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DAAD (GERMAN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE SERVICE) GRANTS FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH IN GERMANY

General Information

An agreement between the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, or German Academic Exchange Service) and Harvard University provides Harvard graduating seniors, recent graduates, and doctoral students (Ph.D. and other doctoral degrees) the opportunity to apply for study or research scholarships in Germany during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Harvard Nomination Process for DAAD Study Scholarship and Research Grant

As a DAAD partner university, Harvard is allowed to nominate a certain number of “preferred applicants” whose applications will be entered into a separate application pool. While preferred applicants are not guaranteed an award, their chances of receiving one are reasonably good. For this reason, it is recommended that students submit their application through the Harvard internal process. Please note, however, that all applications are forwarded on to DAAD for consideration in the preferred and at-large application pools.

Application Information

Harvard University students who wish to apply for a DAAD Study or Research Grant must complete the application form online at: daad.org AND email a copy of the application form and supplemental materials to Colin Henderson (colin_henderson@harvard.edu) by October 7, 2024 in order to be nominated by Harvard.

Please note that while the DAAD online application only requires one letter of recommendation, the internal Harvard nomination process requires two letters of recommendation for both the Study Scholarship and Research Grant application. When you email a copy of your application materials to CGS, please make certain that an additional letter be sent to CGS by your other recommender to meet the October 7th deadline. This additional letter does not need to be on a DAAD reference form.

Students who miss Harvard’s nomination deadline may apply directly to DAAD to meet its early October 31 deadline. These candidates, however, will not have the opportunity to receive Harvard’s endorsement/nomination.

Please consult the DAAD website to access the online application portal and learn more about the requirements of the particular grant you are applying for. The guidelines document below includes additional information about eligibility and application requirements, as well as how to submit your materials.

Study Scholarships of All Disciplines (excluding architecture, and other artistic fields e.g. music, fine arts, performing arts) are awarded to graduating seniors and recent Harvard graduates to undertake a full Master’s degree in Germany starting in the Fall 2025. All recipients of study scholarships must enroll in courses.

Research Grants are awarded to candidates who wish to pursue research or an independent project at German universities, archives, or institutes. Doctoral students (Ph.D. and other doctoral degrees) are eligible. These grants support long-term projects (7 to 12 months) during the German academic year (beginning October 1, 2025). Students applying for short-term research projects (less than seven months), should submit applications directly to DAAD.

Applicants for other DAAD funding competitions (short-term research grants, language grants, etc.) should be submitted directly to DAAD.

Applicants in the fields of music (performance, composition, conducting), dance (choreography, drama), fine arts (painting, drawing, sculpture), and architecture must apply directly to DAAD.

Please note there is only one Harvard campus nomination process, which takes place in the fall each year. There is no campus nomination process in the spring.