National Research Funding

The German Research Foundation (DFG) offers various funding lines, e.g. in the areas of individual funding, coordinated programs, international cooperation, and large-scale equipment.

The Federal Government supports concrete R&D projects that advance the state of knowledge in key application areas in various funding programmes. There are also funding programmes for cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and research institutions.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation sponsors researchers using various sponsorship formats. It promotes scientific cooperation between foreign and German scientists with research fellowships and awards that match individual career situations, thus contributing to international research exchange.

The DAAD website presents the scholarship formats for mobile researchers. To finance research stays abroad, the DAAD offers, for example, postdoctoral fellowships for young researchers with doctorates from all disciplines.

The state of Lower Saxony offers various project-related research funding programmes. Funding is, for example, provided for collaborative research endeavors and research projects of high strategic and profile-building importance. 

The Volkswagen Foundation is Germany's largest independent institution with respect to research funding, with a strong focus on basic research. It supports research projects in future-oriented fields. It devotes particular attention to young scientists and cooperation between researchers from different disciplines and nations.