Studienstiftung
Encyclopedia
The German National Academic Foundation (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, short: Studienstiftung)
is Germany's largest organisation sponsoring students of outstanding academic achievements.
It is non-political and non-denominational.
The Studienstiftung promotes promising undergraduates and graduate students in the areas of science, the humanities, business, public administration, and the arts. Through its scholarship programme it aims at promoting academic consolidation, interdisciplinary dialogue, a cosmopolitan world view and international experience.
The Studienstiftung is financially supported and subsidised by the Federal Government of Germany, the German Federal States and local authorities as well as by a large number of private donors.
Currently, the foundation sponsors more than 10,000 undergraduates and about 1,000 PhD students (as of October 2008).
Awards are granted after a multi-stage selection process and are based on grades, specialized exams, letters of recommendation, personality and character, and interviews with staff and affiliates of the foundation. Under the principles of uniformity and open access currently characteristic of German universities, the Studienstiftung serves as a main instrument to support highly gifted students in Germany.
Members of the Studienstiftung receive quarterly stipends for living and other expenses. Furthermore, they can participate in a wide range of seminars and summer schools, which are considered as even more important by the foundation, as well as in language courses and other extra-curricular activities.
The foundation's official motto is Leistung, Initiative, Verantwortung (Achievement, Initiative, Responsibility).
Admission
Admission into the German National Academic Foundation is restricted to:- Students with German citizenship
- Students with a European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
nationality studying primarily in Germany or graduating in Germany - Students of other nationalities with the German Abitur and studying at a German university, if the parent's income are subject to German taxation
In order to be admitted to the Studienstiftung applicants have to be nominated.
Eligible to submit a nomination are:
- Headmasters (when graduating from a gymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
top of class) - University professors, departments at German universities at which marked preliminary examinations are held
- Academic staff, rectors and presidents of universities of applied science
- Principals of German state colleges of art
- Principals of German state colleges of music
- Doctoral supervisors
- Administrators of affiliated student competitions (for the top national finalists), with competitions being:
- International Biology OlympiadInternational Biology OlympiadThe International Biology Olympiad is a science olympiad for students in sixth form . The first academic international Olympiads after the International Mathematical Olympiad were launched under the auspices of the United Nations in the 1960s...
, International Chemistry OlympiadInternational Chemistry OlympiadThe International Chemistry Olympiad is an annual academic competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads....
, International Mathematical OlympiadInternational Mathematical OlympiadThe International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980...
, International Physics OlympiadInternational Physics OlympiadThe International Physics Olympiad is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967....
, and International Olympiad in InformaticsInternational Olympiad in InformaticsThe International Olympiad in Informatics is an annual computer science competition for secondary school students. The first IOI was held in 1989 in Pravetz, Bulgaria.... - Jugend forschtJugend forschtJugend forscht is a German youth science competition. With more than 10,000 participants annually, it is the biggest youth science and technology competition in Europe...
(science and engineering) - Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik (mathematics), Bundeswettbewerb Informatik (computer science), Bundeswettbewerb Fremdsprachen (foreign language and classics)
- Schülerwettbewerb Alte Sprachen (classics), and Schülerwettbewerb Deutsche Geschichte (German history)
- Landeswettbewerb Deutsche Sprache und Literatur (German language and literature)
- The zis Foundation for Travel Grants
- International Biology Olympiad
- Alumni of the Studienstiftung (although this has not been openly advertised in recent years)
The Studienstiftung invites all candidates who fulfil the formal requirements to a two-day assessment centre. Usually, the selection procedure comprises two individual interviews and several group discussions involving the presentation of a short paper. Applicants are expected to have excelled in their academic achievements, to show a strong sense initiative and responsibility. The Studienstiftung also expects candidates to have developed and continue pursuing extracurricular interests and activities.
Political convictions, ideology, gender, religion as well as economic and social aspects play no role in the selection process.
The average acceptance ratio varies depending on the type of nomination, from 33.5% for freshmen to 54.8% for university nominations (2008). Nevertheless, only 0.25 percent of all students at German universities are sponsored by the Studienstiftung as of 2004. The new goal is to increase support up to 0.5 percent of all students. .
Since 2010, students in their first or second term may apply for a scholarship. They have to take part in a special admission test before being possibly invited to the assessment centre.
Notable alumni
- See also :Category:Studienstiftung alumni
- Wolfgang KetterleWolfgang KetterleWolfgang Ketterle is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose-Einstein condensation in these...
, Nobel prizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
physics 2001 - Erwin NeherErwin NeherErwin Neher is a German biophysicist.Erwin Neher studied physics at the Technical University of Munich from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US...
, Nobel prizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
medicine 1991 - Robert HuberRobert HuberRobert Huber is a German biochemist and Nobel laureate.He was born 20 February 1937 in Munich where his father, Sebastian, was a bank cashier. He was educated at the Humanistisches Karls-Gymnasium from 1947 to 1956 and then studied chemistry at the Technische Hochschule, receiving his diploma in 1960...
