Scholarships
Scholarships take the financial pressure off you so that you can better combine competitive sports and studies. Here you can find all the information about scholarships for professional athletes.
The NRW Sports Foundation Scholarship
The NRW Sports Foundation Scholarship gives scholarship holders the freedom to pursue their professional training alongside competitive sports. A part-time job to cover running costs is difficult to manage with a workload of 60 hours a week.
Scholarship holders receive the security of having 300 euros in their pockets every month for one year from the NRW Sports Foundation.
Application
Apply for the NRW Sports Foundation Scholarship!
Within the framework of the NRW sports foundation scholarship, top athletes in North Rhine-Westphalia as ambitious or high-achieving students are supported with 300 euros per month.
Who can apply?
Competitive athletes with national squad status who are first-year students or already enrolled students at a scholarship partner university of the NRW Sports Foundation.
How much is the sponsorship and how long does it run for?
Each of the athletes is to be granted up to 300 euros per month. Funding is provided for at least two semesters from the winter semester 2022/23. The scholarship is financed and paid out by the NRW Sports Foundation.
Subsequent funding is possible, provided that the then applicable eligibility requirements for the corresponding funding phase are met.
In principle, the scholarship ends with the successful completion of studies or upon exmatriculation. In the case of a semester of leave, it must be checked on a case-by-case basis whether the scholarship can be paid out.
Which criteria have to be fulfilled?
Scholarships can be awarded to competitive athletes whose previous career suggests that they will perform particularly well in their studies, or who have already achieved such results:
In the case of first-year students, particular consideration is given to the degree with which they have acquired the qualification for the course of study. In addition, achievements in extracurricular activities or professional achievements can be indicators for the expectation of particularly good performance in the course of studies.
In the case of students, previous academic performance is taken into account in particular.
In addition to the study-related performance, membership in an Olympic, Paralympic or Deaflympic national squad (e.g. PK, EK, NK1, NK2) of the student is a funding requirement. The date of application is relevant.
Another requirement is that the athlete must start for an NRW club or have their training center in NRW or have their center of life in NRW.
It is not possible to apply for a scholarship for members of the German armed forces, federal and state police forces and customs authorities; national squad athletes who are supported by Deutsche Sporthilfe with the Deutsche Bank scholarship during the relevant funding period.
How are the scholarship holders selected?
Applicants must provide the respective university with written proof of their performance-related eligibility criteria (type of sport, squad status, club affiliation, or training or living location).
The study-related performance criteria are determined and checked by the respective university in order to select the most suitable applicants.
How and when can I apply?
A scholarship can only be granted upon application. The application must be submitted in due form and time according to the announcement on the homepage of the respective university with the documents mentioned there. The application deadline is set by the respective university.
Please note: There is no legal entitlement to a grant from the NRW Sports Foundation even if the eligibility requirements are met.
Apply
The application phase runs from August 15 to September 15.
Form to apply for the scholarship
Please send the completed and signed application forms including supporting documents to Christoph Edeler.
