Scholarship Database
Here you can find information on various kinds of DAAD funding for students, graduates and postdocs as well as on funding offered by other selected organisations.
Research Grants – Doctoral Programmes in Germany • DAAD
Objective
Who can apply?
What can be funded?
- individual projects under the supervision of a university teacher or academic adviser
or - participation in a structured doctoral study programme
Duration of the funding
- a maximum of four years; the length of the grant is decided by a selection committee and depends on the project in question and the applicant's work schedule.
- Grants are initially awarded for a maximum of one year. Extensions depend on whether the selection committee considers the previous award period to have been successfully completed.
- For doctoral projects in Germany that require several years of research, research phases outside Germany can be supported if these are critical for the successful completion of the doctoral degree. Planned stays must be specified in the application in the work and time schedule and should not exceed a quarter of the anticipated total funding period.
Value
- Depending on academic level, monthly payments of:
euros 861.- for graduates,
euros 1,200.- for doctoral candidates - Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
- Travel allowance
- One-off research allowance
- monthly rent subsidy
- monthly allowance for accompanying family members
- Payment of course fees for the online language course "Deutsch-Uni Online (DUO)" (www.deutsch-uni.com) for six months after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
- if necessary: Language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the research stay; the DAAD decides whether to fund the grant holder's participation and for how long depending on language skills and project. If a language course scholarship is granted and the working language at the host institute is German, participation is compulsory.
- Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the grant period
- Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF test which has either been taken in the home country after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany before the end of the funding period
- As an alternative to the TestDaF for scholarship holders who have taken a language course beforehand: the fee for a DSH examination taken during the scholarship period may be reimbursed.
Selection
Selection criteria:
Academic Qualification (documented by: university degree certificates, references, list of publications)
- Academic achievements and duration of studies
- If applicable, academic achievements after graduation (e.g. publications, lectures, conference contributions)
- Quality of research project presentation and preliminary work
- Originality, topicality and relevance of project
- Reasons for choosing Germany and host institution
- Feasibility and consistency of work schedule and time plan (analysis and evaluation steps, if applicable, language skills)
- Integration of the project into the overall doctoral project (in terms of content/time), if relevant
- Importance of the research project and stay in Germany for academic and professional plans
- Additional knowledge and skills (e.g. through professional or voluntary activities, further training)
- Involvement in academic self-governance, higher education policy issues
- Political, social, cultural, family (parental leave or care periods, etc.), social commitment
What requirements must be met?
- As a rule, applicants should not have graduated any longer than six years before the application deadline. If you are already working on a doctoral degree, you should not have started your degree any longer than three years previously.
- Applicants who have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline cannot be considered.
For applicants from the fields of human medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, other regulations are applicable. Please refer to the leaflet "Additional information on DAAD Research Grants for applicants from medical fields" (www.daad.de/extrainfo).
Language skills
- The required language level depends on the applicant's study plans and subject: In the arts, social sciences and in law, at least a good knowledge of German is usually expected. For the natural sciences and engineering, proof of good English language skills may also be accepted if English is spoken at the host institute.
You are also required to send 1 copy of the "Application summary" (PDF file), which is generated in the DAAD portal after the online application procedure has been completed, by post to the application address.
Please note that the access to the application portal only appears while the current application period is running. After the application deadline has expired, the portal for this programme is not available until the next application period.
The access to the DAAD portal generally opens about 6 weeks before the application deadline at the latest.
Application documents
Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:
- Online application form
- Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
- List of publications (max. 10 pages), if applicable
- 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 information for scholarship applicants / section B, point 2.
- Letter confirming supervision by a university teacher in Germany (academic adviser)
- Schedule of planned research work
- Letter of admission to a study programme; this can be subsequently submitted before the grant-supported research begins if it is not available at the time of application.
- Proof of existing contacts to the coordinator of the doctoral programme in the form of copies of correspondence
- Diplom or 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.
- Other documents which support your application (example: certificates of employment, proof of practical training/internships, etc.)
- Depending on the subject certificate of knowledge of German language (onDaF, TestDaF) or English language (IELTS or TOEFL iBT or TEM)
To be submitted by post:
One recent reference from a university teacher which provides information about your qualifications (hand-signed, no digital or scanned signature). Please regard the instructions given on the tab “Submitting an application“.
Current information on application deadlines until 31.12.2021: Due to the current pandemic situation, applications can be submitted without an application reference.
You are also required to send 1 copy of the "Application summary" (PDF file), which is generated in the DAAD portal after the online application procedure has been completed, by post to the application address.
Application deadline
Application location
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
Akasaka 7-5-56, Minato-ku
107-0052 Tokyo
Japan
Tel.: +81 (3)/3582-5962
Fax.: +81 (3) /3582-5554
E-Mail.: daad-tokyo@daadjp.com
WWW.: https://www.daad.jp
Please note
- Your application is only valid if you submit all the required documents to the DAAD portal on time.
- For submitting references by post, the postmark date serves as proof that they have been dispatched on time.
- (If further documents are to be submitted by post, please send them as soon as possible.)
- Incomplete applications cannot be considered. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete.
- The application documents remain with the DAAD. Data relating to applicants is saved by the DAAD in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act and with the EU Data Protection Regulation insofar as this data is needed to process the application.
More detailed information
- DAAD website section "PhD studies and research"
- Website ”Research in Germany”
- Website ”GERiT – German Research Institutions"
- DAAD website ”Important information for DAAD scholarship applicants”
Please note:
To submit an application on the DAAD Portal, please use a desktop or laptop computer as the site’s full functionality is not available on mobile devices. Technical requirements
General information on the application via DAAD portal
This is what you have to do:
1. Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)
2. Request references
The form, which has to be completed by a referee, has to be generated in the DAAD portal in the section "Request reference" after registration and downloaded. Please send the form by e-mail to your referee and ask for the completed reference form to be returned to you in a sealed envelope. In each case, please provide your referee with the application address thus enabling him/her to send the recommendation letter there direct.
Please note that the form for completion by a referee can only be generated during the application period (from about 6 weeks before the application deadline).
Please generate one form for each referee.
The reference is confidential and may not be viewed by the applicant!
3. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)
- Download and complete the online application form
- Prepare application documents
- If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
- Scan paper documents (except references) and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
- Upload the completed application form and the other 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 uploaded application documents online.
4. Sending application documents by post
References must be sent in the unopened envelope to the application location.
You are also required to send 1 copy of the "Application summary" (PDF file), which is generated in the DAAD portal after the online application procedure has been completed, by post to the application address.
Information for applicants from non-EU countries:
Please remember to specify the exact contents of your postal consignment in the documents for the customs authorities, e.g. "Application for a scholarship with application documents, a reference and a DVD with work samples (no commercial goods, no merchandise value, no insurable value)".
Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact our technical Portal hotline: +49 (0228) 882-8888 or via e-mail portal@daad.de, open every weekday from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm (CET).
Please consider this when you are planning your application.
An application to this programme is currently not available. Please check the application deadline under "Application procedure."