DAAD Scholarship for Doctoral Studies in Germany 2026

This scholarship program offers you the opportunity to complete your doctoral studies in Germany. The scholarships are funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Interview Process
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineAugust 6, 2026
• Study LevelPhD
• SponsorDAAD
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• Monthly scholarship rate of €1,400, depending on the level of education.
• Benefits for health, accident and personal liability insurance
• Travel expense allowance (only upon request)
• annual research grant of €460

Furthermore, after the start of funding, you can apply for the following additional benefits under certain conditions:

• monthly rent subsidies 
• Monthly allowances for accompanying family members. 
• In the case of a disability or chronic illness: upon application, a subsidy may be granted to cover justified additional costs incurred abroad that are necessary to realize the project in Germany and that are not covered by third parties; whether and in what amount a subsidy is paid will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis.

To help you prepare linguistically for your stay in Germany, the DAAD offers the following services:

• Coverage of course fees for an online language course upon receipt of the scholarship confirmation.
• If required: a German course (2, 4, or 6 months) before the start of the research stay in Germany; the DAAD decides on participation and duration depending on German language skills and the research project. If a language course scholarship is awarded and German is the working language at the host institution, participation is mandatory.
• Subsidy for a self-selected German course during the scholarship period
• Reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH exam, which you can take either in your home country after receiving the scholarship offer or in Germany during the course of your funding.

Requirements

• You can apply if you are exceptionally well qualified and have completed your studies with a Master's degree or Diploma, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor's degree, by the time the scholarship begins.

• Note:
  Applicants from the fields of human medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry are subject to further regulations, which can be found here .

Selection Process

An independent selection committee of experts will decide on the applications.

The selection criteria are:

1. Qualifications:

• Academic performance (general grade point average, grade development)
• Study progress
• Knowledge of the language(s) of instruction or work
• If applicable, scientific achievements after graduation (e.g. publications, lectures, conference contributions)

2. Quality of the research project:

• Quality of the research project and its preparation (originality, topicality and relevance of the project, choice of host institution and contact establishment)
• Feasibility and consistency of the work and time schedule
• Integration of the project into the overall doctoral project (in terms of content/time), if relevant

3. Potential of the applicant:

• Career prospects: Significance of the research project and the stay in Germany for further academic, professional and personal development
• Motivation: professional and personal reasons for staying in Germany, German language skills (if different from the working language);
• Extracurricular activities: extracurricular knowledge and skills, social engagement

Furthermore, the selection committee duly considers aspects of equal opportunity, which you can address in the application form.

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• Application requirements and deadline may vary by country, kindly visit the DAAD webpage for more information.

For more information, kindly visit the DAAD scholarship webpage.