The Cusanuswerk is one of the thirteen

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

sponsorship organizations financed by the

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany) The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (german: link=no, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, ), abbreviated BMBF, is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provi ...

to promote gifted students. It is headquartered in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

History

The Cusanuswerk was founded in 1956 under the authority of the

German Bishops' Conference The German Bishops' Conference (german: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz) is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrato ...

. Name giver of the organization is the medieval scholar

Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Re ...

. The aim of the Cusanuswerk is to promote gifted Catholic students until their university graduation. From 1988 to 1995, the Cusanuswerk was directed by

Annette Schavan Annette Schavan (; born 10 June 1955) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She was the Federal Minister of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2013, when she resigned foll ...

; from 2004 to 2011 it was led by Josef Wohlmuth. On October 1, 2011, he was succeeded by Georg Braungart. Auxiliary bishop Christoph Hegge,

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

, is the commissary of the German Bishops' Conference for the Cusanuswerk since 2013.

Stipend and support

The Cusanuswerk awards public funds to "particularly gifted catholic students of all disciplines."

Application

For admission, candidates have to apply at the organization or suggested for application by university lecturers or high school teachers. The selection is a multi-step procedure. At its end, around one quarter of all applicants will be admitted. Admission depends on three main criteria including academic performance,

social engagement Social engagement (also social involvement, social participation) refers to one's degree of participation in a community or society. Definitions Prohaska, Anderson and Binstock (2012) noted that the term social engagement is commonly used to r ...

and catholic denomination. Admission is possible starting at the entrance to university but also at later stages as long as five semesters of standard study period remain. An annual exhibition is organized for applicants studying arts, displaying works of all nominated applicants.

Financial support

Financial support is subject to the rules by the Federal Ministry of Education. It consists of either a fixed monthly lump-sum or a more generous means-tested scholarship for students in need, similar to the regulations of the BAföG. Doctoral students receive a scholarship independent of their financial background. Additional support is available for study and research stays abroad.

Academic support

The academic support includes regular educational events as well as a spiritual enrichment program. It is expected that support recipients attend an annual summer school organized by the Cusanuswerk. During their studies, Cusanuswerk scholarship holders form groups at the location of their college. An appointed liaison professor provides additional support. All local scholarship groups elect representatives. Representatives of all local groups meet semiannually for a joint assembly (Cusanerkonferenz). Social engagement and the acquisition of international experience are particularly encouraged for scholarship holders. The Cusanuswork also offers special career support for women based on mentorships and additional seminars.

Prominent former scholarship holders (so-called Altcusaner)

* Adolf M. Birke, university professor, historian * Brun-Otto Bryde, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court * Michael F. Feldkamp, historian *

Winfried Hassemer Winfried Hassemer (17 February 1940 – 9 January 2014) was a German criminal law scholar. He was vice president of the Federal Constitutional Court. Born in Gau-Algesheim, Hassemer was from 1964 to 1969 a scientific assistant at the Institut fo ...

, university professor, jurist, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court *

Willi Jäger Willi Jäger (born 15 August 1940 in Kschellowitz, Bohemia) is a German mathematician. He completed his PhD in 1966 the University of Munich under the direction of Erhard Heinz. From 1969 to 1970 Jäger was a visiting scientist at the Coura ...

, university professor, mathematician *

Alexandra Kertz-Welzel Alexandra Kertz-Welzel (born October 15, 1970) is Professor (highest academic rank), Professor and Chair of Music Education at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. She studied at the Hochschu ...

, university professor (music education) *

Paul Kirchhof Paul Kirchhof (born February 21, 1943 in Osnabrück) is a German jurist and tax law expert. He is also a professor of law, member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and, a former judge in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (' ...

, university professor, jurist, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court * Christoph Klein, paediatrician and university professor *

Oskar Lafontaine Oskar Lafontaine (; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) from ...

, former chairman of the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

, former minister president of

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

, member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

(Faction DIE LINKE.) *

Norbert Lammert Norbert Lammert (born 16 November 1948) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 12th President of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2017. Early life and education The son of a baker, Lammert attended gymnasium ...

, member of the Bundestag, president of the Bundestag since 2005 *

Johannes Masing Johannes Masing (born 9 January 1959 in Wiesbaden) is a German jurisprudent, public law and former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Career Between 1979 and 1986, Masing studied law and philosophy at the University of Freibur ...

, university professor, jurist, judge at the Federal Constitutional Court *

Michael Matheus Michael Matheus (born 27 March 1953, in Graach) is a German historian. Life Michael Matheus graduated from the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium (Trier) in 1971. He studied history, political science and German at the universities of Trier, Bonn an ...

, university professor *

Heinz Riesenhuber Heinz Friedrich Ruppert Riesenhuber (born 1 December 1935) is a German politician ( CDU) who served as Minister of Scientific Research under Chancellor Helmut Kohl from 1982 to 1993. Life and education Riesenhuber received his high school diplo ...

, former federal minister of research and technology * Ferdi Schüth, university professor, chemist *

Hans Tietmeyer Hans Tietmeyer (18 August 1931 – 27 December 2016) was a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remained afterwards one o ...

, former president of the Deutsche Bundesbank

Literature

* ''Begabung als Herausforderung''. Editors: Hermann Breulmann, Wolfgang Frühwald,

, Paderborn, Munich, Vienna, Zurich 1991. * ''Verbindende Vielfalt. 40 Jahre Cusanuswerk''. Editor: Claudia Lücking-Michel, Köln 1996 * ''50 Jahre Cusanuswerk. Bischöfliche Studienförderung. Glauben. Wissen. Gestalten 1956-2006'', Publisher: Cusanuswerk. Bonn 2006.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scholarships in Germany 1956 establishments in Germany Education in Germany Organisations based in Bonn Educational institutions established in 1956