Scholarships

Four students sit on a staircase at the university with a laptop, tablet, smartphone and writing utensils.
© iStockphoto

German institutions offer a wide range of scholarships for outstanding students from around the world. Whether you’re an undergraduate in architecture or a PhD candidate in Gender Studies, there is a scholarship for you. These programs range from short-term exchanges for research or teaching purposes to doctoral scholarships lasting several years.

This support is largely financed from public funds made available by the German Federal Foreign Office. The scholarship programs listed below have been designed by the DAAD for Australian students and academics alike. Use the DAAD’s scholarship search engine to find the right fit for your needs and qualifications, or read on for more information about each scholarship offered by the DAAD. For general information on scholarship applicants, please click here.

In co-operation with the DAAD, the Universities of Freiburg, Leipzig, Duisberg-Essen and the IIK Düsseldorf offers a “Deutschlandkundlicher Winterkurs” lasting six weeks during the northern hemisphere’s winter. The program is available for bachelor, master and PhD students. It is designed for students with a sound knowledge of German and a background in German Studies who are interested in improving their language skills and understanding of contemporary affairs. Please download the applicant checklist here. Find out more here.

Graduates of all disciplinary backgrounds are welcome to apply for this scholarship to complete a postgraduate or Master’s degree at a German tertiary institution. One year of funding is provided to the successful applicants. This scholarship is not available for students of Fine Art, Design, Film, Music, Architecture or the Performing Arts. Please see subject-specific scholarships for these disciplines further below. Download the Applicant Checklist here, and submit it with your application. If you would life to find out more, click here.

These programs encourage Creative Arts graduates to complete an extension course at a state institution of higher education in Germany. These supported study visits nurture strong artistic cooperation between foreign academics and German education institutions.

Fine Art, Design/Visual Communication and Film, click here.
Architecture, click here.
Music, click here.
Performing Arts, click here.

These grants are designed specifically for research in Germany, undertaken at a German tertiary institution or relevant non-tertiary institution. There are funding programs for various qualification phases and stages in your career. These grants are primarily aimed at, but not exclusive to, doctoral research programs. For more information on short-term grants, please click here. For information on one year grants, please click here.

These grants offer university academics the chance to carry out a research project at a relevant German educational institution. The aim of this particular program is to support short-term research stays and thus promote the exchange of experience and ideas between international colleagues. Find out more here.

The aim of this program is the funding of bi-national doctoral projects at the home university and a university in Germany.
There are two options offered by the program:
Option a)

Doctorate with bi-national supervision: The doctoral project is supervised both by a university teacher at the home university and an academic adviser at the host institute in Germany (known as “sandwich model”). The project must be coordinated with both supervisors. Doctoral candidates start their doctoral degree in their home country but subsequently spend research periods in Germany. The study is completed in the home country with participation of the German academic adviser and the doctoral degree is awarded by the home university.

Option b)

Doctorate following the “Cotutelle” procedure: Funding of bi-national doctoral degrees at the home university and at a university in Germany according to the so-called “Cotutelle” procedure. The prerequisite is an individual cooperation contract between the participating universities about the doctoral project which is to be supervised. After successful completion of the doctorate, the German university and the foreign partner university award the doctoral degree together.

Find out more here

The aim of this program is to promote artistic cooperation with German host institutions.
University teachers from Architecture, Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication, Performing Arts and Music can apply for this program.
Find out more here

This scholarships invites previous scholarship holders to return to Germany to continue their research. The aim is to reinforce existing contacts and promote exchange between German and Australian academics as part of the DAAD’s global alumni network. Find out more here.

Below you will find further information on other scholarships not managed directly by the DAAD yet still available to those in Australian under- and postgraduate studies, as well as PhD candidates and post-doctoral applicants.

The Study Visits Program aims to help foreign students visiting Germany under the guidance of a lecturer build their contact network in their specific academic field and enhance their knowledge of Germany.
NB. Study visits that are a mandatory part of a study program cannot be supported. For more information, please click here.

In collaboration with the DAAD, this program offers excelling PhD-candidates opportunity to conduct 1 to 36 months of research at a DLR institute in Germany. The ‘Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt’ (DLR), Germany’s national research centre for aeronautics and space, offers PhD-candidates, scientists and researchers in the fields of aeronautics, space, transportation and energy. For more information, please click here.

The scheme aims to foster research collaboration of the highest quality between Universities Australia members and researchers from German universities and research institutes. For more information, please click here.

The program aims to enable foreign academics on longer term visiting lectureships or professorships to teach at universities in Germany. At the same time these visiting academics will act as important multipliers who enable their German host university to deepen and develop their international relations. The program encourages foreign students to study in Germany. For more information, please click here [German only].

The Leibniz-DAAD Research Fellowship Program allows up to 15 excellent international PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers to  conduct research for one year at one of the 86 Institutes of the Leibniz Association. For more information, please click here.

Research groups, laboratories and PhD candidates can apply to host a motivated and well-qualified student from Germany. Completing work as a research intern and assisting in lab work within in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, engineering, or a closely related field. Interns receive a DAAD scholarship consisting of a monthly allowance, a travel subsidy as well as health, accident and personal liability insurance. For more information, please click here.

This program sees itself as a platform for artistic and cultural exchange throughout and beyond Europe.  For more information, please click here.

Two to three month paid internship placements for students of Natural and Technical Sciences, and/or Agriculture and Forestry are arranged by the International Association for the exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE). For more information, please click here.

If you want to study or complete your doctorate in German or English, the DAAD has the information you need. This section contains German and internationally oriented Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral programs, but also language and short courses.

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