The Research Proposal Scholarship serves as preparation for a doctorate at JGU. In order to apply for the scholarship, your doctoral project must be feasible in a JGU subject and you must nominate a mentor who is authorised to supervise doctoral studies at JGU. You should also explain your motivation for pursuing a doctorate at JGU in your letter of motivation.

However, there is no obligation to subsequently take up a doctorate at JGU. Therefore, if you accept a doctoral position at another university during or after the funding period, for example, this will not result in the scholarship being reclaimed for periods that have already passed. The same applies if you decide not to pursue your doctoral project after the end of the funding period.

However, the funding ends prematurely if you receive other income, e.g. if you receive a doctoral scholarship or take up a doctoral position or other employment above the marginal earnings threshold (for details, see the scholarship guidelines of the JGU).

In short: If you could imagine doing a doctorate at JGU, but do not want to rule out other options, you are very welcome to apply. If you already know that you do not want to do your doctorate at JGU, but at another university, then it does not make sense to apply for a research proposal scholarship with us. Incidentally, some other universities in Germany also offer research proposal scholarships, predoc scholarships or similar.

Applications are generally possible if your master's or comparable degree was awarded no more than three years ago at the time of application or if you can provide reasons for exceeding this deadline. In your letter of motivation, you should outline the current status of your doctoral project.

The mentoring confirmation or letter of recommendation should state that the first supervisor of your doctorate supports your application for a research proposal scholarship.

Please be sure to contact the office in good time before the application deadline. Explain which documents you are still missing, when you requested them and what the current processing status is. We will then get back to you and let you know whether an application is still possible and by when you can submit any additional documents.

You are welcome to send your application to the Director of the GSHS.

Yes, this is possible, e.g. as an appendix to the tabular CV.

This is generally possible. However, as with any other application, you should choose carefully and only attach documents that are specifically related to your application.

The GSHS office will be happy to help you.

Please be sure to enclose certificates from all degree programmes you have completed, including the bachelor's certificate for bachelor's/master's degree programmes, for example.

In addition to the actual degree diploma, you must always include a certificate with an overview of grades as well as information on the topic and grading of the final thesis (unless the degree programme in question does not provide for a final thesis, in which case please give separate reasons in the letter of motivation). In addition, a diploma supplement or transcript of records showing the grades relevant to the degree must be submitted.

Please enclose a current transcript of records instead of your degree certificate.

Please enclose the relevant document/certificate if the completion of all coursework is not already evident from the transcript of records.

The date of submission must be stated on the GSHS application form. It is not necessary to enclose proof of this - however, it may be useful to keep such proof for later queries (confirmation of receipt from the examination office or similar).

In your letter of motivation or in a separate list attached to your certificates, please briefly state which other examinations you still have to take.

My certificate is issued in English, French or German.
- You do not need to enclose any further documents.
My certificate is issued in another language, but I have a transcript of records or diploma supplement in English, French or German.
- We recommend that you have an official translation of the certificate prepared, as you will need this later anyway for the recognition of your foreign educational qualifications and for registration for doctoral studies. If you are unable to submit this in time, the official diploma supplement/transcript of records will also suffice.
My certificate is in another language and I do not have a transcript of records/diploma supplement in English, French or German.
- Please enclose an official translation. You will need this later for the application for recognition of your foreign educational qualifications and thus for registration for doctoral studies.

We generally recommend that you apply for recognition of your foreign certificates in good time, as this can take some time.

More information on the recognition of foreign educational qualifications

The letter of motivation may not exceed two pages. Here you can explain your personal motivation for doing a doctorate in general. You are also welcome to explain why you think Johannes Gutenberg University is particularly suitable for carrying out your doctoral project. We also ask you to provide information on possible further funding after the end of our scholarship (e.g. which scholarship organisation or joint research project you would like to apply to).

More information on the various options for doctoral funding

The project outline must not exceed three pages plus one additional page for the bibliography. The (provisional) working title of the doctorate and the subject in which the doctorate is to be completed must also be stated.

Based on the project outline, we assess the quality of your research project and its suitability for our research proposal scholarship programme, as well as the feasibility of your research project in the framework of a doctorate.

The structure of such a project outline can vary depending on the subject and approach, which is why we do not provide any binding guidelines. However, it can be useful to consider the following aspects in advance:

Relevance of the topic
Problem/research question(s)
Literature review and innovativeness of your project
Theoretical background, corpus or data basis and research method(s)
Own preparatory work and next steps

A preliminary table of contents is not yet necessary for the outline.

The mentor is a person who accompanies and supports you during the six-month funding phase and ideally also takes over the supervision of your doctoral project afterwards. Therefore, he/she must be authorised to supervise doctorates in the chosen doctoral subject at JGU. You can find tips and information on identifying, contacting and selecting a potential supervisor here. We recommend that you request the mentoring confirmation and a possible letter of recommendation for your application from your intended supervisor in good time before the application deadline so that you have time to discuss the planned topic and the further conditions of the mentoring with your potential mentor.

