If you’ve ever thought about studying in Germany
… in any aspect, then you’ve probably heard of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). DAAD is like a goldmine where you can find all sorts of information about studying abroad in Germany including insurance, accommodation, and scholarship.
I am extremely honored to be awarded the Study Scholarships – Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines by DAAD. It had been quite a journey until I received a final notification. When I was preparing for this scholarship, I had a pretty hard time finding resources online, especially reviews written by applicants. Therefore, I would like to write a series of posts sharing my experience with DAAD Master scholarship application into a great detail. Just to illustrate, my intention is to share information and lessons I have gained, absolutely not to brag about it. I might be stating the obvious, but if few of you could get some value out of this series of posts, I would be more than happy!
In this post, I am mainly going to talk about letter of recommendation, which won’t be a short post. If you feel like watching me speak about the identical topic instead of taking your time to read this post, here’s my nicely timestamped !
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Start early
Unlike other scholarships that might ask you to submit an application about 6 – 8 months before your admission, DAAD wants your application a year before your admission. At this point, some applicants wouldn’t even be sure if they want to go to Germany for a master program. This is super early because the deadline is far earlier than admission application for graduate school, which is January or February (earliest: 9 months before the admission).
Thus, this might be the most important step. I cannot stress this enough since you need time to think about where you want to go and what you want to study in order to write a successful application. It’s good to have a pretty solid idea about your prospective schools and funding sources including DAAD at least 1.5 years in advance.
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Curriculum Vitae (CV)
I don’t have much to say about CV because I did nothing more than listing out my experiences. I just tried not to excess more than 3 pages and to be relevant to my graduate school program. Since I was applying to microbiology programs, I prioritized microbiology research experiences over others.
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Letter of Recommendation
I was surprised (and felt less overwhelmed:)) by the fact that German master programs don’t really require recommendation letter from undergraduate professors. If it were the US grad school, I would have needed 2 or 3 reference letters per university. But recommendation letter plays a huge role in DAAD scholarship application (refer to the for 2021 applicants due to pandemic).
First step is obviously finding someone to write you a nice letter of recommendation. This could be a hard task because receiving A or 95 percentile in the class doesn’t necessarily guarantee a great recommendation letter. I would say it’s more about your passion and effort you showed in a research or project. So, try to choose a professor who offered you a project about which you were most enthusiastic. In this way, the professor would know you both at personal and academic level, which will lead to a high-quality reference letter.
When I was preparing for this scholarship, I had a pretty hard time finding resources online, especially reviews written by applicants.
Jun
It’s also important to ask early
… because your faculty will have to send this letter by post (at least in my year, refer to for pandemic situation). I personally asked my professor 2.5 months in advance and sent him a couple of reminder emails. I just wanted to take responsibility and showed some signs of respect by doing this.
Next step is to send them an email itself. I believe it’s highly crucial to organize email as best as possible to help them write the best recommendation letter for you. Remember, even though they knew you when you guys were working together, they don’t know much about your graduate school and scholarship program. I tried to state the followings in the email:
- Why I want this scholarship,
- How this scholarship is going to help my academic journey,
- What aspects of this master program are appealing to you,
- My further plan after this Master program
- Scholarship information (postal address, deadline, etc)
Since this was a quite long and overwhelming email, I tried my best to well-organize my email by color-coding, bolding, underlining so that it’s easy for them to catch the main point. I think DAAD also has a reference template on its portal. So make sure to send that as well!
Lastly, don’t forget to keep them posted with progress. They dedicated their valuable time to write a nice reference letter for you. I am sure they would be more than happy to hear about what’s going on regardless of the outcome. A brief email will do.
I realized this is becoming a lengthy post. I’ll stop here and continue with motivation letter on my next post. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. Thanks for reading and stay healthy!
