Scholarship Database

Objective

This scholarship programme offers you the opportunity to continue your education in Germany with a postgraduate or continuing course of study. The scholarships also promote the exchange of experience and networking amongst colleagues.

Who can apply?

You can apply if you have gained a first university degree in the field of the Performing Arts at the latest by the time you commence your scholarship-supported study programme.

What can be funded?

In this study programme, you can complete

a Master's degree/postgraduate degree leading to a final qualification, or
a complementary course that does not lead to a final qualification (not an undergraduate course)

at a state or state-recognised German university of your choice.

A Master's degree programme in Germany that has already started at the time of the application deadline cannot be funded.

If you are enrolled in a Master or postgraduate degree programme which includes a study period abroad, funding for this period abroad is usually only possible under the following conditions:

The study visit is essential for achievement of the scholarship objective,
the visit does not take place in the home country,
and it is no longer than a quarter of the scholarship period. Longer periods cannot be funded, even partially.

Please note:
This programme only funds projects in the artistic field of the Performing Arts (Drama, Theatre Directing/Theatre Dramaturgy, Musicals, Performance Studies, Dance, Choreography). Other DAAD scholarship programmes are available for applicants from the fields of Theatre and Dance Studies or for artists with a scientific project.

Duration of the funding

Postgraduate study programmes leading to a final qualification:

Between 10 and 24 months depending on the length of the chosen study programme or project
Start: usually from 1st October of the following year, or earlier if a German language course is taken prior to the study programme
The scholarships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen study programme (up to a maximum of 24 months). Please state the entire period for which you wish to apply for funding in your application. For example, if you are planning a 2-year degree programme, you must directly indicate two years as the desired scholarship duration in your application. After the first year of study, your academic achievements will be assessed in a further funding procedure. If this shows that you will successfully complete your programme within a reasonable period of time, the scholarship will continue as planned.

Complementary studies not leading to a final qualification:

One academic year
Start: usually from 1st October of the following year, or earlier if a German language course is taken prior to the study programme

Value

A monthly payment of 934 euros
Travel allowance
One-off study allowance
Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover

Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may receive the following additional benefits:

Monthly rent subsidy
Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family. Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / section F, point 3.
In the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers: Further information.
Green Mobility Top Up (Support for climate-friendly travel) or partial reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel

To enable scholarship holders to learn German in preparation for their stay in the country, DAAD offers the following services:

Payment of course fees for an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
if necessary: German language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the study visit in Germany; the DAAD decides whether to fund participation and for how long depending on German language skills and project. Participation in a German language course is compulsory if the language of instruction or working language is German at the German host institution.
Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the scholarship period
Reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH test, which you can take either in your home country after you have received your Letter of Award or in Germany during your funding period.

Please note that the DAAD does not cover tuition fees.

Selection

After you have uploaded your application documents to the DAAD portal, the DAAD will first carry out a formal check. It will be checked whether the application requirements have been met and whether the application is complete. If this is the case, you will be asked to submit your work samples.
A special DAAD committee made up of professors from German universities makes the final decision about scholarships in the field of the Performing Arts. The decision is based upon written applications and work samples which have to be submitted (see: www.daad.de/extrainfo).

Selection criteria

the artistic qualification and artistic maturity, measured by study achievements and work samples
the quality of the project as measured by the study plan and the letter of motivation

In addition, the selection committee will give due consideration to aspects of equal opportunities, on which you can provide information in the application form.
For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information / Section E.

Further information

Confirmation of a scholarship does not automatically guarantee admission to one of the universities. The respective university decides whether or not to offer scholarship holders a place. In most cases, applicants are required to take an entrance examination. Please find out in time about admission requirements and application deadlines and interview dates at your chosen university, and bear in mind that these may be several months before the planned start of your studies or even before the DAAD awards the scholarship. We cannot cover the costs of the entrance examination. If an applicant is offered a scholarship by the DAAD but fails to be admitted to a university, he/she may not make use of the scholarship that has already been awarded.

What requirements must be met?

Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:

As a rule, your university degree should not date back more than 6 years at the time of the application deadline. Please read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, point 2.
Prerequisite for the funding is a full-time and attendance study. Extra-occupational or part-time study programmes and study programmes with a predominant share of e-learning can not be taken into account.
Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.

Language skills

Applicants from the fields of Drama and Direction should have a good to excellent knowledge of German, applicants from the fields of Musicals, Performance Studies, Dance and Choreography require at least a basic knowledge of German and a good knowledge of English.

Application deadline

Application deadlines are updated at least once a year. In most cases, they are in the same period as the previous year. You can find the current dates here:

02.11.2023
Start of funding from October 2024

Application documents

The application is submitted in two steps:
1. submission of the application documents
2. submission of work samples

1. Submission of the application documents
The application documents are submitted online via the DAAD portal.
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.

Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.

Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:

Online application form
Full curriculum vitae in tabular form
Statement about academic and personal reasons for the planned study project in Germany (letter of motivation; 1 - 3 pages). Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section B, point 1.

Master's degree programme/postgraduate study programme leading to a final qualification:

Form "Information about your preferred master programmes"
If available: Letter of acceptance from the host university. If you have not yet received notification of admission at the time of application, you must submit this before the funding period begins. Please note that you yourself are responsible for ensuring that you apply for admission at the host university by the due date and that a Scholarship Award Letter from the DAAD only becomes valid if you are admitted to your chosen host university.

Complementary studies not leading to a final qualification:

Confirmation of supervision from a German university teacher

Also for all applicants:

A current Transcript of Records with individual grade(s), incl. explanation of grading system
University degree certificate indicating final grade(s): the certificate must be subsequently submitted before the scholarship-supported study programme begins if studies have not been completed at the time of application.
Proof of knowledge of the language of instruction (German or English). The language certificate should be no more than two years old.
Other documents which support your application (e.g. certificates of employment, proof of placements, etc.)

Please do not upload any work samples to the DAAD portal!

2. Submitting work samples to the DAAD media database:
If the review of your scholarship application shows that it meets the criteria of the scholarship announcement and is complete, you will receive a link to upload your work samples to the DAAD media database by 16 November at the latest. When you receive the link, please upload the work samples to the Media Database by 23 November CET at the latest (daad.extrainfo.de).
Please do not upload any work samples and/or portfolios to the DAAD portal!
For formal requirements, read: "Additional Information for DAAD Study Scholarships in the Field of Performing Arts" at: www.daad.de/extrainfo.

All application documents listed under 1. and 2. must be submitted in German or English. Documents in other languages must be translated.

Application location

Online via the DAAD Portal and the DAAD Media Database

Please note

Your application is only valid if you submit all the required documents to the DAAD portal (see Item 1) and to the DAAD media database (see Item 2).
The DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hrs. (CET or CEST) on the last application day.
Late or incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete.
The application documents remain with the DAAD. Your personal data 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.

Information and advisory centres

Regional Office Tokyo
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

E-mail address for enquiries about scholarships: scholarships@daadjp.com

More detailed information

DAAD website section "Important information for scholarship applicants"
DAAD website section "Study programmes and language courses"
DAAD website section "Plan your studies" to help you prepare for your stay in Germany
Campaign website https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/

General information on the application via DAAD portal

Applications for this scholarship programme are possible in the period June until the stated application deadline.
Click on 'Application portal' at the bottom of the page to go to the DAAD portal. There you will be provided with an online application form to enter your application data.

This is what you have to do:

1. Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)

2. 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 required appendices (except references and any work samples which you might have to submit) 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.

3. Submitting work samples to the DAAD media database:
If the review of your scholarship application shows that it meets the criteria of the scholarship announcement and is complete, you will receive a link to upload your work samples to the DAAD media database by 16 November at the latest. When you receive the link, please upload the work samples to the Media Database by 30 November CET at the latest.
Please do not upload any work samples and/or portfolios to the DAAD portal!

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 (CET or CEST).
Please consider the availability of the hotline as well as possible processing times of your request when you are planning your application.