Get this Scholarship to Study in Germany!!
Overview of DAAD Scholarship and application schedule
Guten Tag!
I am Ryosuke from the University of Tsukuba, majoring Environmental Science. I am going to proceed to Master’s study in Germany from September 2021. I am writing this article to share my experience. You will know my application schedule and the overview of a scholarship in this article. I hope it helps you.
*All information in this article based on my experience, so please refer official one when you apply.
The writer is enjoying a German beer and sausage at a Christmas market.
Germany is a place where you do not have to pay much tuition fee compared to other countries. However, studying abroad still needs money and there is no better thing if you can get a scholarship! Here, you can know how I applied and was admitted to the DAAD scholarship, which is the most popular scholarship for those who want to study in Germany.
What is the DAAD scholarship?
Please refer the official website of the DAAD scholarship to know what is the DAAD.
https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/scholarships/
About my scholarship
Scholarship Program: Study Scholarship – Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines, 2021/22
Benefits:
Financial supports
· Scholarship instalment: 861 Euro/month * 24 months
· Health Insurance allowance: about 80 Euro/month * 24 months
· Travel allowance: 1,000 Euro
· Study allowance: 260 Euro
Other supports
· You can take German Language course for several months for free.
· To prove that you are a DAAD scholarship holder, it could be an advantage for applications to universities.
*The competitive ratio is not disclosed.
My schedule to apply the DAAD scholarship
As you can see above, the deadline of application was October, one year before your study in Germany (if you enroll in a German university in winter semester).
Required documents
1. Application Sheet
2. CV
3. Motivation Letter & Research Proposal
4. Letter of Admission from the university you are going (If you do not have yet, you can submit by scholarship period starts)
5. Report sheet of universities you choose (you need to fill in information such as admission requirements, your desiring courses, and so on)
6. Transcript of records
7. Certificate of (expected) Graduation
8. Test score of language which you need in your program
9. Other certificate such as internship, work experience and so on
10. Reference Letter
What you have to do first
1. Get an English score
English Score is one of requirements, so please take a test as soon as possible. There is no borderline to apply to the DAAD scholarship, but German universities usually request you to get 70-90 points if it is TOEFL test. It takes time for some people to study for the test and get results so it is best to prepare early!
2. Choose universities and programs
You need to choose three universities in the DAAD’s application sheet from your first choice to the third choice. To decide your program will help you write CV, motivation letter, and research proposal much easily because you know what you will study and what research can be done at the university. You can look for universities that meet you by using the DAAD’s website. https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/
After you are admitted to the DAAD scholarship, you can still get scholarship even if you change your university from which you choose when you apply, as long as your study field is the same.
3. Contact with your supervisor
This is not mandatory, but the DAAD application sheet will ask you to provide your research supervisor and research proposal. Therefore it is better to know your research can be carried out at the university you want to go. The application to the DAAD and the university you go are different, so you can actually say in the DAAD application that you already have a supervisor even if you do not, although you should at least contact the professor. The judge of the DAAD consist of some professors from each university in Germany. It is rare that your supervisor or some professors who know your program become your judge, but you should avoid to write an obvious lie.
Preparation of required documents
After you complete the steps above, it is time to prepare required documents (Application Sheet, CV, Motivation Letter & Research Proposal, and Reference Letter). It is the most time-consuming process, and the most important process since they judge you by these documents first, and if you pass this document screening, you can proceed to the interview. It was first time for me to write a CV and Motivation Letter, so I asked many of my friends who are international students at my university, to revise those documents. They helped me a lot make the contents logical and impressive, correct grammar, etc. I was so lucky to have such nice friends. I strongly felt so that time. I recommend you ask as many friends as possible to check your documents and get lots of feedback! It is very important to make these documents simple and easy for the judge to understand, and this is what you cannot know by yourself only.
Submission
After you complete to prepare all required documents, you are ready to apply the DAAD scholarship. You submit those documents through the online portal to the DAAD office in Germany and mail to the DAAD office in Japan, and you are done with all application!
Good Luck!!
It may be hard to apply the scholarship and universities while you are writing your graduation thesis. However, the DAAD scholarship provides you so many benefits not only financial support. Also, you can practice writing CV and motivation letter in the DAAD’s application since the application period of the DAAD is earlier than that of universities. You can use same documents you prepared for the DAAD to your universities’ application. When you have a hard time, do not forget to ask your friends to help!
I will write about the interview in the next article. I wish your success in your application!