Info: Submit your follow-up application now!
If your current BAföG funding ends on 31 March, we recommend that you submit the follow-up application now!
This will help you avoid interruptions in the payment process.
15. Funding beyond the standard period of study
1st option: One-off flexibility semester (possible for almost “all”)
The flexible semester can only be applied for once, i.e. either for the Bachelor's, Master's or state examination course. You have the choice of whether you apply for it informally before funding beyond the standard period of study (2nd option) or afterwards. A justification is not required.
Time condition: It must immediately follow the standard period of study or the approved/authorized extension of studies (2nd option). There is no flexi-semester after a full loan (3rd option). As usual, the funding is split equally between a grant and a loan.
Content condition: Bachelor's students who wish to apply for a flexi-semester must submit positive proof of performance in accordance with § 48 Para. 1 of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) (see FAQ 11) during the course of their studies.
Whether this proof is sufficient will be checked individually.
2nd option: Funding beyond the standard period of study (for certain reasons)
You have not completed your studies during the standard period of study through no fault of your own and can prove this. The reasons accepted by the BAföG office for this are the same as those for submitting proof of performance (FAQ 11):
- Illness/disability (only with a certificate)
- Failure to pass an examination for the first time (Performance review/documentation)
- Pregnancy/child rearing up to the age of 14 (mother's passport/birth certificate)
- statutory committee activity at universities/studierendenWERK BERLIN
- Care of close relatives (at least care grade 3)
- or other university-related/serious reasons.
As usual, half of the funding is provided as a grant and half as a loan (only in the case of pregnancy/parenting as a pure grant). This requires a written, informal application that states and documents the reasons for the delay and also contains a detailed plan for completing the degree.
3rd option: Final study grant (up to 12 months)
The BAföG full loan is a special form of funding if the university confirms that you can complete your studies in 12 months. It can be granted to you as an interest-free BAföG full loan if your entitlement to ‘normal’ BAföG (grant/state loan) has been exhausted.
Examples:
a) your maximum funding period has been exceeded and there are no (further) reasons that justify your funding in the overrun phase with a grant/loan
b) or another course of study after more than one change of subject without full semester crediting