KAAD Germany Fellowship Programme 2023/2024 (Masters & PhD) for Developing Countries

KAAD is working with partner countries in the regions mentioned below to provide scholarship opportunities to citizens who are interested in research. There are so-called Partner Committees in these countries and applications are channelled via them. Applications from other countries can be considered only in exceptional cases.

Application Deadline: 30th June 2023 for the September academic session.

Offered annually? Yes

Watch the Video explaining how to apply for the KAAD Fellowship

Eligible Countries: Countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America. Countries in Africa include: Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya (with Uganda and Tanzania) and Zimbabwe.

To be taken at (country): Germany. There is also the possibility for Master-scholarships at local universities.

Eligible Field of Study: There is no specific subject-preference. However, the selection board has often given preference to courses and subjects that they felt to be of significance for the home country of the applicant. This holds true especially for subjects of PhD-theses. There is therefore a certain leaning towards “development oriented” studies – this does however not mean that other fields (cultural, philosophic, linguistic, etc.) can not be of significance for a country and are ruled out.

About the Award: The KAAD Scholarship Program is addressed to post-graduates and to academics living in their home countries who already gained professional experience and who are interested in postgraduate studies (or research stays) in Germany. This program is administered by regional partner committees, staffed by university professors and church representatives. Normally documents are submitted to the committee of the applicant’s home country.

Type: Postgraduate(Masters and PhD) scholarship

Eligibility: To be eligible for the KAAD Fellowship, candidates must:

• come from a developing or emerging country in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America and are currently living there
• have a university degree and professional experience from their home country
• want to acquire a master’s degree or a PhD at a German university or do a post-doctoral research project (2-6 months for established university lecturers) at a German university
• be Catholic Christian (or generally belong to a Christian denomination). Candidates from other religions can apply if they are proposed by Catholic partners and can prove their commitment to interreligious dialogue
• possess German language skills before starting the studies (KAAD can provide a language course of max. 6 months in Germany)

Selection Criteria: 

• KAAD’s mission is to give scholarships mainly to lay members of the Catholic Church. This means, that – There is a preference for Catholic applicants.
• However, among the scholars, there is a limited number of: Protestant Christians, Orthodox Christians (especially from Ethiopia)and Muslims.
• Catholic priests and religious people are eligible only in very rare cases.

Expectations from KAAD: 

• Above-average performance in studies and research
• The orientation of your studies or research towards permanent reintegration in your home region (otherwise the scholarship is turned into a loan),
• Religious and social commitment (activities) and willingness to inter-religious dialogue.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Scholarship:  Applicants who are awarded scholarships for Germany under S1 are helped by KAAD with their Visa-modalities, paid for the flights to Germany and back, provided with language training in Germany prior to their studies, etc.

Duration of Scholarship: Duration of program

How to Apply: Interested graduates can fill an online questionnaire, which they find on the application webpage www.kaad-application.de. For detailed information about application requirements and procedures, we recommend to read the FAQs.

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details