The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awards funding for a research stay of between 7 and a maximum of 12 months to carry out research primarily as part of doctoral projects in Germany.
The programme provides funding for a research project or continuing academic training at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education in Germany or a non-university research institute, which is being carried out in agreement with a supervisor in Germany, whom applicants must identify themselves. This programme offers candidates the opportunity to carry out research primarily as part of doctoral projects in Germany.
Detailed information about the One Year Research Grants be found at: Research Grants – One-Year Grants for Doctoral Candidates
Degree Level
PhD
Deadline
16 October 2023
A good eight months are needed to prepare a convincing application. The German supervisor must be identified at least eight months before the deadline and the research proposal must be prepared thoroughly running up to the deadline.
Who can apply?
- Applicants must have graduated within the past six years;
- Applicants must have Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree (2nd class upper division level) and a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree;
- If you have already started your doctorate, the start of the doctorate should be less than three years;
- Candidates who are not yet taking a doctoral degree and have already completed a Master's degree or Diploma;
- There are other regulations applicable to applicants in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry. For more information, please see www.daad.de/extrainfo.
Fields of Study
The research grant can be taken up for all fields.
Scholarship Benefits
No tuition fees are charged in Germany for this sort of research on PhD and postdoc level. The scholarship covers living costs, travel and health insurance for the scholarship holder.
- Monthly scholarship payment for living costs: 1200 EUR for doctoral candidates, 934 EUR, if you are not taking a doctoral degree;
- Health insurance;
- Travel allowance between Germany and home country;
- One-off research allowance;
Under certain circumstances, you can apply for the following additional benefits after start of funding:
- Monthly rent subsidies;
- monthly allowance for accompanying family members;
- 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.
To enable you to learn German in preparation for your stay in Germany, 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;
- Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the funding 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 Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany during your funding period.
Application Process
A letter of invitation from a German supervisor is needed for the DAAD funding application. Candidates must identify their own supervisor in Germany. The DAAD Information Centre Johannesburg (contact details below) can be contacted for more information.
The DAAD funding application is online through the DAAD application portal.
Contact
The DAAD Information Centre Johannesburg can be contacted for support, advice and information:
Website: https://www.daad.org.za/en/
Email:
Documents and Links
Important information for DAAD scholarship applicants
Doing a PhD and Research in Germany
GERiT - German Research Institutions
Note
Please note that this opportunity is not offered by the Department of Higher Education and Training. Applicants are required to undertake their own research into programmes and institutions and are responsible for ensuring that the qualifications will be recognised in South Africa by contacting the South African Qualifications Authority and the relevant professional bodies. If there are any discrepancies in the details provided, the information given by the sponsor supersedes the details provided above. No additional financial support will be provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
