The DAAD is the world’s largest funding organisation for international exchange of students and researchers. With its development-oriented postgraduate study programmes, the DAAD promotes the training of specialists from development and newly industrialised countries across the world. The DAAD noticed the impact of well-trained local experts, who are networked with international partners in the sustainable development of their countries and established the DAAD Scholarships to assist in bringing up their potentials. The scholarships offer foreign graduates from developing and newly industrialised countries from all disciplines and with at least two years’ professional experience the chance to take a postgraduate or Master’s degree at a state or state-recognised German university, and in exceptional cases to take a doctoral degree, and to obtain a university qualification (Master’s/PhD) in Germany.
Host Institutions
All German Universities offering development-related postgraduate courses.
Available Programmes
All development-related postgraduate courses offered at the various host institutions. They include:
- Economic Sciences
- Business Administration
- Political Economics
- Development Cooperation
- Engineering and Related Sciences
- Mathematics
- Regional and Urban Planning
- Agricultural and Forest Sciences
- Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Medicine and Public Health
- Social Sciences
- Education
- Law
- Media Studies.
Eligible Countries
All developing countries as listed by the Development Assistance Committee of 2022.
Scholarship Duration
The scholarship duration depends on the institution and course. 12 to 24 months for Masters and 42 months for PhD courses.
Scholarship Benefits
The benefit of the DAAD Scholarships depends on academic level of the beneficiary.
- Monthly payments of 934 euros for graduates or 1,200 euros for doctoral candidates
- Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
- Travel allowance, unless these expenses are covered by the home country or another source of funding
- A 6-month German language course (for courses in German Language)
- Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may receive the following additional benefits:
- Monthly rent subsidy
- Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family
See other scholarships in Germany.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible the DAAD Scholarships for Development-Related Postgraduate Courses, you must:
- Be currently working either for a public authority or a state or private company in any of the eligible developing countries.
- Be engaged in the planning and execution of directives and projects with emphasis on development policies having a bearing on technological, economic or social areas in his or her country of duty.
- Be a Bachelor’s degree holder in a related subject.
- Have completed an academic degree with far above average results (upper third) and at least two years of related professional experience after the first degree (bachelor) at the time of application
- Have at least six years old academic degrees.
- For study courses in German, have successful passing of the language examination DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 before the start of the study course. This therefore means that a minimum German language level of B1 at the time of application is a requirement, that needs to be proofed by providing a certificate.
- For courses in English, provide proof of adequate language skills, according to the regulations of the respective courses.
Application Instructions
- Visit the official website to locate the application link fir the course you are applying for and submit your application and documents there in as application sent directly to the DAAD will not be forwarded to the respective course/university.
- Submit your curriculum vitae in reverse chronological order without any unexplained gaps. You are to use the europass template including exact information about your studies, and on practical experience.
- Submit a Letter of Motivation with detailed reference to academic, professional and personal reasons for applying for the programme.
- You can apply for up to three courses. If applying for more than one course, kindly list the courses in order of priority in the DAAD application forms and give detailed reasons for your choice of courses and prioritisation in the letter of motivation.
- Submit a uniform letter of motivation to all postgraduate degree programmes of your choice.
- Submit a Letter of Recommendation from your current employer. The letter must include official letterhead, signature and official stamp and must be of current date.
- Submit your Certificate(s) of Employment from the employer(s) showing at least two years of relevant work experience after the Bachelor’s degree up to the time of application.
- If possible, submit a guarantee of re-employment from your current employer upon returning home.
- Submit a certified translation of copies of your higher education degree certificates if the original if not in German or English, and make sure these are clearly legible.
- Applicants from the People’s Republic of China are required to submit an APS Certificate with their application documents.
- Submit a recent proof of Language Skills:
- English – IELTS or TOEFL (Note: The institutional TOEFL is not accepted)
- German – required for courses taught in German
- See list of all the mandatory documents to be submitted.
Kindly note that applications that are not submitted in English or German language cannot be considered.
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Application Deadline
Application deadline for the DAAD Scholarships for Development-Related Postgraduate Courses in Germany depends on chosen study programme. Applicants are advised to check scholarship brochure or the website of their chosen study programme for the deadline and more information.
Official Website
https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/
DISCLAIMER: Applicants are advised to note that Scholars Guide is not a scholarship agency, and as such may not have any link with the scholarship provider(s). Though we only advertise genuine and verified scholarship opportunities, we urge interested persons to kindly visit the scholarship official website above for more information and application as Scholars Guide will not be liable for damages incurred and or responsible for benefits derived from applying for DAAD Scholarships.