If you want to study or research in Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has everything you need to get started. German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is a government-supported initiative that offers scholarships to overseas students at the graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels.
Many DAAD scholarships are fully-funded and do not need to be repaid. They usually consist of a monthly scholarship payment (currently, for example, € 992 for students and € 1,300 for doctoral/PhD students) and a flat-rate travel allowance.
In many cases, DAAD also provides you with health, accident and personal liability insurance. Depending on the scholarship programme, there are also additional benefits such as a one-off research allowance, family benefits or funds for language courses.
DAAD scholarships are available for PhD students’ research grants, Master’s degree scholarships, DAAD graduate program financing, and doctorate programs. One can apply for a DAAD scholarship in their preferred scholarship programme. There is a scholarship database that takes you to the application portal.
Typically, there is no fixed age limit for DAAD scholarships; however, there could be individual exceptions in programmes. Most scholarship programmes stipulate that only a certain amount of time should have elapsed since the last degree was obtained.
In most programmes that require a first university degree, you can apply in your last year of study. You must then meet all the academic requirements set out in the Call for Applications by the time your funding period begins. Also, you can hand in your degree later; it must be submitted before the start of the funding period.
You may apply for DAAD scholarships even if you are in Germany, provided you have been in Germany for a maximum of 15 months by the closing date for applications and the Call for Scholarship Applications makes no other specifications.
The application procedures may vary depending on the scholarship programme you have opted for. To find out where and how to apply, you will have to read the ‘Application procedure’ section of the Call for Applications in the Scholarship database.
You have to apply online for DAAD scholarships. To do this, you must register on the DAAD portal. In the scholarship database, first select your chosen scholarship programme and then the tab Submit application. The closing date for applications is indicated in the Application procedure tab.
Monthly Scholarships
The scholarship payment is based on the academic level of the scholarship holders and on the scholarship programme. Scholars taking a Master’s programme typically receive EUR 992, doctoral candidates and postdocs EUR 1,300 (as of February 2026: EUR 1,400). Rates for university teachers are usually EUR 2,000 for assistant teachers, assistant professors and lecturers, EUR 2,150 for professors.
In many scholarship programmes, insurance benefits are part of the scholarship. DAAD also grants an allowance towards travel expenses in the form of a lump sum. Under certain conditions, DAAD offers an allowance for accompanying spouses, child allowance and insurance benefits for spouses, registered partners and children. The partner allowance is 276 euros per month. If you are not entitled to state child benefit, you can apply for a DAAD child allowance in the amount of the state child benefit. Currently, you receive 259 euros per month per child.