I want study visa for Germany
I really really need a study scholarship
Hi, There are many ways to finance your studies in Germany. To find out which programmes are available for you, we recommend checking out the DAAD’s scholarship database 👉 http://www.funding-guide.de There you will also find information on scholarship programmes from other organizations. If you have any questions about these programmes, please contact the relevant organization directly. Furthermore, you can get a good overview of other options for financing your studies in Germany here 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/preparation/funding/. If you have some more specific questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We can address your specific case in much more detail via email. Good luck and best wishes! Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hi Hassan, The Study in Germany team is not responsible for visa regulations, but we hope that the following information will help you. Some international students require an entry visa for Germany depending on where they come from and how long they plan to stay. You will find general information on visas and residence permits on our website 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/requirements/visa_26604.php. For more information about visa requirements, contact the German embassy or German consulate in your home country. On the website of the German Federal Foreign Office you can find the addresses of German diplomatic missions abroad👉 http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/AAmt/Auslandsvertretungen/Uebersicht_node.html. On the website of the German Federal Foreign Office you can view the most recent visa requirements for all countries 👉 https://visa.diplo.de/en/index.html#/vib/kurzinfo. If you have some more specific questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We can address your specific case in much more detail via email. Good luck and best wishes! Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
My name is Zarif, I am from Afghanistan, I want to register in Scholarships to Germany could you guide me what do do
Hi Zarif, If you are looking for a scholarship for a study or research stay in Germany, you can use the DAAD scholarship database 👉 www.funding-guide.de. To begin your search, please use the filter function on the left by selecting your academic status ("Programmes for..."), country (country of origin) and subject area. This will allow you to display only scholarship programmes that are available for your planned project. By clicking on the title of a scholarship programme, you open the announcement of the scholarship. This will give you an overview of the programme and inform you about application requirements, the application procedure and application deadlines. In addition, you will often find contacts who can help you clarify specific questions in the announcement. DAAD Scholarships are mainly awarded for master’s degree courses, PhD programmes or research in Germany. Unfortunately, the DAAD does not award scholarships to first-year students or for the full course of study in an undergraduate programme such as bachelor’s degrees or state examination. Information on DAAD scholarships as well as information on scholarship programmes by other organisations can be found at 👉 www.funding-guide.de. We also recommend that you contact your chosen higher education institution and ask about financial aid packages. You can get a good overview of various options for financing your studies in Germany here 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/funding. If you have some more specific questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We can address your specific case in much more detail via email. Good luck and best wishes! Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hi i am hayat from Afghanistan i would like to study in Germany 🇩🇪 in scholarship please guide me how can i apply ans me please
Hi, DAAD Scholarships are mainly awarded for master’s degree courses, PhD programmes or research in Germany. Unfortunately, the DAAD does not award scholarships to first-year students or for the full course of study in an undergraduate programme such as bachelor’s degrees or state examination. We also recommend that you contact your chosen higher education institution and ask about financial aid packages. You can get a good overview of various options for financing your studies in Germany here 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/funding. If you have some more specific questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We can address your specific case in much more detail via email. Good luck and best wishes! Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
thank you for te information you provided
Thanks for sharing this information. it's really helpful
Hi, I would like to ask you about DAAD Scholarship. I have already enrolled in TU Dortmund (German University). I am in the first semester and my MSc program is 1 year. Can I apply for the scholarship this year and take it for 10 months next year (I will not find my MSc)?
Hi, You can search for DAAD scholarships and scholarship programmes from other organisations in the DAAD scholarship database 👉 www.funding-guide.de. Scholarships differ depending on country of origin and subject area. Moreover, these scholarships have special application requirements. Please read further details relevant to your country in the respective scholarship description on 👉 www.funding-guide.de. Please note, however, that there are very few scholarships for undergraduate study programmes in Germany. However, courses of study that have already been started can usually no longer be funded (exception: applicants from Ukraine). Unfortunately, most of the application deadlines expired in the fall. If you have any further questions, you should probably contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We'll be happy to help you! Best wishes, Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hi dear, I am Nathan from the Pacific Island country, I am currently for the DAAD scholarship, I am an International Relations graduate (Bachelor of arts). I am an orphan, Please I kindly asking you if I could send me my draft Motivation Letter and CV (europass format) so you can glance through and help me with advices Thankyou Nathan
Hi Nathan, Thank you for your inquiry! Unfortunately, we at Study in Germany or the DAAD are not an agency that can help with the preparation of application documents. However, the DAAD has multiple regional offices and information centers around the world. Our local colleagues provide information on studying in Germany and on DAAD scholarships. Feel free to contact a DAAD office near you, they are offering online appointments as well. Our colleagues will be happy to advise you. Please find DAAD offices in your country here: www.daad.de/local. Information on DAAD scholarships as well as information on scholarship programmes by other organisations can be found at: www.funding-guide.de. On this page you will find all the requirements and what needs to be considered. If you have further questions, you can also contact us directly, e.g. via direct messages via our social media channels or via our contact form: https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We are glad to help you! Best wishes, Your Study in Germany Team 👋🇩🇪
So wonderful and helpful
thankyou for such information general management course in Germany
I first thank you for giving chances to Students.I hope to help me to get a Master schoolarship .I have an ambition and strong desire to continue high studies, but circumstances don't help me. And also the situation that our country "Yamen" pass. It effects more in our financial support. Please, if you can help I will be grateful for your kind. I wish to study in Garmman. Garmman's Universities are strong and famous in their teaching and one can get a work directly after his graduate . ♥ Thanks millions for your help. YASSER.
