An Ultimate Guide to the DAAD Scholarship
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An Ultimate Guide to the DAAD Scholarship

DAAD is primarily abbreviated for Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service), which is one of the most renowned scholarship schemes available in educational institutes.

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November 5, 2021 5 min read

DAAD is primarily abbreviated for Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service), which is one of the most renowned scholarship schemes available in educational institutes of Germany for international students coming from all around the globe.

Being the world’s greatest funding association, DAAD has been successfully fulfilling its role in international level funding to students by providing scholarships to over 2 million students ever since it was founded in 1925.

DAAD provides scholarships on both master’s and doctorate levels in the form of monthly stipends so that students can reasonably make their living more effortless and much feasible. It proves to be an inspiring opportunity for the students who wish to study in the world’s top-ranking universities but are unable to bear the expenses of living and studying abroad.

There is a broad array of courses and programs offered by DAAD from which international students can choose to take the courses of their interest. One of the premium factors involved in DAAD scholarships is that the courses and programs offered by DAAD are usually available in both German and English languages so that the foreigners do not need to learn the German language in order to study in Germany.

Why should you study in Germany?

Germany aims to establish such an impactful and globally valued education system for both its native as well as international students that it becomes one of the most preferred study destinations for students coming from all around the world.

With such a great DAAD scholarship scheme, there is an ever-increasing surge in international students to benefit themselves from the enriched culture of Germany along with earning a universally valued degree from a renowned institute in Germany.

There are various reasons for consolidating the fact that Germany has come out to be one of the best study destinations in the world, being located in the heart of Europe. Some of the leading eminent features of studying in Germany are mentioned as follows:

High-Quality Education:

While flaunting some of the world’s top-ranking institutes located in Western Europe, Germany is one of the most preferable countries for international students who wish to study abroad in order to experience broad exposure to quality education and research.

Some of the most famous universities of Germany, including Technische Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg are the highest-ranking universities of Germany since these have achieved global positions of 50, 63, and 64 respectively according to the QS World’s Rankings 2021.

With a specific focus on the higher education and research facilities, students are able to conduct high-tech research projects at both the individual- as well as institute-level.

Save your tuition fees:

How incredible it is to study in the world’s top-notch educational institutes without paying any sort of tuition fees! This is also one of the main reasons why Germany has become a highly preferable study destination amongst students coming to Europe to study from all across the globe. Students can achieve their undergraduate as well as postgraduate degrees without paying any tuition fees in German institutes.

Exemption of tuition fees plays a crucial role in enabling international students to feasibly manage their financial expenses while living abroad.

Better career prospects:

Almost every student studying abroad expects better career opportunities that could not be possibly granted if he were studying in his home town. Therefore, Germany puts a high focus on targeting better job opportunities for international students since they are allowed to reside in Germany for the time duration of up to 18 months after completing their graduation.

It makes Germany pretty preferable as compared to other prominent European countries and UK as students are allotted lesser stay durations after study completion. German universities offer their students a wide range of internships as well as employment opportunities on the grounds of their associations with different corporate sectors and other organizations.

DAAD scholarship provides an easily accessible online platform for a plethora of international students to apply for admission into postgraduate or doctoral degree programs in German universities. You can submit your DAAD scholarship application by following 10 simple steps as listed below:

  1. Firstly, fill in the DAAD Scholarship form online by submitting the enquired information along with the required documents.
  2. Prepare your hand-signed CV (Curriculum Vitae) after getting the Europas Specimen form.
  3. Get your hand-signed Motivation Letter along with the current occupation reference.
  4. Prepare your Research Proposal in case of need.
  5. Get prepared the Recommendation Letter obtained from your former educational institute.
  6. Get the Experience Letter of your employment from the concerning employer.
  7. Apply for the courses or programs of your interest after conducting detailed research on their inclusion in the DAAD Scholarship scheme.
  8. After checking the languages tests applicable for the courses or programs you are applying for, take the eligible English language proficiency tests or German language tests depending on the language in which the concerning course is to be taught.
  9. Followed by the submission of the essential documents, check if there are any additional documents needed for a particular course or program.
  10. Also, check the mode of submission of documents on the official websites of the concerning universities whether they accept the required documents online or via postal services.

What are the eligibility requirements to get DAAD Scholarship?

There are various requirements you need to fulfill in order to achieve the DAAD Scholarship (German Academic Exchange Service), whereas the major ones are listed as follows:

  • Enroll for a full-time course with mandatory attendance in Germany
  • Having a bachelor’s degree (comprising of 4 years) or a master’s degree completed within the last 6 years duration
  • Having at least 2 years of professionally approved work experience
  • English language proficiency requirements and German language proficiency requirements depending on the factor that in which language your concerning course is being offered
  • Stay in your home country at the time of application submission for DAAD Scholarship for at least 1-year duration in case of visiting Germany for a 6-months duration
  • Having last academic degree completed in your home country in case of visiting Germany for more than 6 months duration

Which documents would be required for DAAD application form?


DAAD accepts online applications from thousands of international students every year. In order to apply online for DAAD Scholarship, you need to firstly register yourself on the official online portal of DAAD, after which you can fill in the application form online. The documents required to be submitted in the DAAD Scholarship form are mentioned as follows:

  • Name and nationality
  • Gender, academic title
  • Contact information
  • Date & place of birth and country of permanent residence
  • Secondary school and higher education
  • Degrees held
  • The degree program you are applying for
  • Choice of host university/institution
  • Duration of the course you are applying for
  • Practical/professional work experience
  • Language skills with IELTS or TOEFL certificates in case of English language proficiency requirement and DSH or TestDaF in case of German language proficiency requirement
  • Previous visits abroad for study/work
  • Professional occupation/written proof
  • Professional career goal
  • Leave of absence information
  • Extracurricular interests
  • Letter of motivation
  • A detailed proposal in case of applying for a research grant
  • Letter of Reference obtained from a university professor

How much stipend is allotted by DAAD scholarship?

In the form of monthly stipends, the DAAD scholarship enables the international students to manage their financial expenses to be utilized for basic living and traveling needs. Apart from the monthly stipend, the DAAD scholarship also allows international students to benefit from free accommodation in the university dorms so that they do not have to spend their money on rental expenses.

Moreover, students are also provided with certain health and insurance facilities along with the possibility of travel grants during their stay in Germany. The amount of monthly stipend for the international students of postgraduate and doctoral degree programs is specified for 850 Euros and 1200 Euros respectively.

Which subjects are covered in courses and programs offered by DAAD scholarship?

There are almost all subjects included under the courses and programs category offered by the DAAD scholarship, yet there are some limitations on specific subjects, which need to be considered before selecting and applying for the courses in German universities via DAAD scholarship.

The most common subjects covered by DAAD scholarship in their programs are as follows:

  • Economic Sciences,
  • Law
  • Agricultural and Forest Sciences
  • Art and Design
  • Engineering and Natural Sciences
  • Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Language and Cultural Studies
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Health Sciences
Summing up, you can rely on the DAAD scholarship since it provides financial assistance to a multitude of international students who wish to study in the top-notch universities of Germany. You can receive a monthly stipend from the DAAD scholarship scheme for your postgraduate program or doctoral degree program ranging over the time period of 1-3 years.

The possibility of having been granted the DAAD scholarship greatly depends on the quality of your application submission as well as your previous academic background. In case of being selected by the DAAD review committee, you need to submit the required documents in the form of pdf files within the given deadlines.