Youth Works Hub has 4 DAAD scholarships in Germany for 2027 open now: one Master's study scholarship for graduates and three research grants for doctoral candidates, one of which is also open to early postdocs. All four fund study or research in Germany, start funding in 2027 and share a first deadline of 16 November 2026, with applicants coming from between 18 and 135 eligible countries depending on the call.
According to DAAD, the Master's scholarship and the doctoral research grant are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, and every call is applied for online through the DAAD portal. Our overview of DAAD scholarships and our guide to government scholarships in Europe give more background on national study funding.
Each call has its own angle:
🇩🇪 Germany: a Master's scholarship of €992 a month for a full Master's in Germany or one study year within a Master's at your home university.
🇩🇪 Germany: a doctoral research grant of €1,400 a month for up to four years, as an individual project or within a structured doctoral programme.
🇩🇪 Germany: a bi-national doctorate grant for sandwich-model or Cotutelle PhDs, funding 7 to 24 months of research stays in Germany.
🇩🇪 Germany: a research grant for doctoral candidates and for postdocs up to 4 years after the doctorate, with stays of 2 to 12 or 2 to 6 months.
The four DAAD calls pay €992 a month for Master's study and €1,400 a month for the three research grants, plus payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance and a travel allowance. DAAD does not cover tuition fees for the Master's scholarship, and in the research grant for doctoral candidates and early postdocs, the €460 research allowance and German language support apply only to funding periods of more than six months.
📅 Deadlines: 16 Nov (4) 🌍 Countries: 🇩🇪 Germany (4)
In This Batch
- 📅 16 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Study Scholarship (Master's)
- 📅 16 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Research Grant
- 📅 16 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Bi-national Doctoral / Cotutelle Research Grant
- 📅 16 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Research Grant (Doctoral & Postdoc)
What's in this batch:
3 Scholarships · 1 Fellowship · 1 Country
🎓 Scholarships
1. 🇩🇪 Scholarships in Germany 🎓 DAAD Study Scholarships for Master Studies in All Academic Disciplines 📚 (€992/month)
📅 Deadline: 16 November 2026
📍 Germany · 👥 Graduates from 42 eligible countries · ⏳ 10 to 24 months · 💶 €992/month
The DAAD Study Scholarships - Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines fund graduates who want to continue their academic education in Germany with a postgraduate or Master's course of study, for 10 to 24 months starting in 2027. The scholarship can fund a whole postgraduate or Master's programme at a state or state-recognised university in Germany, or one year of study in Germany as part of a Master's completed at your home university. Scholarship holders receive €992 a month, insurance payments, a travel allowance upon application, an annual study allowance of €460 and German language support, but DAAD does not cover tuition fees.
You can apply if you complete your first degree, such as a Bachelor's, at the latest by the time the funding period begins; as a rule, your most recent degree should not date back more than 6 years at the deadline, and you must provide proof of proficiency in the language of instruction. The first deadline is 16 November 2026 for 24 countries, with later dates of 30 November 2026, 01 December 2026 and 19 January 2027 for others. Separate DAAD programmes exist for artistic disciplines and architecture.
────────────────────────────────────────
🌍 All opportunities in Germany →
────────────────────────────────────────
2. 🇩🇪 Scholarships in Germany 🎓 DAAD Research Grants for Doctoral Programmes and PhD Projects at German Universities 🔬 (€1,400/month)
📅 Deadline: 16 November 2026
📍 Germany · 👥 Graduates and doctoral candidates from 18 eligible countries · ⏳ Up to 4 years · 💶 €1,400/month
The DAAD Research Grants - Doctoral Programmes in Germany fund applicants from 18 countries to complete a doctoral degree in Germany for up to four years, with funding starting in 2027. The doctorate can be an individual project supervised by a doctoral supervisor or participation in a structured doctoral study programme, at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education or a non-university research institute in Germany. Grant holders receive €1,400 a month, insurance payments, a travel allowance upon application, an annual research allowance of €460 and German language support.
You can apply if you have above-average qualifications and complete a Master's degree or Diplom, or in exceptional cases a Bachelor's degree, at the latest by the time funding begins. If you have already started your doctorate, it should have started no more than 3 years ago at the time of application. Grants are initially awarded for a maximum of three years, you can apply for an extension for a possible fourth year, and the deadline is 16 November 2026 for all 18 countries.
