Applications are open to German students from the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Folkwang University of Arts and the Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences as well as, under certain conditions, foreign students.

The following criteria also apply:

• The applicant must be of legal age; however, the loan is only granted up to the age of 36.
• Only courses of study that are also accredited within the BAföG are supported.
• Students must be in an advanced phase of full-time study.
• Generally, the educational loan is only granted until the end of the 12th semester. Beyond this date, the degree must be confirmed by the university within the possible funding period of a maximum of 24 months.

Students can obtain a federal education loan for a maximum of 24 and at least three months. The support is monthly in instalments of 100 €, 200 € or 300 €, depending on the previous agreement; a maximum total of 7.200 € is payable.

If an exceptional expense (e.g. semester contribution, work equipment) has to be financed, a one-off portion of the loan up to an amount of 3.600 € can be disbursed in advance.

Interest must be paid on the student loan from the day that it is disbursed. If desired, interest can be deferred until repayment and can only be repaid later together with the loan amount.

KfW charges the favorable European Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) as interest rate, which is adjusted every six months on 01.04. and 01.10. to match current capital market developments. In addition, there is a surcharge of one percent per year. The applicable interest rates can be found at www.kfw.de.

The education loan plus interest is repaid to the KfW bank group in monthly instalments of 120 € over a period of four years from the date of the first loan disbursement. However, it can also be paid back earlier, either fully or in part.

Applications for the educational loan must be submitted online to the Federal Office of Administration (BVA), where the requirements are checked. If these are available, a permit is issued which entitles the trainee to conclude a loan agreement under private law with KfW bank group.

To ensure that the BVA's funding decision remains effective, the contract offer must be signed within one month and returned to KfW with a copy of the identification document.

An application should be submitted in a timely manner, as the duration of processing can vary greatly depending on the number of applications.