, Nobel prizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
chemistry 1988 - J. Hans D. JensenJ. Hans D. JensenJohannes Hans Daniel Jensen was a German nuclear physicist. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project, known as the Uranium Club, in which he made contributions to the separation of uranium isotopes. After the war Jensen was a professor at the University of Heidelberg...
, Nobel prizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
physics 1963 - Manfred EigenManfred EigenManfred Eigen is a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.-Career:...
, Nobel prizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
chemistry 1962, former president of the Studienstiftung (1982–1993) - Gerd FaltingsGerd FaltingsGerd Faltings is a German mathematician known for his work in arithmetic algebraic geometry.From 1972 to 1978, he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Münster. In 1978 he received his PhD in mathematics and in 1981 he got the venia legendi in mathematics, both from the University...
, mathematician, Fields medalFields MedalThe Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
1986 - Heinrich Detering Leibniz prize 2009
- Martin R. Zirnbauer, mathematician, Leibniz prize 2009
- Martin BenekeMartin Beneke-Biography:Beneke studied Physics, Mathematics and Philosophy at the University of Konstanz, University of Cambridge and University of Heidelberg. In 1993 he received his doctorate at the Technical University of Munich on the structure of perturbative series in higher order and habilitated in...
, physicist, Leibniz prize 2008 - Wolfgang LückWolfgang LückWolfgang Lück is a German mathematician who is an internationally recognized expert in Algebraic Topology.- Life and work :...
, mathematician, Leibniz prize 2008 - Jochen Mannhart, physicist, Leibniz prize 2008
- Magdalena Götz, biologist, Leibniz prize 2007
- Oliver Primavesi, philologist, Leibniz prize 2007
- Detlef WeigelDetlef WeigelDetlef Weigel is a German American scientist working at the interface of developmental and evolutionary biology.-Scientific career:...
, biologist, Leibniz prize 2007 - Gyburg Radke, philologist, Leibniz prize 2006
- Felix OttoFelix OttoFelix Otto is a German mathematician.He studied mathematics at the University of Bonn, finishing his Ph.D. thesis in 1993 under the supervision of Stephan Luckhaus....
, mathematician, Leibniz prize 2006 - Gerhard Roth (biologist), President of the Studienstiftung since 2004
- Antje VollmerAntje VollmerAntje Vollmer is a German politician of the German Green Party. Since 1994 she has been one of the vice presidents of the German parliament, the Bundestag....
, politician, until 2005 Vice-President of the German parliament - Fritz KuhnFritz KuhnFritz Kuhn is a German politician. He was co-chairman of Alliance '90/The Greens, the German Green party, from June 2000 to December 2002.- Early years :...
, politician, co-chairman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, the German Green Party, from June 2000 to December 2002 - Andreas von Bechtolsheim, co-founder Sun Microsystems
- Ulrich BeckUlrich BeckUlrich Beck is a German sociologist who holds a professorship at Munich University and at the London School of Economics.-Life:...
, sociologist - Wolfgang BernhardWolfgang BernhardWolfgang Bernhard is a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. He is the former President and COO of Chrysler.-Early life:...
, manager - Hans-Jürgen von BoseHans-Jürgen von BoseHans-Jürgen von Bose is a German Composer.-Life:After an unsettled adolescence, Bose entered the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt in 1969, where he received instruction in piano and music theory...
, professor, composer - Emil Cimiotti, artist
- Moritz EggertMoritz EggertMoritz Eggert is a German composer and pianist.- Life :Moritz Eggert began his studies in piano and composition in 1975 at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt , at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München...
, composer, pianist - Gudrun EnsslinGudrun EnsslinGudrun Ensslin was a founder of the German militant group Red Army Faction . After becoming involved with co-founder Andreas Baader, Ensslin was influential in the politicization of Baader's voluntaristic anarchistic beliefs. Ensslin was perhaps the intellectual head of the RAF...
, former member of the Red Army FactionRed Army FactionThe radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF) - Hans Magnus EnzensbergerHans Magnus EnzensbergerHans Magnus Enzensberger , is a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He has also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr. He lives in Munich.- Life :...
, writer - Justus FrantzJustus FrantzJustus Frantz is a German pianist, conductor, and television personality.- Life :...
, pianist - Annette Fugmann-Heesing, treasury secretary, senator
- Petra GersterPetra GersterPetra Gerster is a German television presenter and news speaker.- Life :Starting in 1973, Gerster studied German studies, Slavic studies, and literature at the University of Koblenz, as well as in the US and in Paris. Gerster works as journalist in German television. She was a presenter on the...
, journalist - Anna GourariAnna GourariAnna Gourari is a classical concert pianist.She received her first piano education at the age of five by her parents, professors at Kazan Academy of Music. In 1979 she performed her first public concert. From this year onwards she studied at further renowned piano schools and famous piano tutors...
, pianist - Dirk Hackbarth, economist
- Stefan Homburg, economist
- Horst JanssenHorst JanssenHorst Janssen was a German printmaker and draftsman.- Early life and education :He was born in Hamburg. His mother, Martha Janssen, was a dressmaker from Oldenburg; he never knew his father. Janssen was brought up in Oldenburg by his mother and grandparents in Lerchenstraße fourteen...
, artist - Dirk KaeslerDirk KaeslerDirk Kaesler is a German sociologist and Max Weber expert. Now retired, he was formerly Professor of Sociology at the University of Marburg. He is the author of Max Weber: An Introduction to his Life and Work, first published by the University of Chicago Press in 1988.-References:...
, sociologist - Bas KastBas KastBas Kast is a German writer. He studied psychology and biology at the University of Konstanz and with Marvin Minsky at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kast was a fellow of the prestigious Studienstiftung. After completing his studies, he refused a PhD position to devote himself to writing...
, writer - Christian Keysers, neuroscientist
- Claus KleberClaus KleberClaus Kleber is a German journalist. He is the anchorman of the news show heute journal of ZDF, a German public TV station...
, journalist, anchor of the "heute-journal" - Wilfried Köpke, journalist
- Heinz Rudolf KunzeHeinz Rudolf KunzeHeinz Rudolf Erich Arthur Kunze is a German writer and rock singer. His greatest hits were Dein ist mein ganzes Herz and Mit Leib und Seele in 1985 and 1986.- Biography :Kunze was born on 30 November 1956 in the refugee camp...
, singer and composer - Michael Kunze, composer
- Rolf-Ulrich Kunze, historian
- Gerd Leipold, Executive Director, GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
International - Horst MahlerHorst MahlerHorst Mahler is a former German lawyer and advocate of radical ideologies. He once was an extreme-left militant, a founding member of the Red Army Faction. Subsequently he became a Maoist and later shifted to the extreme-right. He was for a time a member of the National Democratic Party of Germany...
, lawyer, former member of the Red Army FactionRed Army FactionThe radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF) and the National Democratic Party of GermanyNational Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
(NPD) - Ulrike Malmendier, economist
- Franz Massinger, pianist, professor
- Ulrike MeinhofUlrike MeinhofUlrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine Konkret. She was arrested in 1972, and eventually charged with numerous murders and the formation of a criminal...
, editor, former member of the Red Army FactionRed Army FactionThe radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF) - Frei OttoFrei OttoFrei Paul Otto is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Otto was born in Siegmar . He studied architecture in Berlin before being drafted into the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot in the last years of World War II...
, architect - Matthias PintscherMatthias PintscherMatthias Pintscher is a German composer and conductor. As a youth, he studied the violin and conducting....
, composer - Detlev Poguntke, mathematicien
- Stephan ReimertzStephan ReimertzStephan Reimertz is an art historian and novelist. He lives in Paris.- Life :Stephan Reimertz, 1962 born writer is the grandnephew of Nikolaus Groß. His grandfather was a democratic major and politician from Westphalia. His father was a mining engineer and met his mother, a Baltic German...
, art historian - Karl SchillerKarl SchillerKarl August Fritz Schiller was a German scientist and politician of the Social Democratic Party . From 1966 to 1972, he was Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and from 1971 to 1972 Federal Minister of Finance...
, politician and scientist - Gesine SchwanGesine SchwanGesine Schwan is a German political science professor and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The party has nominated her twice as a candidate for the federal presidential elections. On 23 May 2004, she was defeated by the Christian Democrat and former president Horst Köhler...
, professor, SPD-candidate for the office of the federal president, 2004 - Wolf Singer, neuroscientist
- Christine TeuschChristine TeuschChristine Teusch was a German politician of the Zentrumspartei and the Christian Democratic Union, and Minister of Culture in Nordrhein-Westfalen ....
, politician - Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden, economist
- Robert TillmannsRobert TillmannsRobert Tillmanns was a German politician.- Life and Work :After the Abitur in 1914, Tillmanns took part as a soldier in the First World War...
, politician - Philipp TinglerPhilipp TinglerPhilipp Tingler is a Swiss and German writer, journalist, economist and philosopher. His literary and essayistic work is largely an ironic comedy of manners, focused on minds and styles in the upper realms of society.-Biography:...
, writer, journalist and economist - Juli ZehJuli ZehJuli Zeh is a German novelist.Her first book was Adler und Engel , which won the 2002 Deutscher Bücherpreis for best debut novel. She traveled through Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001, which became the basis for the book Die Stille ist ein Geräusch...
, writer
External links
- Homepage of the Studienstiftung: http://www.studienstiftung.de
- http://www.zeit.de/2005/37/B-Elitestudenten2?page=all