Social Office

Since 2005, Paderborn University has been certified as a family-friendly university, i.e. the compatibility of child and university is facilitated as much as possible.

In this overview you will find all kinds of services related to this topic:

Information about childcare at UPB can be found here. 

Project Group StuKi (studying with child):

• Meeting point for exchange with like-minded people
• Here you can find their Facebook page
• We at the Social Office also offer consultation about studying with child. However, currently we can only do so by appointment.

FamilienServiceBüro (Family Services Office):

• Here you will find information about amongst other things financial questions and childcare at university.

Other family services in Paderborn:

• Pregnancy Conflict Counseling 
• Caritas Consultation / pre- and post-birth financial aid
• Kita-Navigator
• FBZ FreiesBeratungsZentrum Paderborn für Eltern, Kinder und Jugendliche (free consultation center for parents, children, and youth)

Do you have problems with your landlord or want to challenge an exam result? Do you have questions about income tax or do you have to file your first tax return? The AStA offers students free legal and tax consultation by the Paderborn lawyer Mr. Wirth, as well as the tax consultant Dr. Bastert.

To book an appointment, just fill out this form.

Consultation hours:

Lawyer Mr Wirth

each from 12:30 to 14 o’clock

Please note:

Currently, we can only offer consultation by phone.

Tax consultant Dr. Bastert:

14:00 – 15:00h

Important notice:

Short-notice announcements (e.g. due to illness) will be communicated on our Instagram channel.

The consultation does not include representation in court. In their respective offices, the offer of a free initial consultation for students does not apply.

• Daka Student Loan
• KfW Student Loan
• KfW Education Loan
• BAföG

You will find more information about prerequisites and consultational services here.

Wohngeld:

Your BAföG application didn’t come through? Under certain conditions you can also apply for Wohngeld, i.e. a state-grant to help pay your rent. This is possible, if

• you reached the maximum funding period,
• your BAföG application was rejected due to missing credits in your studies or
• you decided to switch to a second degree program.

Here you will find all necessary information:

• informal Wohngeld application
• Wohngeld application rent subsidy
• www.wohngeldrechner.nrw.de

AStA Social Loan

Under certain conditions you can apply for a scholarship. In addition to scholarships for gifted students, there are also some scholarships that are granted according to other criteria. Take a look at these scholarship databases to find a suitable funding opportunity for you:

• DAAD
• Stipendium der Begabtenförderungswerke
• Deutschlandstipendium
• e-fellows
• myStipendium
• Stipendiumplus

In addition, the ZSB also provides an overview of potential scholarships and contacts.

In case the semester fee poses an overwhelming financial burden for you, §57 section 1 (6) HG allows you to apply at the AStA to be recognized as a social hardship case. It’s best to apply for this recognition as early as possible before the semester starts. If you submit all the necessary documents to our social office until 7 August (for the winter term) and 7 February (for the summer term), you are likely to have confirmation on your application process by the deadline for paying the semester fee (21 September or March respectively). If you have applied to a restricted-admission program and are unable to pay the semester fee to successfully enroll, please note that February 7 and August 7 are hard deadlines to ensure university-internal deadlines.

It is also possible to apply during the first weeks of the new semester. However, you should keep in mind that this entire process will take a few weeks since several different administrative bodies need to be involved (AStA Social Office, AStA-Finances, Budget Committee of the Student Parliament). Since you will only be able to register for classes in PAUL after the semester fee was administered on the university’s bank account, you should apply for social hardship as early as possible.

Please note the deadlines of the Studierendensekretariat! Even if you have submitted a hardship application to the AStA, you must report to them if the deadline cannot be met, otherwise you will be exmatriculated or not enrolled.

If you submit a justified hardship application, there are two possibilities:

1. You are able to transfer the semester fee to the university account despite the financial hardship, e.g. because you borrowed money from family or friends. In this case, the AStA will transfer a partial amount of the semester fee back to you after approval (see below for more information).
2. You are not able to transfer the semester fee to the university account due to financial hardship. In this case, the AStA will transfer a partial amount directly to the university after approval (more on this below). You must then transfer the outstanding balance yourself or additionally apply for an AStA social loan for the remaining amount.

