DAAD Research Grants in Germany Call for Application 2025 (Fully-funded)Deadline 3 April, 2025

DAAD research grant offers the opportunity to realise a research project in Germany. The programme sup-ports research stays during a doctorate or in the early postdoc phase.

About DAAD

In Japan, the DAAD is represented with a Regional Office in Tokyo. Our mission is to promote scientific exchange and cooperation with people and institutions in the country. © THE GERMAN ACADEMIC EXCANGE SERVICE About the DAAD A brief look back at history shows that the DAAD has a long tradition of uniting people and academia. More © DAAD IN JAPAN DAAD Regional Office Tokyo The DAAD provides scholarships, informs about study and research in Germany, promotes university cooperation and supports German study programmes abroad. Here, you will find more…

DAAD Research Grants in Germany

Aim and Benefits of DAAD Research Grants in Germany

• Monthly scholarship payments of 1.300 euros
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover (see also our important information for scholarship applicants / section F, point 4)
• Travel allowance
• For a funding period of more than six months: research allowance of 460 euros

Under certain circumstances, you can apply for the following additional benefits after start of funding:

• Monthly rent subsidy, only for a funding period of more than six months (see important information for scholarship applicants, section F, point 9)
• Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family, only for a funding period of more than six months; please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / section F, point 3
• In case of a disability or chronic illness: on application, a subsidy may be provided for justified additional costs, incurred in Germany due to the disability, that are necessary to realise the project in Germany and that are not covered by a third party; whether and to what extent a subsidy will be paid, will be reviewed and determined on an individual basis (see important information for scholarship applicants, section F, point 8)
• Green Mobility Top Up (subsidy for climate-friendly travel) or reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel

To allow you to improve your language skills in preparation for your stay in Germany, the DAAD offers the following benefits (only for a funding period of more than six months):

• Payment of course fees for an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
• if necessary: German language course in Germany before the start of the research project; the DAAD decides whether to fund participation and for how long depending on German language skills and project.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the scholarship period
• Reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH test, which you can take either in your home country after you have received your Letter of Award or in Germany during your funding period.

DAAD Research Grants in Germany Courses

• Research

Requirements for DAAD Research Grants in Germany Qualification

Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled (also read our important scholarship information, section A):

• Doctoral students: The start of your doctorate should not be more than 3 years ago at the application deadline.
• Postdocs: You should not have completed your doctorate more than 4 years before the application deadline.
• For applicants from the fields of human medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, further regulations apply, which you can find here.
• Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.

Interview date, Process and Venue for DAAD Research Grants in Germany

An independent selection committee consisting of specialist scientists reviews the applications.
The selection criteria are:
Academic Qualification

• Academic achievements (grade point average, development of grades)
• Academic progress
• Knowledge of the language(s) of instruction or working language(s)
• If applicable, scholarly achievements after graduation, (e.g. publications, lectures, conference papers)

Quality of research project

• Quality of research proposal and preparation (originality, topicality and relevance of the project, choice of host institution and first contacts)
• Feasibility and consistency of study plan and schedule
• Incorporation of project within the overall doctorate (in terms of content and time), if relevant

Potential of applicant

• Career prospects: significance of the research project and stay in Germany for further academic, professional and personal development
• Motivation: academic and personal reasons for wanting to visit Germany, German language skills (if different from working language)
• Non-study-related activities: non-study-related knowledge and skills, civic engagement

The selection committee also gives due consideration to equal opportunities; you can provide relevant information in the application form (see important scholarship information, section E, point 3).
For more information on the selection procedure, go to important scholarship information, section E.

Documents Required for Application

Application documents

Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and up-loaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.
Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:

• Online application form
• Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
• List of your published publications (max. 10 pages); mandatory for postdocs)
• Letter of motivation, 1 – 2 pages: statement about the academic and personal reasons for the planned research project in Germany, taking account of the following question: What do you hope to gain from your project in Germany (personally, professionally, for your career)? Please upload the letter of motivation under ‘study project/motivation’ in the DAAD portal.
• Proposal (max. 10 pages in total), prepared and formulated by yourself ; aproposal is an extensive and detailed description of the research project which has been discussed with the academic adviser in Germany. Please also read our important scholarship information / section B, point 2. Please upload the proposal under ‘research project’ in the DAAD portal.
• Time schedule of planned research work
• Proof of admission to doctoral studies/enrolment for doctoral studies (for doctoral students); please upload it in the portal under ‘proof of admission’
• Confirmation from the academic host in Germany; the confirmation must refer to your project and guarantee that the host institute in Germany will provide you with a workplace. Also read our important scholarship information / section C, point 3. Please upload the confirmation from the academic host under ‘acceptance of host institution’ in the DAAD portal.
• University degree certificates (e.g. Bachelor’s, Master’s, doctorate) stating your final grade(s); if you do not have your most recent degree certificate (doctoral candidates: Master’s; postdocs: doc-torate) at the time of application, you must submit it before the start of your scholarship. Please upload your certificate(s) under ‘university degree certificates’ in the DAAD portal.
• One recent supporting letter of recommendation (on a DAAD-form) from a university teacher (for doctoral students, from the supervisor of your doctoral thesis) which provides information about your qualifications. Please regard the instructions given on the tab ‘Submitting an application’.
• Other documents you think might be of relevance to your application (e.g. certificates of employ-ment, proof of extracurricular engagement)

If you submit documents in your national language, please include German or English translations.

Application Deadline

April 3, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to DAAD on funding.meindaad.de to applyApplications for this scholarship programme are possible in the period June until the stated application deadline.
Click on ‘Application portal’ at the bottom of the page to go to the DAAD portal. There you will be provided with an online application form to enter your application data.

This is what you have to do:

1. Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)

2. Request recommendation form
You can generate the recommendation form in the DAAD Portal as a writable PDF under ‘Request recommendation form’. It can only be generated during the application period. Please send it to your university teacher and ask him or her to complete the form in full. When you have received it back, upload it in the portal under ‘Letter of Recommendation’.

3. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)

• Prepare application documents
• If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
• Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. You can only upload PDF files to the portal.
• Fill out the application form and upload the application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
• Submit the application online.

Application deadline

Application deadlines are updated annually in the second quarter. In most cases, they are in the same period as the previous year. You can find the current dates here:

Application deadline: October 7th
Selection date in February 2025. Start of the funding from May 2025

Application deadline: April 3rd
Selection date in June 2025. Start of the funding from August 2025

For more details  visit: OFFICIAL LINK.