DAAD Scholarships (EPOS and postgraduate programmes)

The DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) is the German national agency for international academic exchange and one of the largest scholarship funders in the world. For master's applicants from countries including India, its best-known route is the EPOS family — development-related postgraduate courses — which funds study on a defined list of programmes with professional relevance to developing and emerging economies.

DAAD awards typically expect academic quality plus relevant work experience, and each funded programme lists its own requirements. The scholarship database on the DAAD site is the canonical index of what is open to whom in any given cycle.

DAAD is the German Academic Exchange Service, and the EPOS programme in particular funds postgraduate study aimed at professionals from developing and emerging economies.

• A completed bachelor's degree, usually with at least two years of relevant professional experience afterwards for EPOS courses.
• Nationality of an eligible country under the relevant programme line; India is eligible for several.
• Admission to, or application for, a DAAD-listed course. Only courses on the published list qualify, and the list is specific.
• Language proficiency to the course's requirement — English for English-taught programmes, German where the course is taught in German.
• A degree completed within the last six years for most programme lines.
• Employment in a development-relevant field for EPOS, with a plan to return and apply the qualification.

The professional experience requirement is real and is counted after graduation. Applicants straight from an undergraduate degree are generally not eligible for EPOS, and should look at the university-level and foundation routes instead.

A comprehensive award, and one of the better-supported in this field for a scholar with a family.

• A monthly stipend at the rate DAAD publishes for postgraduates.
• Health, accident and personal liability insurance cover, which Germany requires and which is a real cost otherwise.
• Travel allowance, unless funded by the home country or another source.
• A study and research subsidy, and a rent subsidy in many cases.
• Family allowances for accompanying dependants, where the terms are met.
• A German language course before the programme starts, funded for most award holders.

Because most German public universities charge no tuition for a first degree, the stipend is doing the real work here — it covers living costs rather than fees. That also means the award goes further than a similar figure would elsewhere.

A detailed application, and one where certification and translation of documents takes longer than applicants expect.

• The DAAD application form for the relevant programme.
• A curriculum vitae in the format DAAD specifies.
• A letter of motivation referring to your current employment and your plans on return.
• Degree certificates and transcripts, certified and translated where required.
• Proof of employment and, for EPOS, a letter from your employer.
• Language certificate, and references or a recommendation where the programme asks.

Certified translations and attestations are the usual reason a strong DAAD application misses its deadline. Start that paperwork months ahead of the rest.

Applied for through the course or through DAAD depending on the programme line, and the two routes have different deadlines.

• Identify the programme line that fits you — EPOS, the general development-related postgraduate courses, or a university-specific route.
• Check the course list and choose eligible courses; several programmes let you name more than one preference.
• Apply to the course and to DAAD as that programme requires — sometimes one application, sometimes two.
• Selection by the university and DAAD in combination.
• Award, then the pre-course German language programme where it applies.

Dates move every cycle, so treat the DAAD scholarship database entry for the specific programme as the authority on them rather than any second-hand summary — including this one. We will confirm the current timeline with you before you commit to a plan built around it.