Study funding for parents
The following state or other social benefits may be relevant to financing your study while being a parent. Though, not all of them work in combination as somme are deducted from one another. Whether any or which of the listed benefits will be available for you before or after the birth of a child may not be answered per se, but depends on your personal circumstances. Counselling ist strongly advised.
Also, this list does not claim to be complete, it rather serves to give you an idea where to start.
If you have questions, you may contact the family office (Familienbüro).
(all links to german websites!)
- Kindergeld and maybe Kinderzuschlag (child benefit and supplement)
- BAföG and Kinderbetreuungszuschlag within BAföG (state grant and child care supplement)
- benefits for education and participation (Bildungs- und Teilhabepaket)
- Wohngeld (housing benefit)
- Unterhalt and/or Unterhaltsvorschuss for single parents (child support and child support advancement)
- Bürgergeld (unemployment benefit, e.g. during pregnancy, for children or while on holiday semester)
- Elterngeld (parental allowance) during parental leave
- Mutterschutzlohn und Mutterschaftgeld (maternita benefits) during and after pregnancy while on maternity leave
- foundation grants or subsidies
- grants of the Bundesstiftung für Mutter und Kind (Federal Foundation for mother an child) during pregnancy
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The Studierendenwerk Berlin offers counselling for students with children, either at the Sozialberatung or the BAföG-Beratung.
The Studierendenwerk also published a brochure for students with children (in German!) "Studieren mit Kind in Berlin" (2017) Which also contains inforamtion on study funding for parents, whether on housing benefits, child supplement, childcare costs or Bafög-childcare allowance.
- Hildegardis-Verein: The association - together with other foundations - grants interest-free loans to (Christian) female students - especially to those for whom state subsidies are no longer effective, or who are in a special situation (e.g. female students with children, single parents).
- Kuhlmann-Stiftung: This foundation offers students in special circumstances interest-free loans for graduation assistance.