#GERMANY: DAAD Research Grants – One-Year and Short-Term Grants

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 (except postdocs) 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 a maximum of 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
• In the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers: Further information

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 an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
• if necessary: Language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the research stay in Germany; 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. Due to the pandemic, German courses may take place online.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the grant period
• Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF or DSH 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

Selection

An independent selection committee consisting of specialist scientists reviews applications.

Central selection criteria are:

• a convincing and well-planned research or training project
• academic achievements

Furthermore, additional documents submitted that prove the applicant’s professional aptitude or provide information about extracurricular commitment will also be included in the evaluation.

In addition, in order to ensure equal opportunities, the selection committee may take into account special life circumstances, about which you can provide information in the application form.
For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information / Section E.