At its meeting on 27 May 2026, the Students’ Council (StuRa) resolved, in line with the Social Committee’s recommendation, that the reduction applied to the approved sums for the application periods of the 2025/26 winter semester (refund) and Summer Semester 2026 (coverage) (see StuRa resolution of 7 January 2026) should no longer be applied to the application period for the coverage of the semester fee for the Winter Semester 2026/27. Applications are to be processed again in the usual manner in accordance with the Social Regulations, i.e. coverage of 100%, 75% or 50% of the semester fee, depending on the Social Committee’s assessment of financial hardship.

Background to the current situation

Due to the high number of applications for the winter semester 2025/26 and the three application periods in the calendar year 2026, the Social Committee proposed to the StuRa in January 2026 – in view of the budget allocation of €110,000 for social grants – that the payment of social grants be reduced as follows:

• applications calculated as 100% approved –> 50% reimbursement/coverage
• applications calculated as 50% or 75% approved –> no reimbursement/coverage
• individuals receiving special consideration under the Social Support Regulations due to parental leave, pregnancy or entitlement to integration assistance were exempt from this reduction

This was intended to ensure that all applicants who, on the basis of the Social Regulations, would be entitled to full funding, could at least be guaranteed partial funding, and that this support would be distributed across the three application periods of the 2026 fiscal year, so that no situation would arise where no funds would be left at all for the final application period (Winter Semester 2026/27).

Equal treatment was applied in accordance with the resolution of 7 January 2026 for applicants in the application periods for the 2026 summer semester and the 2025/26 winter semester. The agreed reduction was applied in these cases.

What is the current situation?

Now that the two application periods have closed and the deadline for submitting applications for the 2026/27 winter semester has also passed – meaning the number of applications is final – we have been able to work out the situation regarding the applications received and the remaining funds in the budget.

The Chair of the StuRa Social Committee explains: “As a voluntary Social Committee and a committed student representative body, we did not take the decision to scale back funding lightly. We had to constantly balance the need for equal treatment of applicants with the need to spread funding evenly throughout the year, so as not to end up with an empty budget and be unable to provide any funding at all for the winter semester 2026/27, whether partial or full.”

The AStA Social Affairs Officer adds: “In the interests of those who have submitted an application, we are pleased that we can now at least offer some support to most applicants in cases of financial hardship by having the student body cover their semester fees, even if, unfortunately, this is not in full for two of the periods, as would actually be the intended aim under the Social Regulations.”

Outlook: What’s next?

The student body’s financial resources are set to decrease in the foreseeable future, partly due to the abolition of the residence allowance and reduced funding from the state. The extent to which social funding in its current form can be secured in the long term – given that it accounts for a significant proportion of the student body’s budget – will need to be examined further in the future.
It remains the aim of the StuRa and AStA to use social grant to enable students to take part in their studies even in times of financial hardship, whilst also advocating for further support options in cases of hardship, for example through the Studierendenwerk (Student Services).

The Student Body Social Regulations can be found here: https://www.asta-rostock.de/en/downloads-und-formulare/satzungen/

In accordance with the Social Regulations, the application period for the reimbursement of the semester fee for the summer semester 2027 runs from 1 October to 1 November 2026.
The online application form will be available on the AStA website at the start of the application period.

Contact details:

For advice on social issues and financing your studies, please contact the AStA Social Affairs Department at soziales.asta@uni-rostock.de

You can contact the Student Service’s (Studierendenwerk) social counselling/advice at sozialberatung@stw-rw.de
Further information: https://www.stw-rw.de/de/soziale-dienste/beratung/sozialberatung.html

If you’re interested in getting involved in the StuRa’s Social Committee to champion students’ social issues, please feel free to email soziales.stura@uni-rostock.de if you’d like to find out more about the committee’s work.