In 1925, a single student's initiative gave a brief to a DAAD scholarship in Heidelberg. Since then, the scholarship has supported more than 2,5 mln scholars for receiving their dream-education in Germany.
The DAAD's annual report 2019 presents the following statistics:
- 1,545,000 funded scholars from Germany since 1950
- 1,060,000 funded scholars from other countries since 1950
- 145,659 funded students, researchers, and graduates
- more than two mln visitors at DAAD's international education fairs
In this article, you will read how to be among the next generation of DAAD scholars. The below sections present the condensed summary of all the opportunities DAAD provides, application procedures, and relevant links to further explore the scholarship.
What opportunities you can have with DAAD
DAAD (the German Academic Exchange Service) provides yearly funding to 100,000 students from Germany and other countries to study and carry out research in Germany. With DAAD sponsorship, you may reach German universities and non-university research institutions, participate in an internship program.
As you might guess, DAAD is not a single scholarship to study in a particular university. There are 94 scholarship options funded by DAAD. Consequently, there is no single application procedure and timeline, as it depends on the program you choose.
To find all the available options, enter the DAAD scholarship database. Tick the “DAAD funding programs only” in the filters to find available opportunities. You will see that scholarships vary for all the study degrees, countries of origin, subjects, and intention from the filter features.
Therefore, there is a good chance you can find a good match for your academic goals.
Main scholarship programs
Before you navigate the abundance of programs to apply, read below the main groupings of scholarship programs by DAAD.
Research Grants, Short-Term Grants
Funding duration: 1-6 months
Funding amount: 861 €/month for graduates, 1200 €/month for postdocs
The goal of the program is to support doctorate research projects. Eligible students for this grant include high-qualified doctoral candidates and students who have completed Master's studies. In rare cases, students with an excellent completion of a Bachelor's degree may also be eligible.
The selection committee chooses scholars mainly by academic achievements, such as academic qualification and quality of the research project.
Read the application details here.
Research Grants, One-Year Grants for Doctoral Candidates
Funding duration: 7-12 months
Funding amount: 861 €/month for graduates, 1200 €/month for postdocs
The goal of the program and the eligibility criteria are the same as for the Short-term grants. As an additional benefit, scholars of this program can have a monthly rent subsidy and a monthly allowance for accompanying family members.
Within the one-year grants, you can also have coverage of expenses to upgrade your German language skills.
Read the application details here.
University Summer Courses
Funding duration: at least 18 teaching days
Funding amount: 1,061 € | 1,236 € for scholars from least developed countries
Through this program, you have the opportunity to upgrade your German and explore the culture of the country. Application is open for Bachelor's students to complete at least two years of studies and Master's students.
The program covers the expenses of attending German language courses, which are usually taught in June-November. The main selection criteria include academic achievements as well as the motivation for studying the specific course.
Read the application details here.
University Winter Courses
Funding duration: 6 weeks
Funding amount: 2,041 €
The goal and eligibility criteria for the Winter courses are the same as for Summer courses. An additional requirement is that the students in the last year of their Bachelor's studies should prove the intention to take a Master's degree shortly after the BA.
The courses start in January and finish in February.
Note that the winter courses' funding is currently on hold because of a pandemic situation.
For the probable resume of the program in the future, read the application details here.
Grant for a Full Doctoral Programme
Funding duration: up to 4 years
Funding amount: 861 €/month for graduates, 1,200 €/month for doctoral candidates
The program supports doctoral projects in Germany. If you succeed in receiving the funding, you will be able to either conduct an individual project under the university's professor's supervision or participate in an already structured doctoral program.
As for most doctorate-support programs, a full doctoral program selects candidates based on their academic achievements and the research project's quality.
Read the application details here.
Scholarships for a Master's Degree
Funding duration: 10-24 months
Funding amount: 861 €/month
Scholarships allow earning a Master's degree in Germany. The students from or interested in artistic disciplines have the opportunity to enroll in subject-related programs.
The program funds participation in a postgraduate program, or the first two years of studies as a part of a Master's degree completed in a country other than Germany. The scholarship firstly covers the expenses of a standard Master's degree with a duration of up to 24 months. For the additional year of funding, you should provide the academic achievements for the funded duration of studies.
Read the application details here.
You may also explore the list of sur-place and third-country programs. Those scholarships support development-related studies in the home countries of the students. Usually, the scholarships are tied to a certain national development issue, and the list of eligible countries is specified.
Applying for scholarships
As DAAD provides more than 90 different scholarships, there is no specific application deadline or requirements for each. You should enter the scholarship database, select the program most matching your interests, and start applying by the "submit the application" button on the right upper corner of the screen.
If you do not see this button for a scholarship, this means the scholarship is not available at the moment.
You may always seek professional assistance on your application by referring to the programs' contact and consulting section.
Though application details differ, almost all the programs' unified requirement is to submit the university certificates, work samples, and references. The latter two are not submitted via the DAAD online portal. All the other application processes must be completed online.
Published on Feb 03, 2021
