Support for Students and Researchers affected by the War in Ukraine

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community provides information about current entry and residence regulations for persons from Ukraine.

Click here for details

The city of Ulm provides comprehensive information on its website about registration, social benefits, housing and other topics for Ukrainian refugees.

Click here for the website

As of June 1, 2022, Ukrainian students can receive federal education grants (the so-called BAföG) if they have or have applied for a residence permit according to Section 24 (1) of the Residence Act.

You can apply for BAföG at the Office for Educational Support (BAföG-Amt) at the Studierendenwerk at your university location. They will also advise you free of charge on BAföG.

IMPORTANT: You can only apply for BAföG once you are enrolled in your degree program.
Ukrainian students who continue their studies online at a Ukrainian university cannot receive BAföG. However, there is the possibility of receiving benefits according to SGB II. The same applies to refugees who are enrolled as exchange or module students.

Further information can be found on the BAföG website (only available in German).

Ulm University provides emergency financial aid for students in need from DAAD funds. Students of Ulm University who are affected by the war in Ukraine can apply at any time.
Click here for the online application

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) administers the scholarship programme “Hilde Domin Programme” with funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA). The programme serves to support students and doctoral candidates from across the globe, who are at risk of being formally or de facto denied educational or other rights in their country of origin, and to provide these students and doctoral candidates with an opportunity to begin or complete a study or research degree at a higher education institution in Germany.

The deadline for nominations of candidates with programme start dates in the 2023/2024 winter semester is August 10, 2022.

Learn more

The Psychotherapeutic University Clinic at Ulm University offers therapy options, for example for trauma treatment.

The Psychosocial Counseling (PBS) of Studierendenwerk Ulm offers individual counseling to affected students. Click here to make an appointment by email.

If you are already studying and your studies are presenting you with particular challenges due to the war in Ukraine, the central student advisory service and the course advisory service can help you organize and manage your studies.

The central student advisory service is the first point of contact for all questions related to choosing and pursuing a course of study. The central student advisory service supports students during the transitional period between school and studies, as well as between studies and career, and during the difficult phases of your studies.

Learn more here

The course advisory service helps with questions concerning the content of the subject (structure and content) and is responsible for questions with a predominatly subject specific reference.

You can find your contact person here

If Ukrainian refugees meet the entrance requirements for an admission-free bachelor's programme, i.e. if they have direct access to higher education in Germany (for rough orientation: school-leaving certificates up to 2011 with 10 years of school education + 2 successful years of study, school-leaving certificates from 2012 with 11 years of school education + 1 successful year of study, proof of a 4-year higher education degree), Ukrainian refugees can take up or continue their studies at Ulm University as of now.

Entry into higher semesters is possible in every degree programme. The language of instruction is German. The required certificate of language proficiency must be submitted by the time of enrolment.

Ulm University offers bachelor’s programmes with restricted admission only in the winter semester. Applications are possible until 15 July 2022. Admission is in the special quota for non-EU nationals.
Ulm University offers bachelor’s programmes with restricted admission in Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular Medicine, Psychology as well as Economics (Teacher Education). Special quotas for non-EU nationals are regularly underused; it would be worth applying for them.

Applications for studies in Medicine and Dentistry for the first semester are made via uni-assist.

This also applies to applications for all bachelor's programmes in the first semester.

Applications for higher semesters in Medicine and Dentistry must be directed to Ulm University. Applications for the winter semester are possible until 15 July 2022. The language of instruction in the medical programmes is German. The required certificate of language proficiency must be submitted by the time of enrolment.

If the requirements for a master's programme with unrestricted admission are met (equivalent bachelor's degree), Ulm University offers the possibility of taking up a master's programme in the first or a higher semester already in the upcoming summer semester. Lectures start on 19 April 2022; the language of instruction is in part German; the master’s programmes at Ulm University taught in English are listed here.

The University is checking whether Ukrainian applicants can take up studies in admission-restricted bachelor's and master's programmes (outside Medicine) with immediate effect if the legal requirements are met.

For all these questions, the admissions office offers counselling for applicants and students. Contact person: Rosa-Anna Puccia-Gammaro.

In addition, Ulm University now grants temporary student status to refugee Ukrainian students who already took up studies in Ukraine - irrespective of whether they fully meet the entrance requirements for an undergraduate degree - and thus enables them to attend classes at the University, even if these may only be individual courses taught in English.
This applies to admission to a higher semester in bachelor's programmes as well as in master's programmes after consultation with the subject coordinators and regardless of admission numbers. Certificates attesting any achievements will be issued upon completion of these temporary studies. The University is currently examining whether this possibility also exists for Ukrainian students who are interested in medical programmes. The costs of enrolment can be reduced.