3. 🇩🇪 Scholarships in Germany 🎓 DAAD Research Grants for Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral Degrees and Cotutelle PhDs 🔬 (€1,400/month)
📅 Deadline: 16 November 2026
📍 Germany · 👥 Graduates and doctoral candidates from 40 eligible countries · ⏳ 7 to 24 months · 💶 €1,400/month
The DAAD Research Grants for Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral Degrees / Cotutelle let doctoral candidates do a bi-national doctorate at their home university and at a university in Germany, with funding for research stays in Germany of 7 to 24 months starting in 2027. There are two options: the sandwich model, where you are supervised both at your home university and at the host institute in Germany and your home university awards the doctoral degree, and the Cotutelle procedure, where the German university and your home university award the doctoral degree jointly. Grant holders receive €1,400 a month during stays in Germany, plus insurance, travel allowances upon application and a €460 research allowance; no scholarship payments are made during stays at the home university.
For the sandwich model, you need a Master's degree or Diplom (or, in exceptional cases, a Bachelor's degree) at the latest at the start of the funding period; for Cotutelle, you need to have been admitted to a doctoral programme by then. The grant can be used flexibly for several shorter stays during your doctoral project, and the deadline is 16 November 2026 for all 40 countries.
🏆 Fellowships
4. 🇩🇪 Research Fellowship in Germany 🔬 DAAD Research Grants for Doctoral Candidates and Early Postdocs 🎓 (€1,400/month)
📅 Deadline: 16 November 2026
📍 Germany · 👥 Doctoral candidates and postdocs from 135 eligible countries · ⏳ 2 to 12 months (doctoral), 2 to 6 months (postdoc) · 💶 €1,400/month
The DAAD Research Grants for Doctoral Candidates and Early Postdocs fund applicants from 135 countries to carry out a research project at a university or research institute in Germany, in agreement with a scientific supervisor in Germany. Stays last 2 to 12 months for doctoral students and 2 to 6 months for postdocs, all starting in 2027, and the funding cannot be divided up or extended. Grant holders receive €1,400 a month, insurance payments and a travel allowance, with a €460 research allowance and German language support only for funding periods of more than six months.
You can apply if you are doing your doctorate at a university or research institution outside Germany and started it no more than 3 years before the deadline, or if you completed your doctorate no more than 4 years before the deadline. The next deadline is 16 November 2026 for applicants from many European and Central Asian countries, with later deadlines between 01 February and 30 April 2027 for other regions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do the DAAD scholarships in Germany pay?
The DAAD Study Scholarship for Master studies pays €992 a month, and the three DAAD research grants for doctoral candidates and postdocs pay €1,400 a month. All four also include payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance and a travel allowance. The Master's scholarship adds an annual study allowance of €460, but DAAD does not cover tuition fees. The doctoral research grant and the bi-national / Cotutelle grant add a €460 research allowance, and in the Cotutelle grant no scholarship payments are made during stays at the home university. The research grant for doctoral candidates and early postdocs adds the €460 research allowance only for funding periods of more than six months. If you are comparing DAAD funding with other options, see how scholarships differ from Erasmus+ grants.
Who can apply for the DAAD scholarships in Germany?
The DAAD Master's scholarship is for graduates who complete a first degree, such as a Bachelor's, by the time funding begins, while the three DAAD research grants are for doctoral candidates and, in one call, early postdocs. The doctoral research grant needs a Master's degree or Diplom, or a Bachelor's in exceptional cases. The bi-national / Cotutelle grant needs a Master's or Diplom for the sandwich model, or admission to a doctoral programme for Cotutelle. The research grant for doctoral candidates and early postdocs is for doctorates outside Germany and for postdocs up to 4 years after the doctorate. Eligible countries differ by call (42, 18, 40 and 135). In all four calls, your application cannot be considered if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the deadline. Every call asks for a letter of motivation, so read our guide to the scholarship motivation letter.
When is the deadline for the DAAD scholarships in Germany?
The first deadline for all four DAAD calls is 16 November 2026, and the DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hrs (CET or CEST) on that day. For the doctoral research grant and the bi-national / Cotutelle grant, 16 November 2026 is the deadline for every eligible country. For the Master's scholarship, it applies to 24 countries, with later dates of 30 November 2026 for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, 01 December 2026 for 12 countries including Ireland and the United Kingdom, and 19 January 2027 for Spain. For the research grant for doctoral candidates and early postdocs, 16 November 2026 covers many European and Central Asian countries, while other regions have deadlines between 01 February and 30 April 2027. Your deadline depends on the country you live in and apply from. Our page on how to apply covers the general steps.
This batch splits into one Master's route and three research routes: a study scholarship for graduates who want to study in Germany, and research grants for doctoral candidates who complete the whole doctorate in Germany, share it between a home university and a German university, or bring a research project to a German host for a shorter stay, with early postdocs also covered by the last one. That last grant sits under our Fellowships badge; if the difference is unclear, read what a fellowship is.
According to Youth Works Hub's review of the four DAAD announcements, every application runs online through the DAAD portal and is only valid with all required documents uploaded by the deadline. Pick the call that matches your stage, check the country list on its page and open the listing to start your application.
