Every year, the family fund of Humboldt-Universität makes financial resources available to students and staff in order to help them overcome structural barriers that stand in the way of balancing their family life with their studies, work or academic career.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin sees itself as a family-friendly university. It regularly participates in audits to certify its family-friendly status and its University Senate has ratified a mission statement that reflects its commitment to the work/university-life balance. In line with that commitment, the HU established a family fund. The fund provides financial resources to students and staff to help them overcome, or at least mitigate, structural difficulties in balancing academic and professional commitments and family life.
Allocation Guidelines
The Allocation Guideline was published in edition No. 93/2019 of the Official Gazette (Amtliches Mitteilungsblatt) of the HU Berlin and defines possible applications of the funds
Understanding of the Family
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has a broad-minded understanding of family, considering it any situation in which a person is responsible for a family member long term. It encompasses all parent-child relationships – including single parents, and patchwork and LGBT families – as well as sibling relationships, spousal and marriage-like relationships, and relationships to other relatives.
Use of Funds and Tendering
Financial resources from the central family fund can be used for short-term personnel measures and degree completion scholarships as well as for material expenses. Financial resources from the family fund may only be handed out for personnel measures if they are supplementing the basic infrastructure of the respective faculties and institutes.
The call for tenders for financial resources from the family fund takes place at least once a year and is advertised university-wide. The Commission for a Family-Friendly University (Kommission Familiengerechte Hochschule, or KFH) is charge of the call for tenders.
Important:
Applications for measures 1, 2 and 4 can be sent continuously by e-mail to the Family Support Office (Bereich Familiengerechtigkeit) which acts as the office of the Family-Friendly University Commission (Kommission Familienfreundliche Hochschule). Please submit all required documents in a single PDF file and address your e-mail to familienfonds@hu-berlin.de with the subject ‘Application for Family Fund’. The call for applications for the funds of the 3rd measure (final scholarships) takes place at least once a year and is announced publicly.
Applicants with disabilities can also submit their application in paper form. Please contact familienfonds@hu-berlin.de for this purpose.
It is important that all applications are formulated using gender-equitable language. Further information can be found in the allocation guidelines for the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Family Fund. The Commission for a Family-Friendly University (KFH) is responsible for the allocation of funds.
Funded measures:
Subsidies for childcare for stays abroad 🖉
Grants for childcare for stays abroad by doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and professors as well as employees in technology, service and administration at HU, insofar as the funds of the respective institutions or third-party donors are not sufficient for childcare.
Eligible to apply:
All persons mentioned above
Applications must include
- Completed application form (please attach as a cover sheet to the application)
- Proof of planned stay abroad
- Birth certificate of the child or children or alternative proof
- Statement of costs for the planned childcare
Allowances for childcare/care for relatives in need of care for participants in academic events or professional development events 🖉
Allowances for childcare/care for dependants in need of care for participants (professors, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral students, technical, service and administrative staff and students) at academic events (e.g. meetings, conferences, summer schools, workshops and congresses) outside of regular lecture hours or professional development events outside of core working hours, insofar as these are not covered by childcare/after-school care and additional costs are incurred as a result.
A grant can be awarded for these purposes as long as the costs cannot be covered by other institutions (e.g. organisers, third-party funding providers, care insurance, health insurance, grants, youth welfare office).
Eligible to apply:
Organisers of the respective event and all above-mentioned participants who require childcare/care services for relatives as part of or due to events.
Applications must include
- Completed application form (please attach as a cover sheet to the application)
- Proof of the planned event or planned participation in an event
- Birth certificate of the child or children or alternative evidence/proof of the need for care of the relative(s)
- Statement of costs for the planned childcare/nursing care
Final scholarships for academically outstanding doctoral and postdoctoral researchers at HU 🖉
Graduation scholarships for academically outstanding doctoral candidates and habilitation candidates of HU in financial need, insofar as the completion of their qualifications cannot be achieved within the allotted time for family reasons and, in the case of HU employees, there is no longer an employment opportunity under the WissZeitVG, even taking into account the family circumstances.
This funding covers a maximum period of six months plus a maximum of three months until the defence. The amount of the scholarship is €1,365 per month (doctoral candidates) or €1,500 per month (post-doctoral candidates). The monthly family allowance is €400 for the first child and €100 for each additional child.
Eligible to apply:
Doctoral and habilitation students at HU with and without previous employment at HU. Applicants who have already received or are receiving final funding for their doctorate or habilitation from another body within or outside the HU beyond the regular maximum funding period are excluded. Furthermore, the scholarship cannot be linked to an employment position within or outside the HU.
Applications must include:
- completed application form (please attach as a cover sheet to the application)
- Project description (max. 2 A4 pages)
- detailed, realistic timetable
- Curriculum vitae, incl. list of publications
- last university degree certificate
- Professional statement that the dissertation or habilitation is likely to be excellent and that it can be submitted as a final qualification thesis in six months at the latest. In the case of doctoral candidates, the statement should come from the supervisor; in the case of habilitation candidates, from the faculty's professors. (The template for letters of recommendation is available for download as a PDF file and must be sent by the supervisor directly to the e-mail address below).
Important:
The call for applications for graduation scholarships takes place at least once a year and is publicised at the university. Applications will only be accepted in the context of a call for applications.
Funds to increase the number of hours worked by a student assistant to support their own research project 🖉
Funds to increase the number of hours worked by a student assistant to support a research project if academic work is not possible or only possible to a limited extent due to pregnancy and maternity leave. The prerequisite is that the work cannot be carried out by persons who are financed by other institutions or from budget funds. (In view of the minimum duration of auxiliary posts, it is necessary that the application is for an increase in an existing auxiliary post).
Eligible to apply:
All members of HU who are pregnant or on maternity leave and who are unable to carry out their research/academic activities as planned as a result
Applications must include:
- Completed application form (please attach as a cover sheet to the application)
- Proof of maternity leave (maternity pass or birth certificate)
- Confirmation of the necessity of the measure by the head of the institute or faculty or the supervisor
