Germany DAAD Doctoral Scholarships (PhD Funding for Global Researchers)

The DAAD Doctoral Scholarships programme offers the opportunity to complete a doctoral degree in Germany. The scholarships are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Applicants may apply if they have above-average qualifications and completed a Master’s degree or Diplom, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor’s degree, by the time the funding period begins. Funding is provided for a doctoral project at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education or a non-university research institute in Germany. The project can be an individual project supervised by a university teacher or participation in a structured doctoral study programme, and research phases outside Germany can be funded when critical to the project. Visits outside Germany must not exceed one quarter of the anticipated total funding period, and the planned visits must be detailed in the study plan and time schedule.

Applications are reviewed by an independent selection committee of specialist scientists. Selection criteria include qualification (academic achievements, academic progress, and knowledge of the language(s) of instruction or working language(s)), quality of the research project (quality of the research proposal and preparation; feasibility and consistency of the study plan; and incorporation of the project within the overall doctorate), and the applicant’s potential (career prospects, motivation, and non-study-related activities). Equal opportunities are also considered.

Funding is provided for a maximum of four. Grants are initially awarded for a maximum of three, with annual assessment of academic achievements; if the scholarship holder is assessed as successfully completing the doctorate within a reasonable period, funding continues as planned. Applicants can apply for an extension for a possible fourth funding period. The value includes monthly payments and payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance, plus a travel allowance upon application and an annual research allowance. Additional benefits may be applied for under certain circumstances after start of funding, and language-related services are offered by DAAD.

• Applicant has above-average qualifications.
• Applicant completed a Master’s degree or Diplom, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor’s degree, by the time the funding period begins.
• As a rule, the most recent university degree was obtained no more than six years before the application deadline.
• If the applicant has already started the doctorate, the start of the doctorate must not be longer than 3 years ago at the time of application.
• Applicant must not have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.
• For applicants from human medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, other regulations apply.

• Monthly payments of 1,400 euros.
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance.
• Travel allowance (upon application only).
• Annual research allowance of € 460.
• Under certain circumstances after start of funding: monthly rent subsidy.
• Under certain circumstances after start of funding: monthly allowance for accompanying family members.
• In case of disability or chronic illness: on application, a subsidy for justified additional costs incurred abroad necessary to realise the project in Germany that are not covered by a third party (reviewed and determined individually).
• Language skills preparation services: payment of course fees for an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter.
• Language course may be funded before the start of the research stay in Germany (DAAD decides whether to fund participation, and for how long, depending on language skills and project). If the language course is granted and the working language is German, participation is compulsory.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the grant period.
• Reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH test.

1. Register on the DAAD portal.
2. Complete the online application in full.
3. Upload the application documents listed for the DAAD portal under the section ‘Attachments’.
4. Use a desktop computer if the application portal can only be used to a limited extent with mobile devices.

• Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages).
• List of publications (max. 10 pages), if applicable.
• Letter of motivation (1–2 pages) describing academic and personal reasons for the planned project in Germany, including what the applicant hopes to gain from the project (uploaded under ‘study project/motivation’).
• Research proposal prepared and formulated by the applicant and a description of previous research work (max. 10 pages in total) (uploaded under ‘research project’).
• In case of individual projects supervised by a university teacher (academic adviser): schedule for planned research work agreed with the academic supervisor.
• In case of individual projects supervised by a university teacher (academic adviser): letter confirming supervision by the doctoral supervisor (uploaded under ‘acceptance of host institution’).
• In case of planned participation in a structured doctoral study programme: module plan (uploaded under ‘schedule’).
• In case of planned participation in a structured doctoral study programme: proof of existing contacts to the coordinator of the doctoral programme (uploaded under ‘acceptance of host institution’).
• In case of planned participation in a structured doctoral study programme: letter of admission to a study programme (may be submitted at a later date if not available at the time of application).
• Declaration from the scientific supervisor in Germany on safety-relevant and ethical aspects of the research project (uploaded under ‘Scientific ethics/research safety’).
• All university degree certificates already obtained (e.g., Bachelor’s and Master’s), stating final grade(s). If the most recent degree certificate is not available at the time of application, it must be submitted before the start date of the scholarship; a provisional document must be uploaded in the meantime.