Research Grants in Germany

The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Research Grants programme supports international doctoral students and early-stage postdoctoral researchers who wish to conduct a research project at a German university or research institute. The programme funds research stays of 2 to 12 months for doctoral students and 2 to 6 months for postdocs, with funding to begin in 2027. Applicants work with a scientific supervisor at a German host institution and conduct their research at a state or state-recognised German university or non-university research institute. What you get • Monthly scholarship payment of €1,400 • Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance • Travel allowance (required application if funding period exceeds 6 months) • Research allowance of €460 for funding periods over 6 months • Monthly rent subsidy for funding periods over 6 months (on application) • Monthly family allowance for accompanying family members for funding periods over 6 months (on application) • Subsidy for justified additional costs for applicants with disability or chronic illness (individually reviewed) • Green Mobility Top Up or reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel • Payment of online German language course fees after receipt of Scholarship Award Letter (funding period over 6 months) • German language course in Germany before research project start (if needed and approved by DAAD) • Allowance for personally chosen German language course during scholarship period (funding period over 6 months) • Reimbursement of TestDaF or DSH language test fees How to apply 1. Register in the DAAD portal (opens at least 6 weeks before application deadline) 2. Generate and download the recommendation form as a writable PDF from the portal 3. Send recommendation form to your university teacher and request completion 4. Prepare all application documents: CV, letter of motivation, research proposal, time schedule, degree certificates, transcripts, academic host confirmation, scientific ethics declaration, publications list (postdocs) 5. Translate any documents not in German or English 6. Scan paper documents and save in PDF format 7. Fill out the online application form in the DAAD portal 8. Upload all completed application documents to the portal in PDF format 9. Upload the completed recommendation letter to the portal 10. Submit the application online before the deadline (portal closes at 24:00 CET/CEST on final day) 11. Ensure all required documents are submitted; incomplete applications cannot be considered

• Doctoral student: pursuing doctorate at a university or research institution outside Germany • Postdoctoral researcher: completed doctorate no more than 4 years before application deadline • Doctoral student: started doctorate no more than 3 years before application deadline • Not currently doing entire doctorate at a German university • Not been resident in Germany longer than 15 months at application deadline • For medical/veterinary/dentistry fields: additional specific regulations apply • Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max 3 pages) • Letter of motivation (1–2 pages) explaining academic and personal reasons for research in Germany • Research proposal (max 10 pages) prepared by applicant and discussed with academic adviser in Germany • Time schedule of planned research work • Proof of admission or enrolment to doctoral studies (doctoral students only) • Confirmation from academic host institution in Germany stating they will provide a workplace • Declaration from scientific supervisor in Germany on safety-relevant and ethical aspects of research • All university degree certificates obtained (Bachelor's, Master's, doctorate) with final grades • Transcripts of Records showing individual grades from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes • One recent letter of recommendation from university teacher on DAAD form • List of published publications (max 10 pages; mandatory for postdocs) • For documents in national language: German or English translations must be included • Optional: other relevant documents (certificates of employment, proof of extracurricular engagement)