In 2024, a total of 33,000 students received the Deutschlandstipendium under the Stipendienprogramm-Gesetz. According to a statement by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday, the number of recipients increased by five percent compared to the previous year. Their share of all students, measured against the preliminary total number of students in the winter semester of 2024/2025, was 1.2 percent. The Deutschlandstipendium has been supporting students since the summer semester of 2011 whose achievements in studies and career are outstanding.
The Deutschlandstipendium, amounting to 300 euros per month, is funded by the federal government and private donors, which the universities have to secure themselves. The support usually lasts for at least two semesters. In 2024, universities managed to obtain funding of a total of 34 million euros from private donors, which was 2.6 percent more than the previous year. The main donors in 2024 were capital companies (3,075 donors with a total funding sum of 9.8 million euros), other legal entities of private law, such as registered associations, registered cooperatives, or private law foundations (2,446 donors with a total funding sum of 14.2 million euros), as well as private individuals and sole proprietors (2,076 donors with a total funding sum of 4.7 million euros).
As in previous years, the universities in the state of Saarland were the most successful in attracting private funding for Deutschlandstipendiaten. In 2024, 1.9 percent of students – based on the student population in the winter semester of 2024/2025 – were able to receive a Deutschlandstipendium. The lowest share of recipients with a Deutschlandstipendium was in Thuringia, with 0.5 percent of students, according to the Federal Agency.