One-Year Grants for Doctoral Candidates in Germany by DAAD

Objective

The primary aim of this programme is to promote research projects within the context of doctoral programmes.

Who can apply?

Excellently-qualified doctoral candidates and young academics and scientists who have completed a Master’s degree or Diplom, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor’s degree at the latest by the time they begin their grant-supported research.

What can be funded?

A research project or course of continuing scientific education at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education in Germany or a non-university research institute, which is being carried out in coordination with an academic adviser in Germany.

Duration of the funding

• 7 months to usually 12 months; the length of the grant is decided by a selection committee and depends on the project in question and the applicant’s work schedule.
• The grant is non-renewable.

Value

• Depending on academic level, monthly payments of
  euros 861.- for graduates,
  euros 1,200.- for doctoral candidates
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
• Travel allowance, unless these expenses are covered by the home country or another source of funding
• One-off research allowance

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

• monthly rent subsidy
• monthly allowance for accompanying members of family

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

• Payment of course fees for the online language course “Deutsch-Uni Online (DUO)” (www.deutsch-uni.com) for six months after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
• if necessary: Language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the research stay; the DAAD decides whether to fund the grant holder’s participation and for how long depending on language skills and project. If a language course scholarship is granted and the working language at the host institute is German, participation is compulsory.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the grant period
• Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF test which is either taken in the home country after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany before the end of the funding period
• As an alternative to the TestDaF for scholarship holders who have taken a language course beforehand: the fee for a DSH examination taken during the scholarship period may be reimbursed.

Selection

An independent selection committee consisting of specialist scientists reviews applications.

Selection criteria:

Academic Qualification (documented by: university degree certificates, references, list of publications)

• Academic achievements and duration of studies
• If applicable, academic achievements after graduation (e.g. publications, lectures, conference contributions)

Quality of the research project (documented by: presentation of research project, time plan, references, proof of contacts, if applicable, language certificates):

• Quality of research project presentation and preliminary work
• Originality, topicality and relevance of project
• Reasons for choosing Germany and host institution
• Feasibility and consistency of work schedule and time plan (analysis and evaluation steps, if applicable, language skills)
• Integration of the project into the overall doctoral project (in terms of content/time), if relevant
• Importance of the research project and stay in Germany for academic and professional plans

Additional criteria (documented by: curriculum vitae, if applicable, certificates):

• Additional knowledge and skills (e.g. through professional or voluntary activities, further training)
• Involvement in academic self-governance, higher education policy issues
• Political, social, cultural, family (parental leave or care periods, etc.), social commitment

For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information / Section E.

Official Website