The Hermann Staudinger Prize is awarded by the GDCh no more than every two years to scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of macromolecular chemistry. The prize commemorates Hermann Staudinger, who is known as the father of polymer chemistry and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1953 for his achievements. The GDCh Division of Macromolecular Chemistry has the right to nominate the prize winners.

The prize was first awarded in 1971 and consists of 7,500 euros, a gold medal and a certificate.

In 1995, the successful industrial chemist and Staudinger Prize winner Dr. Hermann Schnell (1916 - 1999) established a foundation named after him at the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker. The purpose of the Dr. Hermann Schnell Foundation is to support young scientists in the field of macromolecular chemistry, its physical-chemical principles and analytics.

Scholarships are available to young chemists working at universities or publicly funded research institutions, who should generally be post-doctoral students and have German citizenship. In the case of persons from other European countries, there must be evidence of close cooperation with German researchers and research institutions. Funding is provided in the form of scholarships.