Scholarships and loans and grants – oh my! Going to grad school isn’t just about getting admitted – it also requires careful research, consideration, and planning, especially when it comes to financing your studies.
When you apply to the MPP, MIA or MDS programmes, you can also apply for the Hertie School’s partial scholarships and additional funding opportunities. In this blog post, we’ll go over these types of financial aid opportunities, their differences and how to apply for them.
Partial scholarships
Partial scholarships cover 10% to 50% of the total tuition fees for our master’s programmes. Over the last three years, more than half of our students have received a partial scholarship from the Hertie School. We expect to award around 90 partial scholarships in 2024.
How to apply
Applying for partial scholarships is straightforward: you need to complete the "Financial Information" and "Scholarships" section of our online application form, declare your finances and select that you wish to apply to partial scholarships. No additional documents are required at this stage.
Declaring your finances
In the financial information section of the online application form, you should indicate the amount of funds you currently have available or have certainly secured for the duration of your studies. List your personal savings, any support from your partner or parents (not what they earn or have saved, but what they will support you with), and any scholarships or sponsorships that you are sure to receive.
It is important that you indicate only secured funds for two reasons:
- When you join us, we want you to be able to focus on your studies and career development. All worries about financing should be resolved by the time you accept an admission offer. By inserting the respective amounts in our declaration of finances, and using the cost estimates on the same page, you should be able to easily weigh funds available to you against the cost of the programme. Use this part of our application form as an honest self-assessment of your finances.
- The allocation of partial scholarships is in part based on the information you provide in this form.
Selection criteria
Partial scholarships are awarded based on both merit and financial need, which is measured by the sum of the full tuition fees for the MPP, MIA or MDS, plus the cost of living in Berlin for two years. This year, the threshold is 57,500 euros, so if the funds available to you exceed this amount, you may not be eligible for Hertie School scholarships.
Scholarship funds are limited and it is unfortunately not possible to offer scholarships to all eligible candidates. Among eligible candidates who demonstrate financial need in the declaration of finances, partial scholarships are also awarded based on merit, which is determined by the strength of your application and supplemental materials. Access to external financing options such as loans is also considered in the allocation process.
Profile-based partial scholarships
We also offer additional financial aid opportunities that are essentially profile-based tuition fee reductions in partnership with different organisations:
- German Foundations Scholarship
- Public Servants in Brazil by Republica.org
- Teach for India
- Vetor Brasil
- Public Service Scholarship
How to apply
If you would like to apply for one of the scholarships listed above, you will need to submit additional application materials (depending on the scholarship) along with your application. Please check each scholarship page for more information.
Remember that even if you are not eligible for the above opportunities, you may still apply for partial scholarships from the Hertie School as well as external funding opportunities.
Third-party funding opportunities
Student loans, awards, prizes, and scholarships - there are many different options around the world, some of them in your home country. We know that it’s a lot of new information and that can feel overwhelming, that’s why we want to support you in identifying all possible financing opportunities for your graduate education, which is why we developed the funding navigator tool on our website. This tool helps you to identify external funding opportunities based on your nationality and level of German, when applicable.
If you have questions or concerns about any type of funding, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Student Funding office at studentfunding[at]hertie-school[dot]org. They are here to assist you in your decision-making process and want to help you decide on a programme that is best for you.
Learn more about the scholarships available for the MIA, MPP, MDS and Executive MPA and apply today!