This scholarship programme offers you the opportunity to complete your doctoral degree in Germany. The scholarships are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
About German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
DAAD scholarship in Germany is a private, federally funded and state-funded, self governing national agency of the institutions of higher education in Germany, representing 365 German higher education institutions (100 universities and technical universities, 162 general universities of applied sciences, and 52 colleges of music and art) [2003]. The DAAD itself does not offer programs of study or courses, but awards competitive, merit-based grants for use toward study and/or research in Germany at any of the accredited German institutions of higher education. It also awards grants to German...... continue reading
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DAAD Doctoral Programmes
Aim and Benefits of DAAD Doctoral Programmes
Under certain circumstances, you can apply for the following additional benefits after start of funding:
Requirements for DAAD Doctoral Programmes Qualification
- You can apply if you have above-average qualifications and you completed your Master's degree or Diplom, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor's degree, at the latest by the time the funding period begins.
- As a rule, applicants should not have graduated any longer than six years before the application deadline
- If you have already started your doctorate, it also applies that the start of the doctorate should not be longer than 3 years ago.
- Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / Section A, point 2.
- Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.
- A Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree of 2nd class upper division level and a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree are required;
Interview date, Process and Venue for DAAD Doctoral Programmes
The selection criteria are:
1. Qualification
- Academic achievements (grade point average, development of grades)
- Academic progress
- Knowledge of the language(s) of instruction or working language(s)
- If applicable, scholarly achievements after graduation, (e.g. publications, lectures, conference papers)
2. Quality of research project
- Quality of research proposal and preparation (originality, topicality and relevance of the project, choice of host institution and first contacts)
- Feasibility and consistency of study plan and schedule
- Incorporation of project within the overall doctorate (in terms of content and time), if relevant
3. Potential of applicant
- Career prospects: significance of the research project and stay in Germany for further academic, professional and personal development
- Motivation: academic and personal reasons for wanting to visit Germany, German language skills (if different from working language)
- Non-study-related activities: non-study-related knowledge and skills, civic engagement
Documents Required for Application
- Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
- List of publications (max. 10 pages), if applicable
- Description of academic and personal reasons for your planned project in Germany (letter of motivation: 1-2 pages), taking account of the following question: What do you hope to gain from your project in Germany (personally, professionally, for your career)? Please upload the letter of motivation under ‘study project/motivation’ in the DAAD portal.
- A proposal, prepared and formulated by yourself, as well as a description of previous research work (max. 10 pages in total). A proposal is an extensive and detailed description of the research project which has been discussed with the academic adviser. Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / section B, point 2. Please upload the proposal under ‘research project’ in the DAAD portal.
- In the case of individual projects supervised by a university teacher (academic adviser)
- Schedule for planned research work (must be agreed with academic supervisor)
- Letter confirming supervision by the doctoral supervisor. Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / section C, point 3. Please upload the confirmation from the academic host under ‘acceptance of host institution’ in the DAAD portal.
- In the case of planned participation in a structured doctoral study programme:
- Module plan (to be uploaded in the DAAD portal under 'schedule')
- Proof of existing contacts to the coordinator of the doctoral programme (to be uploaded under ‘acceptance of host institution’ in the DAAD portal).
- Letter of admission to a study programme; this may be submitted at a later date if it is not available at the time of application
- Declaration from the scientific supervisor in Germany on safety-relevant and ethical aspects of the research project. Please upload the document in the portal under ‘Scientific ethics/research safety‘.
- University degree certificate indicating final grade(s): the certificate must be subsequently submitted before the grant-supported research begins if it is not available at the time of application.
- One recent, supporting letter of recommendation from a university teacher which provides information about your qualifications. Please regard the instructions given on the tab 'Submitting an application'.
- All university certificates on all annual examinations with individual grade(s), incl. explanation of grading system.
- German or English translations of documents submitted in the national language (to be uploaded with the corresponding documents)
- Proof of admission to a doctoral programme at the home university insofar as the applicant intends to take a doctoral degree there
Optional:
- Other documents which support your application (example: certificates of employment, proof of practical training/internships and voluntary commitment etc.)
Application Deadline
September 24, 2025How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) on mydaad.b2clogin.com to apply
Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)
2. Request recommendation form
You can generate the recommendation form in the DAAD Portal as a writable PDF under 'Request recommendation form'. It can only be generated during the application period. Please send it to your university teacher and ask him or her to complete the form in full. When you have received it back, upload it in the portal under 'Letter of Recommendation'.
3. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)
- Prepare application documents
- If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
- Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. You can only upload PDF files to the portal.
- Fill out the application form and upload the application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
- Submit the application online.
For more details, visit DAAD scholarship webpage