Please note that under the current legal situation, this regulation only applies to Ukrainian refugee students and refugees who previously studied in Ukraine. This group of people is also financially secured and receives benefits under the asylum seekers' benefits act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz) for the first 18 months if they have a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act.
For refugee students who do not have Ukrainian citizenship or did not have a permanent right to stay in Ukraine, the legal situation is currently still unclear; however, these persons can continue their studies in Germany at any time under the applicable conditions (tuition fees, admission requirements). For further information please go to this website.

Refugee Ukrainian students who want to take up studies in Germany but cannot directly enter undergraduate programmes can enrol in the language and cultural preparation programme "FOKuS - Studienstart Deutsch" for study preparation at the University free of tuition fees. Prerequisite for participation is a knowledge of German at least on an A2 level.

Applications for the intensive language course B1 (September-October 2022) and for the B2 and DSH courses (winter semester 2022/2023) are possible until 15.07.2022.

Here you can find more information about the programme (incl. application)

Furthermore, the University also enrols foreign students for temporary research stays, provided that the legal requirements are met.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) supports researchers who have fled their home countries by making it easier for them to join research projects and apply for funding under the Walter Benjamin Programme.

The following requirements must be met in principle:

• The person has not been outside their home country for more than three years at the time of application and
• they have residential status in connection with an asylum procedure within the EU and are recognised as being at risk, or
• in lieu of proof of residency status, they are able to present credible third-party evidence of being at risk no more than 12 months prior to application, e.g. documentation provided by the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR) or Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA).

This way, the DFG also underlines its solidarity with researchers from Ukraine and Russia who had to flee their home country due to the current war situation triggered by the Russian attack. By integrating them swiftly in the German research system, the aim is to enable them to maintain continuity in their academic work.

In acute crisis situations, proposals can be submitted without proof of the respective status after consultation with the DFG.

Individuals are only eligible for sponsorship if they have not previously been sponsored through the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative and the Federal Foreign Office or under any comparable programme for integration in the academic system.

For questions regarding the program and applications from Ulm University, please contact Daniel Kanzleiter (Abt. II-3 International Office).

The Volkswagen Foundation would like to support Ukrainian researchers with a targeted funding offer to continue their scientific work temporarily in Germany.

The funding offer is aimed at Ukrainian scientists who have already fled to Germany after the Russian invasion of their country or who will arrive in Germany in the coming weeks.

It offers doctoral students, postdocs and established scientists from all disciplines the opportunity to continue their work in a research group at a university or research institute in Germany for a period of 6-12 months. Applications must be submitted jointly by the university management and the host scientists in Germany.

For questions regarding the program and applications from Ulm University, please contact Daniel Kanzleiter (Abt. II-3 International Office).

The Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scholars provides scholarships for at-risk scholars to continue their research at universities and research institutions in Baden-Württemberg.

Applications are accepted throughout the year and can be submitted directly to the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF).

The Vector Foundation would like to support scientists who are forced to leave Ukraine to continue their scientific activities at a host institution in Baden-Württemberg on a transitional basis.

For this purpose, the Vector Foundation provides funding to universities and research institutions in Baden-Württemberg to employ refugees with Ukrainian citizenship and completed studies in existing research groups and projects for a limited period of time (6-12 months).

Details on the emergency program can be found on the Vector Foundation website (in German) and in the program documents (PDF) (also in German).

For questions about the program and applications from Ulm University, please contact Daniel Kanzleiter (International Office).

Current job advertisements for academic staff can be found on the Human Resources Department website.

#ScienceForUkraine collects and publishes support opportunities from scientific institutions worldwide for students and researchers affected by the war in Ukraine. Click here for the interactive world map.

EURAXESS, the European information portal for researchers, has launched a dedicated section for researchers from Ukraine as part of the ERA4Ukraine initiative. The new website provides an overview of European and national support services for refugee researchers.

The focus is on practical assistance, recognition of degrees and employment and funding opportunities for researchers coming from Ukraine. Around 20 EU and associated countries/association candidates have already compiled country-specific information, including Germany. The information on the ERA4Ukraine portal will also be made available in Ukrainian in the near future.

Click here for the ERA4Ukraine website