Organisation of studies

Please note the following:

You should normally be notified of the result of your Bachelor’s degree in August or September, or February or March. If, for examination-related or organisational reasons, it is foreseeable that this timeframe cannot be met, you may not receive BAföG on a continuous basis between your Bachelor’s and master courses. In your own interests, we strongly advise you to contact your BAföG office in good time and seek individual advice on the financial aid implications of transitioning from your Bachelor’s to your master course. An initial consultation can also be arranged through the social advisory service of the AStA at Bielefeld University.

Should the outcome of the consultation be that you are likely to be affected by a ‘BAföG gap’ because you will complete your Bachelor’s degree too late, we can, under certain conditions, offer Bachelor’s students at Bielefeld University the opportunity to enrol in the master course on a temporary basis. Such provisional enrolment in the Master’s programme may mean that you are not affected by a BAföG gap.

As provisional enrolment is conditional upon your re-registration in your current Bachelor’s programme, we are currently unable to offer a solution for students transferring from another university. To avoid a BAföG gap, students transferring between universities have no option but to ensure that their previous university is made aware that the results of their Bachelor’s degree will be communicated to them in August or September, or February or March.

You have sought advice from the BAföG Office or the AStA [Student Union] ’s social welfare service, and the outcome of this advice is that, to avoid a gap in funding between your Bachelor’s and master course, you should enrol provisionally on the master course. Please proceed as follows:

1. The student re-enrols for the Bachelor’s programme as normal.
2. The student must obtain a certificate from the examination office stating that they are expected to complete their degree by 15 May / 15 November (a forecast, not a ‘4.0 certificate’).
3. The student completes:
   • Application form for provisional enrolment & certificate in accordance with Section 9 of the BAföG – Form 2
4. The student must arrange an appointment with the relevant case officer at the student office (see letter group) and send the completed documents mentioned above directly to that person.
5. Students must attend their appointment with the relevant case officer at the student office and bring the following with them:
   • Notices of admission/acceptance for the master course;
   • Confirmation email from the examination office stating that the Bachelor’s degree is expected to be completed (see point 2);
   • A printout of the application and the notification; the application must be signed (see point 3).
6. The student office checks the re-enrolment status and, once all documents are in order, the provisional enrolment notification / Form 2 (see above) is signed / stamped and issued to the student. Form 2 is intended for submission to the BAföG office. The provisional enrolment is valid until 15 June / 15 December.
7. The student then re-enrols in the relevant master course in the usual way (see standard procedure).

Applications for provisional enrolment may be submitted from the start of the re-enrolment period and no later than 15 December / 15 June.