Hi Yasser, to get started, take a look at the My GUIDE page: https://www.myguide.de/en/ - there you will find a lot of information on various subjects that you can study in Germany. If you have general questions, you will most likely find an answer in our guideline on: www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/steps/. You can search for DAAD scholarships and scholarship programmes from other organisations in the DAAD scholarship database: www.funding-guide.de. Scholarships differ depending on country of origin and subject area. Moreover, these scholarships have special application requirements. Best wishes, Your SiG-Team 🇩🇪👋
Good morning sir/ma am olawale omotola am so happy I across this scholarship I will be happy to school in Germany and my children we will love to be part of this program due to economic in our country no scholarship no work and there's nothing pls I will be happy if you can assist me as a single mother may God bless you
Hi, To get started, take a look at the My GUIDE page 👉 https://www.myguide.de/en/ - there you will find a lot of information on various subjects that you can study in Germany. It really is a helpful tool to gain an overview. Plus, you can easily contact the university of your choice via the portal. If you have general questions, you will most likely find an answer on our website 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/steps/. You can search for DAAD scholarships and scholarship programmes from other organisations in the DAAD scholarship database 👉 www.funding-guide.de. Scholarships differ depending on country of origin and subject area. Moreover, these scholarships have special application requirements. Please read further details relevant to your country in the respective scholarship description on 👉 www.funding-guide.de. Please note, however, that there are very few scholarships for undergraduate study programmes in Germany. You can read all the important information about bringing your children to Germany and studying on our website 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/special-circumstances/with-children/. If you have any further questions, you should probably contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. We’ll be happy to help you! Best wishes, Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hi, I want to take admission in MS program in Germany from Pakistan, but feel very difficult to find the best-suited Scholarships related to universities where I can find my Technology relative filed Program for study. can you guide me about study in germany on scholarships. I am recently graduated from the University of engineering and technology Pakistan in BS Computer Science Program. Thanks.
Please help I want study in seigen university
Hi, If you have questions about applying to certain higher education institutions, please get in touch with them directly. Unfortunately, we cannot help you with such detailed matters, sorry for that! Each university may have different requirements and its own enrolment modalities. Good luck! If you have any further questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. Best wishes, Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
How i can apply for study I want to apply for study in Germany
Hi Rabia, to get started, take a look at the My GUIDE page 👉 https://www.myguide.de/en/ - there you will find a lot of information on various subjects that you can study in Germany. If you have general questions, you will most likely find an answer in our guideline on 👉 www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/steps/. If you have some more specific questions, you can contact us by email using our contact form 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. Best wishes and good luck, Your Study in Germany-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hi Ghufran, you can search for DAAD scholarships and scholarship programmes from other organisations in the DAAD scholarship database: www.funding-guide.de. Scholarships differ depending on country of origin and subject area. Moreover, these scholarships have special application requirements. Please read further details relevant to your country in the respective scholarship description on www.funding-guide.de. If you have more questions, feel free to contact us here 👉 https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/get-in-touch/contact/. Best wishes, Your SiG-Team 👋🇩🇪
Thanks for this post. I have a question, this year in October DAAD scholarships will open, i dont know if i should apply for the schoolarship first and then to the university or viceversa. Because the schoolarships closes this December. What is the right procedure?
Hi Alexandra, you can search for DAAD scholarships and scholarship programmes from other organisations in the DAAD scholarship database: www.funding-guide.de. Scholarships differ depending on country of origin and subject area. Moreover, these scholarships have special application requirements. All relevant information like the application requirements and deadlines are listed in the respective scholarship description. Another option is to get personal advice. The DAAD has multiple regional offices and information centers around the world. Our local colleagues provide information on studying in Germany and on DAAD scholarships. Feel free to contact a DAAD office near you. Our colleagues will be happy to advise you. Best wishes, Your SiG-Team 👋🇩🇪
Hello! Thanks for the post. I couldn't find a specific template for the recommendation letter. Does the DAAD office require a specific form, or the teacher can just write it on a document with the university header? Thank you!
I have been watching your YouTube video for a long time. Only problem is I am not a very bright student but have shown great improvement on the last year of my study,but have doubted myself for this application. my questions are: Can an average student get this competitive scholarship? Should I mention,if i apply,in my letter that I am currently studying masters here in Nepal?Would it be plus or minus point if I wanted to do a double masters? for 2022,should i hurry and apply now?I will have limited time for IELTS preparation. should I even bother? Does publication help much in your resume? What are the plus point that act as dark horses in Interview? Thank you!!
Hi czee! Thank you for your comment. The application requirements are listed in the respective description for master’s degree students in the DAAD Scholarship Database: www.funding-guide.de. Unfortunately, we cannot give you a definite answer as many points are taken into consideration when applying for a scholarship. But he/she who doesn't try, never wins ;) Good luck! Your Study in Germany Team!
Any publication which is needed for this scholarship?
Much interested to joins this opportunity.
Thanks for such a detailed post. Good luck and stay safe!
Wow!!! So so happy I came across this. Am a microbiology student also and I've been following up with happenings in the DAAD website. Your well delivered post just lit up a glimmer of hope in me that I can apply and qualify for this scholarship. Thanks a lot once again Mr. JunHyeuk
Very informative, thank you How would you cope with language?
No problem. Thanks for reading. I am still learning German. It's a hard language to learn.
Hello dear, your post is well appreciated. I wanted to ask you about your experience in DAAD scholarship interview. I'VE Been searching the Web to get a clue but couldn't find a thing.
Hi, thanks for your kind message. I also made a youtube video specifically about my DAAD interview. You can check this link out if you are still interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-glHNs1zteM&t=597s
Thanks for very detailed explanation!
No problem!
Your blog is very good and very helpful too. I have learned a lot from your blog about student. Due to your blog, people will be very helpful. I read your blog and it is really good. Thank you for sharing this information with us.
Thank you very much for reading my blog! I am glad it's helpful!