DAAD Study Scholarships for Foreign Graduates 2027
Master's degree at a German university, any discipline
- Funder
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)- Study in
- Germany
- Level
- Master's
- Funding
- Full
- Closes
- Varies by country or course Deadlines depend on the country you live in. Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore close on 21 October 2026, the United States and Canada on 30 October, the South Caucasus and Central Asia on 2 November, Ukraine and much of central and eastern Europe on 16 November, and the UK and France on 1 December. The 31 August date for Afghanistan, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen has passed. The programme is not open to applicants living in sub-Saharan Africa this round.
- Official site
- www2.daad.de
Checked on www2.daad.de by Farouk Yahaya, 12 October 2026. Scholarly Dream is independent and not affiliated with this funder.
This DAAD programme, listed in the scholarship database as “Study Scholarships - Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines”, funds graduates to take a Master’s degree at a German university or university of applied sciences. It is paid for by the German Federal Foreign Office, covers all academic disciplines, and selects on academic excellence in every field. Scholarships last up to 24 months, and funding for this round usually starts on 1 October 2027.
Who can apply in the 2027 round
Eligibility depends on the country you live in and apply from, not only your nationality. For the 2027 round, the database entry for this programme lists 64 countries: most of Europe, the United States and Canada, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, plus Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. If you live elsewhere, DAAD says you cannot apply for this line, though it invites applicants from another country to contact it to check.
No sub-Saharan African country is on the list this year. Applicants living in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa should look at the DAAD lines that are open to them. The study scholarships for architecture, fine art, film, music and the performing arts do include those countries. Development-related programmes such as EPOS and Helmut-Schmidt are aimed at early-career professionals from developing countries, and the In-Country/In-Region scholarships fund Master’s study in your own country or region. Use the database filters for your status and country of residence before you spend time on an application.
The six-year rule
As a rule, your most recent university degree should be no more than six years old at the application deadline.
It is a hard filter for this scheme, and it rules out many applicants before anything else is considered. You must also have finished your first degree by the time funding begins, and you cannot apply if you have lived in Germany for more than 15 months at the deadline. If you graduated too long ago, DAAD’s research grants or professional schemes may suit you instead.
What the scholarship pays
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Monthly payment | EUR 992 |
| Study allowance | EUR 460 a year |
| Insurance | Payments towards health, accident and personal liability cover |
| Travel | A travel allowance, on application |
| German before you arrive | Fees for an online course after the award; if needed, a 2, 4 or 6 month course in Germany before the programme |
| German during the scholarship | An allowance for a course you choose, and reimbursement of the TestDaF or DSH fee |
| Possible extras, on application | Monthly rent subsidy, allowance for accompanying family, support for disability or chronic illness, and a Green Mobility top-up for climate-friendly travel |
The pre-study German course is compulsory if your programme is taught in German. For a two-year Master’s you apply for the full two years, and DAAD reviews your results after the first year before continuing the funding.
What can be funded
The scholarship pays for either a whole Master’s or postgraduate programme at a state or state-recognised German university, or one year of study in Germany as part of a Master’s at your home university, provided your home university recognises the credits and the year does not extend your degree. It does not fund a Master’s you have already started in Germany, and only programmes starting in the winter semester of the following year qualify.
Language requirements
Teaching in German programmes is in German, and in international programmes in English, or German and English. DAAD asks for proof of the language of instruction, no older than three years, and accepts a range of certificates: TestDaF, DSH, Goethe-Zertifikat, telc and others for German; IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English, PTE Academic, Duolingo and others for English. The minimum level is usually set by the university, so check your programme’s own page and the country-specific notes in the DAAD call. Submit a certificate to DAAD even if your university does not require one.
German is not needed for an English-taught Master’s, and DAAD may fund a German course either way. Language tests take time to arrange, and a missing certificate disqualifies a fair number of applicants, so book the test early. DAAD does not reimburse the cost of tests you take for university admission.
How selection works
An independent committee of subject specialists reviews the applications. Its published criteria fall into four groups: your academic record, the quality of your study project and how well you prepared it, your motivation and prospects, and your extracurricular and social commitment. The committee also considers equal-opportunity information you give in the form. Because the scheme selects on academic excellence, your grades and the fit between your background and your chosen programme carry most of the weight, and a coherent academic path reads better than a scattered one.
The motivation letter, one to three pages, is where the “quality of the study project” criterion is won or lost. It should connect your previous studies, your goal and the specific programme (its modules, research groups or specialisation) in one line of argument.
Do
- Name two or three programmes and explain what each offers that fits your plan.
- Show you understand how German Master's admission works and when your university decides.
- Say what you will do with the degree, and where.
- Mention any German you have, or your plan to learn it.
Don't
- Write about wanting to study "in Europe" in general.
- Reuse a letter written for another funder or country.
- Repeat your CV line by line.
- Leave the choice of programme unexplained.
Academic references count for a lot. DAAD asks for one recent letter from a university teacher, written on the form you generate in the portal during the application period, so choose someone who can speak to your coursework or research ability and give them time.
Documents for the DAAD portal
- Online application form, completed in full
- CV in tabular form, up to three pages
- Letter of motivation, one to three pages
- The form "Information about your preferred master programmes"
- Letter of admission from the German university, or submit it later, before funding begins
- Transcript of records with individual grades
- Degree certificate with final grade, or submit it before funding begins if you are still studying
- Proof of the language of instruction, no older than three years
- One letter of recommendation from a university teacher, on the DAAD form
- Translations into German or English for documents in other languages
- Optional: employment certificates or proof of extracurricular work
Scans do not need to be certified at this stage, though DAAD may ask for certified copies later. Only PDF files can be uploaded. Your university admission is a separate process, and you are responsible for meeting the university’s own deadlines.
How to apply
Find the programme in the DAAD scholarship database, set your status to graduate and your country of residence, and read the call that appears for your country. Applications open on 1 June each year and are submitted through the DAAD portal, which closes at midnight German time on the deadline day.
Deadlines are set by country. For the 2027 round they run from 31 August 2026 to 19 January 2027, with most falling between mid-November and 1 December 2026: 16 November for many central and eastern European countries, 30 October for the United States and Canada, and 1 December for the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, for example. Selection usually takes place in the spring of 2027. The date shown at the top of this page is not universal, so check the date listed for your country.
Stipend figures, deadlines and rules change each year. Confirm the current details on the official DAAD site before applying, and see our guide to choosing the right Master’s programme for the programme shortlist.