Funding organisations

There are various organisations in Germany that fund research projects and individual researchers. 

The largest organisations that award financial support to individuals and their research projects are the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In addition to these large funding organisations, many other public and private bodies provide financial support for science and research. Important donors include not only Germany’s federal and state governments, but also the European Union. A large number of charitable foundations have also set themselves the goal of supporting research and junior researchers.  

When it comes to the support and funding of research projects, non-university research institutions and industry play a major role in Germany’s funding system. They especially support young researchers with job offers.  

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes research collaborations between excellent international and German researchers. It awards more than 800 research fellowships and research grants every year.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is the world’s largest funding organisation for the international exchange of students and researchers.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) is the central research funding organisation in Germany. It supports research projects and funds cooperation between researchers – also at an international level.

The European Union (EU) funds research in a variety of ways through its research and innovation framework programme. These measures include not only support for basic and applied research, but also funding programmes for collaboration and exchange in higher education.

The German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) offers various project funding opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

More than two-thirds of the annual funds invested in research come from industry. Companies either conduct research themselves or collaborate with research partners. (Junior) researchers are supported not only with job offers, but also with scholarships and prizes from corporate foundations.

Federal and state governments are the main sponsors of research in Germany alongside industry. Many federal ministries support specific research projects.

Public and private foundations enable research through the provision of funding. The range of different foundations is very wide. Many of them specifically aim to promote young talent.

Thirteen organisations that work nationwide have come together to form StipendiumPlus under the umbrella of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. They support outstanding undergraduate and doctoral students.

Non-university research institutions are also active in fostering talent. In particular, they support doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers with scholarships or research jobs.