Goethe University Frankfurt Starting Scholarships for International Doctoral Candidates 2026

The Goethe Research Academy for Early Career Researchers (GRADE) awards up to 15 starting scholarships for international candidates who are preparing or starting a doctorate at Goethe University. The scholarships are funded by the Franz Adickes Stiftungsfonds.

International candidates face special challenges at the start of their doctorate in Frankfurt: costs for mobility and furnishings, effort for residence permits and other administrative issues as well as language requirements for scholarship applications, to name just a few.

The scholarships are intended to facilitate the start of their doctorate despite these challenges by providing funding for the preparation and start of their research. 

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineMay 8, 2026
• Study LevelPhD
• SponsorGoethe University Frankfurt
• City to studyHesse
• School to studyGoethe University Frankfurt
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• The scholarships amount to 1650 € per month for a period of three months.

Requirements

The eligibility criteria are:

• non-German citizenship
• university-qualifying degree (e.g. school-leaving certificate) obtained outside Germany
• degree qualifying for doctorate (e.g. Master) completed or near completed
• commitment from a supervisor at Goethe University to supervise your project
• candidates must have either submitted an application for doctoral funding or received a funding commitment from their supervisor.

Guarantees of a starting scholarship cannot have substantial employment or another scholarship during the period of the starting scholarship.

Application Documents

You can apply until May 8, 2026 by submitting the following documents by e-mail as one single pdf file:

• completed application form and CV
• degrees:
  • copy of university-qualifying degree (e.g. school-leaving certificate)
  • copy of the degree qualifying you for a doctorate (if completed, with grades) or transcript of records
• declaration by supervisor that she / he will supervise your doctoral project
• short proposal of your doctoral project (two DIN A4 pages maximum)
• confirmation of receipt for application for doctoral funding (with result, if available) or funding commitment from supervisor

Check also:
2026 Fully Funded Humboldt Research Fellowship
2026 Konrad Adenauer Foundation Scholarship

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• You can download the application form here: Download Application Form.

• Please send your complete application documents by e-mail as one single pdf file to:

  GRADE
  Dr. Matthias Köhler
  [email protected]
  Phone: +49 (0)69 798-49402

For more information, kindly visit the GRADE webpage.