctoral initiative is governed by the budgetary rules of Heidelberg University. After an initiative has been approved, we will have to examine on a case by case basis whether the expenses that you have indicated are able to be reimbursed by our grant under these rules.

When should we apply?

Applications can be submitted at any time. Applications will be collected and assessed as a group after the deadlines indicated below. The awards notifications will be sent out about 8 weeks after the deadlines. The initiative should take place within 6 months of the award of the grant.

Deadlines:

Important:

• Grants cannot be approved retroactively for doctoral initiatives that have already been implemented. Therefore, we recommend that you take note of the deadlines and plan accordingly.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

How do we know if the Graduate Academy has received our 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 we be notified of the decision regarding our 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.

What do we have to submit to have the grant paid out?

In the case of expenses that you paid out rather than those that were covered directly by the Graduate Academy, you must submit the appropriate reimbursement form (which is sent out with the approval notice) as well as all of the original invoices and payment records for the expenses that you have covered. Expenses for which you do not have a receipt cannot be reimbursed.

If you received external funding for this doctoral initiative, please include a copy of your reimbursement application for the external organization with the Graduate Academy reimbursement form. In this case, external funding is funding received from an external source that is used to cover the expenses of the doctoral initiative.

When will we receive our grant?

If you are awarded a grant, your actual expenses (up to the maximum possible grant amount) will be reimbursed only after the doctoral initiative has been completed and you have submitted the necessary documents to the Graduate Academy. Please note that the documents required for the payment of the grant must be submitted to the Graduate Academy no later than 8 weeks after completion of the initiative.

For the reimbursement of external trainers' or guest speakers' travel expenses and accommodations certain contractual agreements must be concluded in advance. You will receive all of the pertinent information about this if your application is approved.

Can we apply for an advance payment of the costs?

Yes. You can indicate on the application form (see » Application procedure and forms) that you would like to apply for an advance payment of the expenses that will be paid by you directly (e.g. printing costs for programs etc.) if these expenses amount to 200 Euro or more. If the grant is approved, an advance payment of 80% of the amount that you indicate will be paid to you. The reimbursement of your remaining expenses, up to the remaining 20% of the amount indicated, will be made to you only after you have submitted the necessary documents for reimbursement as listed above.

Please note:

• The advance payment is conditional and can be revoked by the Graduate Academy. If you do not submit all of the necessary documents to the Graduate Academy at the latest 8 weeks after completion of the initiative or if the initiative is not carried out, you will be required to repay the advance payment to the Graduate Academy immediately.
• If your actual total expenses come to less than the advance payment, you must reimburse the difference to the Graduate Academy.

What happens to our grant if we cannot carry out the initiative?

The grant is not transferable to another person or to a different activity or event. Therefore, if you are unable to carry out the planned initiative, you will automatically forfeit your award.

What happens to our grant if we have to postpone the initiative or make other fundamental changes?

In this case you must contact the Graduate Academy as soon as possible in order to notify us of the changes. A decision will be made on a case-to-case basis as to whether the grant approval can be upheld in the new situation.

Questions about the application forms

What do we 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.

Do we need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV etc.)?

The application procedure and required application documents are indicated in detail here. 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" and why are we asked about it?

“External funding” refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization for the planned doctoral initiative. If you will receive or have received funding from an external source to cover part of the doctoral initiative, the grant awarded will be reduced by the amount of the external funding.

Who can issue the evaluation forms for our application?

The evaluation form for your application must be issued and submitted to the Graduate Academy by your supervisors. Please note that the evaluations are to be treated confidentially by your supervisors and must be sent by your supervisors 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.