The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is offering you the opportunity to do a bi-national doctoral degree at your home university and at a university in Germany.

There are two possible options:

Option a) Doctorate with bi-national supervision:
Your doctoral project is supervised by a university teacher both at your home university and at the host institute in Germany (so-called 'sandwich model'). Your project must be agreed with both supervisors according to the following procedure:

  • Must start doctoral degree in your home country.
  • This is followed by research trips to Germany.
  • Must complete doctorate in your home country and also supervised by the German academic adviser.
  • Your home university awards the doctoral degree.

Option b) Doctorate following the 'Cotutelle' procedure:
Funding is provided for doctoral projects that are carried out at the home university and at a university in Germany according to the so-called Cotutelle model. This is based on an individual cooperation agreement which is concluded individually for your doctoral project by the participating universities. After you have successfully completed your doctorate, the German university and your home university award the doctoral degree jointly.

Degree Level

Doctoral

Deadline

16 October 2023

Who can apply?

a) bi-national supervision based on the 'sandwich model': candidates must have obtained a Master’s degree or Diploma (or in exceptional cases a Bachelor’s degree) at the latest at the start of the funding period.
b) 'Cotutelle model': candidates must have been admitted to a doctoral programme at the latest at the start of the funding period.

  • Applicants should not have graduated any longer than six years before the application deadline;
  • If you have already started your doctorate, it also applies that the start of the doctorate should not be longer than 3 years ago;
  • Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline;
  • 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; 
  • Applicants must have Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree (2nd class upper division level) and a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree;
  • or a Licence and Maîtrise certificate at least with assez bien and a DEA/DESS degree or a Master according to LMD-System have to be submitted.

Fields of Study

The scholarship can be taken up for all fields.

Scholarship Benefits

  • In option a), a doctorate with bi-national supervision based on the 'sandwich model', research stays at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education or a non-university research institute in Germany (as part of a doctoral programme in the home country) are funded.
  • In option b) a doctorate based on the 'Cotutelle model', research stays at a state or state-recognised institution of higher education in Germany are funded. These allow doctoral students to complete a doctoral thesis which is supervised and carried out bi-nationally on the basis of an individually concluded cooperation agreement.
  • Monthly scholarship payment for living costs: 1, 200 euros;
  • Health insurance;
  • Travel allowances;
  • A research allowance;
  • Travel and accommodation expenses according to the German Federal Travel Expenses Law for your supervising university teachers for one trip of up to 10 days
    - to Germany to monitor progress,
    - to your home university to take part in final examinations.
    Please indicate the trips in the work and time schedule when applying.

Under certain circumstances, you can apply for the following additional benefits for uninterrupted stays of over 6 months in Germany:

To enable grant holders to learn German in preparation for their 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; the DAAD decides whether to fund the grant holder's participation and for how long depending on language skills and project. If a language course scholarship is granted and the working language at the host institute is German, participation is compulsory;
  • 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 Letter of Award or in Germany during the funding period.

Duration of the funding

  • Funding is provided for between 7 and a maximum of 24 months;
  • Option a) Bi-national supervision following the 'sandwich model': Grants are initially awarded for up to 12 months. Extensions depend on whether the selection committee considers the previous award period to have been successfully completed;
  • Option b) Doctorate following the 'Cotutelle' procedure: Grants are initially awarded for up to 18 months; there is the possibility for an extension of the scholarship for up to 6 months;
  • The grant can be used flexibly for several shorter stays during your doctoral project;
  • When you apply for the grant, you should outline in your study plan and time schedule how you intend to divide your time between Germany and your home university;
  • If you plan to visit other countries (e.g. to collect material), please specify these plans in your application. Such visits can only be funded if they take place in connection with your visit to Germany. Another requirement is that they do not exceed one quarter of your expected total funding period.

Application Process

The DAAD funding application is online through the DAAD application portal. More details can be founded under the links below.

Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal

  • Online application form;
  • Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages);
  • If necessary, list of academic publications;
  • Description of academic and personal reasons for your planned project in Germany (letter of motivation: 1-2 pages);
  • A proposal, prepared and formulated by yourself, as well as a description of previous research work (max. 10 pages in total);
  • Time schedule of planned research for the entire funding period;
  • Proof of permission to take a doctoral degree at the home university, if applicable;
  • University degree certificate indicating final grade(s); if it is not yet available at the time of application, it must be subsequently submitted before the scholarship begins;
  • Option a) Bi-national supervision: Written 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;
  • Option b) 'Cotutelle model': Individual cooperation contract between the home university and the cooperating German university (Cotutelle contract). If this is not yet available at the time of application, you must submit it later before the funding period begins. In this case, you must upload a confirmation from your academic adviser in Germany, which refers to your project. Please upload the documents under ‘acceptance of host institution’ in the DAAD portal;
  • Other documents which support your application (example: certificates of employment, proof of practical training/internships or voluntary commitment, etc.)
  • German or English translations of documents submitted in the national language (to be uploaded with the corresponding documents);
  • All university certificates on all annual examinations with individual grade(s), incl. explanation of grading system;
  • Proof of admission to a doctoral programme at the home university insofar as the applicant intends to take a doctoral degree there.

Contact

The DAAD Information Centre Johannesburg can be contacted for support, advice and information:

Tel.: +27 (11)/7179-334
Fax.: +27 (11)/7179-335
E-Mail.: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://www.daad.org.za/en/

Documents and Links

Important information for DAAD scholarship applicants

Doing a PhD and Research in Germany

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.

 
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