University professors and junior professors at JGU are generally authorised to supervise in the subject they represent. Postdoctoral lecturers (e.g. Privatdozent) may also be authorised to supervise. If in doubt, please contact the dean's office or the doctoral office of your faculty/rectorate for advice.

Particularly in the case of interdisciplinary projects, several doctoral subjects are sometimes considered at the beginning of the doctorate. You should clarify in advance of applying for a GSHS research proposal scholarship in which subject you would like to/are able to do your doctorate. Your intended mentor must be able to supervise you in this subject. If this is not the case, you must look for a mentor in your intended doctoral subject.

An overview of the possible doctoral subjects can be found in the current doctoral degree regulations (in German). As a rule, a previous master's or comparable degree in the doctoral subject or a related subject is required. You should clarify any questions about this with your mentor or with the dean's office or doctoral office of your faculty/rectorate.

More information on the choice of doctoral subject

The mentoring commitment can be brief; a letter signed by the mentor is sufficient as a scan, confirming their willingness to provide support during the six-month support phase.

The letter of recommendation should be more detailed and address the applicant's suitability for a doctorate, including the chosen topic and the fit with JGU's areas of specialisation.

The recommending person can also send the letter of recommendation directly (electronically) to the GSHS office.

They can, but do not have to be issued by the same person. The letter of recommendation can, for example, also be issued by a professor at the home university.

After the application deadline, we will forward all complete and formally admissible applications to the selection committee. Once scholarship holders have been selected by this committee, they will receive an acceptance or rejection letter from the office. We usually endeavor to inform them of this decision within 4-5 weeks of the application deadline.

After a positive selection decision by the selection committee, you will receive information from our office together with further documents: a data sheet that you must fill out and which we will use to determine the correct scholarship amount (if you are applying for a child supplement, we also need a scan of your birth certificate(s)), as well as a declaration on the obligations pertaining to the scholarship, which must be signed by your mentor and you.

We also require proof of the costs of your health insurance during the funding period. You should therefore clarify at an early stage which health insurance is suitable for you during the scholarship period and provide us with proof of insurance valid in Germany and the costs incurred in good time. Further information on health insurance for internationals can be obtained from the Welcome Center.

If you have not yet completed your studies at the time of application, we also need your degree certificate (e.g. master's certificate) or confirmation that you have passed all the requirements for your degree in order to approve the scholarship.

Once these documents have been received, your official scholarship approval will be issued and sent to you.

During the scholarship period, a series of compulsory face-to-face workshops will be offered in Mainz, so you will need to be resident in Germany, preferably in the Mainz or Germersheim region, in order to receive the scholarship. You should check in good time whether you need a visa to enter Germany and how you can apply for one.

To apply for a visa, you will usually need to make an appointment at the German Embassy in your home country which you should arrange as early as possible, as there are often long waiting times. As soon as you have submitted all the necessary documents for the approval of the scholarship to us (including proof of health insurance), we can issue you with the scholarship approval, a hosting agreement and an invitation letter, which you will need to apply for a visa.

If you have any questions about visas, health insurance for international doctoral candidates or finding accommodation in Mainz or Germersheim, the Welcome Center for international researchers can advise you.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with any further information on the reasons for this.

For all rejected applicants, a one-time reapplication is possible as long as the general application requirements are met. If you have any questions, the office will be happy to advise you.

A part-time job in addition to receiving the scholarship is possible under the following conditions:

The secondary employment must not have a negative impact on the pursuit of your scholarship objective and participation in the compulsory workshops offered during the scholarship period. The secondary employment must be reported to both the GSHS and your mentor and approved by both bodies.
Your secondary employment may not exceed the scope of marginal employment in accordance with Social Security Code IV §8. In the case of activities with strong fluctuations in income (e.g. self-employment), compensation between the individual months may be considered.
If you work part-time at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz or at the Mainz University Medical Center (e.g. as a research or artistic assistant (Hilfskraft in German)), this activity must be clearly separable from your research project funded by the scholarship. As a rule, this means that your mentor during the scholarship period must not be the same person as your supervisor in the context of your contract as a research assistant or your other employment. Exceptions are only possible if the clear separation between employment and scholarship purpose can be proven in another way. If you have any questions, the office will be happy to help you.

No, that is not the case.

The scholarship is generally tax-free. The assessment is the responsibility of the relevant tax office.

The scholarship is not subject to statutory social insurance. You must therefore take care of your own social security. In addition to health and long-term care insurance, we also recommend that you take out accident insurance.

There are different options for your health insurance depending on your personal situation. It is best to seek advice from your health insurance provider at an early stage. Foreign scholarship holders who have not yet been insured in Germany can seek advice from the Welcome Center for this purpose.