If your application is approved, the maximum amount you can get refunded is the semester fee minus the dedicated amount for the Studierendenwerk. In case of approval, the refund will always be a partial refund, because the fee for the Studierendenwerk cannot be decided by the AStA and thus cannot be refunded. The remaining amount will always be calculated based on the individual situation and can therefore not be given here as a lump sum. (If you are not able to raise the financial means for the Studierendenwerk social contribution (currently 81,43€ per semester) within the re-registration/enrollment period, we inform about the AStA social loan above). The AStA will then transfer the corresponding amount to the university account for you after approval. You may continue to use the semester ticket if it is approved.

Further requirements that have to be met are the following: There must not be any other reason for a partial refund (e.g. because of exmatriculation, leave of absence, disabilities). Furthermore, a personal consultation with our social office team regarding this issue is mandatory. In addition, the financial hardship must be justified so that it cannot be covered by the AStA social loan.

If you would like to submit this application to the AStA Social Office, you should send, in addition to a short justification, if possible all documents on the basis of which the AStA and the Budget Committee of the Student Parliament can reliably assess the current financial and social situation of the applicant. These include:

• Documentation of the current financial and social situation with evidence of income and assets, including those of the spouse/life partner (complete evidence of all accounts and savings accounts for the last three months) → Must have
• A current transcript of records from the central examination office → Must, unless the hardship application is submitted prior to the first semester
• Copy of valid ID or passport → Must
• Living situation (shared apartment, alone, with family members) → Must
• Contractual/legal obligations → Must, if available
• Family situation (care of children, dependents, etc.) → Must, if available
• Work situation (e.g. corona-related loss of job, short-time work) → Must, if available
• Evidence of special burdens (e.g. chronic illness, impairments) → Must, if available.

If the conditions listed above do not apply, then there is also no possibility of the application being approved. Even if you do not use the semester ticket at all or do not take any courses at all, this also applies regardless of the corona pandemic, you still have to pay the contribution because this is a solidary contribution for and by all students (except for the exceptional cases as defined by §57 section 1 (6) HG).

You want to apply for a hardship case? Then please use the hardship application form.

The central student advice centre is the contact point for psychosocial counseling, counseling on studying with disabilities, and many other topics.

You can book appointments through these channels:
Phone: 05251 – 60 2007
E-Mail:

You can find more information about the central student advice centre here.

Cornelia Wagner (Psychosocial Counselling, Representative for Students with Disabilities)
Phone: +49 5251 60-5497
E-Mail:  /
Room: I4.307

In addition to the Central Student Advice Centre, Paderborn University is offering further services on the topic of diversity and maintains a website on which you can find information about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, diversity-related measures, activities, and much more.

Here you can find more information about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of UPB.

Additionally, this might be relevant:
Frauenberatungsstelle Lilith e. V.
You can book appointments via these channels::
Phone: +49 5251 60-3296
E-Mail: 
Room: E5.327

The Equal Opportunities Committee can also be consulted for student concerns.

Paderborn Office of Diversity
Here you will find services, topics and events of the local Diversity Office.

Information portal about LGBTQI+ topics
The Regenbogenportal (Rainbow Web Portal) is a service provided by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth with topical contributions, events and educational services as well as a search engine for services near you.

Nightlines
An anonymous and confidential nightly listening and information phone service by students for students with “call points” throughout Germany. For those who prefer to write rather than speak, some cities also offer a chat or mail function.

Informational Phone Services about Depression
A national and free-of-charge service for affected and relatives alike, they offer general information as well as information about points of contact near you.
Phone: +49 800 3344533

Addiction and Drug Hotline
This is a national service hotline about addiction and drugs for both affected people and relatives.
Phone: +49 180 5313031 (0,20€/Min. from landline, max. 0,60€/Min. from cell phone)

Service Hotline “Violence against Women”
Here, women who are currently experiencing or have experienced violence in the past can find a sympathetic listener. Relatives can also call this number for information. There is also the possibility of written contact.
Phone: +49 800 116016
Web: https://www.hilfetelefon.de/beratung-fuer-frauen.html

Service Hotline “Violence against Men”
Here, men who are currently experiencing or have experienced violence in the past can find a sympathetic listener. Relatives can also call this number for information. There is also the possibility of written contact.
Phone: +49 800 1239900
E-Mail:
Web: https://www.maennerhilfetelefon.de/

MännerBeratung, KIM – Rat & Tat e. V.
This is a low-threshold counseling service for men, both in individual counseling and group services.
Phone: +49 5251 5067711
E-Mail: