STUDY

Dr. Erich Ciesciutti Scholarship

The Dr. Erich Ciesciutti Scholarship is endowed by the Dr. Erich Ciesciutti Foundation. The foundation’s main purpose is to support students who are particularly deserving of support.

Who is eligible to apply?

Bachelor’s students or applicants for a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Klagenfurt who have spent some of their lives in residential child and youth care or foster care and are making or have made the transition from there to leading an independent life;
Bachelor’s students or applicants for a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Klagenfurt with physical disabilities.

What is the scholarship amount and how long can I expect to receive funding?

The Dr. Erich Ciesciutti Scholarship supports students studying for a Bachelor’s degree with a monthly grant of € 600 for an initial maximum period of 12 months. Payments commence either in the month of October or March and will depend on the degree programme’s starting date. After the first semester of payments, the scholarship holder’s academic performance will be evaluated. It is a condition of receiving the scholarship for a further semester that the student completes at least 8 ECTS credits per semester. The cut-off date for the evaluation is 31 March or 31 October of each year. The required academic achievements amounting to at least 8 ETCS-AP must have been completed by this time. If this is not the case, scholarship payments will be discontinued after the first semester of study. Scholarship payments already received do not have to be repaid. The scholarship can be extended twice.

What formal requirements have to be fulfilled in order to be able to apply?

Affiliation to one of the defined groups of persons.
Fulfilment of the formal requirements for admission to the chosen Bachelor’s degree programme at the University of Klagenfurt.
Students should be under 30 years of age at the beginning of their Bachelor’s degree programme.
Austrian citizenship, citizenship of an EEA member state or foreigners and stateless persons with equal status:
1. Third-country nationals and stateless persons are deemed equal to Austrian citizens if they have acquired the right of permanent residence in Austria (residence title “EU permanent resident”), are family members of EU citizens who are “migrant workers” within the meaning of Art. 45 TFEU or self-employed workers within the meaning of Art. 49 TFEU, or are family members of Austrian citizens.
2. Refugees within the meaning of Art. 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Federal Law Gazette No. 55/1955 (proof: passport or asylum decision), are treated as equal to Austrian citizens.

All documents must be submitted in German or English.

What supporting documents are required for the application?

Submission of the Matura certificate or an equivalent school-leaving certificate or university entrance qualification
Letter of motivation in German or English (2 DIN A4 pages, at least 6,000 characters excl. spaces)
Optionally: Interview (in person or online) in case of further questions from the jury; grades (if you have already embarked on a Bachelor’s degree programme)
For students with a physical disability: At least 50% degree of disability according to the disability certificate

What is the deadline for my application?

Application deadline: 1 May to 10 July 2024
(applicable for the winter semester 2024/25 and for the summer semester 2025)

Where can I apply?

Please submit your complete set of application documents to: ec-stip [at] aau [dot] at

Good to know

Legal entitlement: There is no legal entitlement to being awarded a scholarship or to its continuation after the end of the scholarship period.

Obligation to cooperate: Scholarship holders must provide the evidence required for the granting and possible extension of the scholarship (particularly the required minimum academic performance). Notice of deregistration or exclusion from the programme must be communicated without delay.

Selection procedure and awarding body: The University of Klagenfurt is solely responsible for conducting the selection procedure.

Termination, revocation and repayment: The scholarship ends no later than at the end of the twelfth month after the first payment (or at the end of the first completed semester of study, if the minimum performance requirements are not met). Inclusion in the scholarship programme may be revoked if the scholarship holder fails to submit the application documents required during the application procedure by the last calendar day of the first month of study. The payment of the scholarship will be terminated with immediate effect if the scholarship holder:

deregisters from the study programme in respect of which the scholarship was awarded,
forfeits admission to the degree programme for which the scholarship was awarded for other reasons pursuant to § 68 of the Austrian Universities Act, or
does not provide the required proof of academic performance.

Funds drawn beyond the date of deregistration or exclusion from the programme must be repaid. If the required minimum academic performance of 8 ECTS credits per semester in the first academic year or 16 ECTS credits per academic year in the following years is not achieved, the scholarship will be terminated as of 31 March or 31 October. In this case, scholarship funds already received do not need to be repaid.