Guides
DFG Sachbeihilfe: the workhorse grant for German academic research
No fixed cap, no career-stage filter, all disciplines. The catch: pure peer review on scientific merit, and the proposal style is unforgiving.
Key takeaways
Check eligibility and pick your funding line
Confirm you hold a doctorate and are affiliated with a German research institution - no professorship and no career-stage filter applies. Group leaders typically apply for personnel plus consumables; junior researchers without a permanent position apply for the Eigene Stelle, which also funds their own salary.
Create your elan account early
Proposals are filed through the DFG's elan portal, and account creation takes around two weeks - set it up well before you plan to submit, not on the last day.
Write the 20-page project description
Keep to the set length - exceeding it is rejected mechanically. Cover state of the art (cite your own prior work generously), quantified objectives, a work programme with measurable milestones, specific methods, preliminary work, relevance, and schedule.
Budget the project on the Vollkostenprinzip
Plan personnel costs as the core, plus consumables, equipment over €10,000 where scientifically justified, travel, and publication costs. At universities a 22% overhead markup is added on top of the project costs.
Submit any time - there are no deadlines
Submission is rolling, so you file via elan whenever the proposal is ready rather than racing a call deadline.
Peer review and decision
Two to three external peer reviewers in your sub-discipline assess scientific merit, followed by a panel. Expect roughly 6-8 months to a decision. A rejection comes with reviewer comments, and a substantially revised resubmission is allowed and often successful. No outcome is guaranteed.
What does the Sachbeihilfe fund?
Personnel costs (postdocs, PhDs, technicians, student assistants), consumables, equipment over €10,000 if scientifically justified, travel, publication costs, and project-specific software. The DFG follows the Vollkostenprinzip - overhead is funded as a 22% pauschal markup on top of project costs at universities.
Who can apply for a DFG Sachbeihilfe?
Any researcher affiliated with a German research institution with a doctorate. No professorship required. Junior researchers without a permanent position can apply for the Eigene Stelle - the DFG pays your salary too. Group leaders typically apply for personnel + consumables; PIs at any career stage are equally welcome.
What does a proposal that survives DFG review look like?
Twenty pages of project description (form-set length, exceeding it is rejected mechanically). Sections: state of the art with citations to your own prior work, objectives, work programme with measurable milestones, methods (specifics matter: which mouse line, which spectrometer, which statistical model), preliminary work showing you can deliver, project relevance, schedule.
How long does the DFG decision take?
Submission is rolling - no deadlines. From submission, expect 6-8 months to decision: 2-3 months for the review pool, 1-2 for the panel meeting, then formal approval. Funding rate fluctuates ~25-35% by discipline. A rejection comes with reviewer comments; resubmission after substantial revision is allowed and often successful. For industry-research collaboration, consider BMBF Verbundprojekte as a complementary route.
FAQ
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