DAAD is the world’s largest funding organisation for international academic exchange, supporting more than 100,000 students and researchers a year. For readers in developing and newly industrialised countries, the programme that matters most is EPOS — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses. It funds a master’s degree in Germany with a monthly allowance, insurance and travel costs. It also works in a way that surprises most applicants: you do not apply to DAAD.
Last verified: 20 September 2026 against the official DAAD EPOS programme page and the DAAD scholarship database.
DAAD EPOS: The Short Answer
EPOS pays €992 a month for master’s students and €1,400 a month for doctoral candidates, plus health, accident and personal liability insurance and a travel allowance. You must be a graduate from an eligible developing or newly industrialised country with at least two years of professional experience, and you apply directly to one of the postgraduate courses on the official EPOS list — each of which sets its own deadline.
The Thing Almost Every Guide Gets Wrong
There is no DAAD EPOS application form, no single portal, and no single deadline. DAAD publishes a list of eligible postgraduate courses for each academic year, and your application goes to the university running the course. The course provider reviews applicants and shortlists them. Only then does DAAD contact shortlisted candidates to upload full documents for final confirmation.
Two practical consequences follow. First, your deadline is whatever your chosen course says it is — deadlines on the current list are scattered across the year, and two courses at the same university can differ by months. Second, your application has to satisfy an academic department, not a scholarship committee, so course fit matters more than it would with a general scholarship. You can usually apply to up to three EPOS courses, ranked by preference.
Anyone telling you “the DAAD deadline is 31 October” is describing a different DAAD programme or making it up. Go to the official EPOS course list, find your course, read its date.
What the Scholarship Covers
- Monthly allowance of €992 for graduates, or €1,400 for doctoral candidates
- Contributions towards health, accident and personal liability insurance
- Travel allowance, unless your travel is funded by your home country or another source
- Study and research allowance in defined circumstances
- Rent subsidy and family allowance may be available depending on your situation
- German language course funding before your studies, where the programme provides it
Most public German universities charge no tuition fee, so the allowance goes towards living costs rather than fees. Note that the additional benefits above are conditional, not automatic — confirm what applies to you rather than assuming the full list.
What EPOS Will NOT Do
EPOS is not a general “study in Germany for free” scholarship, and treating it as one is the most common reason strong candidates are rejected. It is a development programme funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and its stated purpose is training specialists who will return and work on their own country’s development. More than 70 per cent of graduates return home immediately after finishing — that is the outcome the programme is funded to produce.
So the programme will not fund a career change into an unrelated field, will not fund study with no demonstrable link to development work, and will not overlook a thin professional record. The two-year experience requirement is firm on most courses, not a preference. €992 a month is also a modest living allowance in German cities — comfortable in Leipzig or Bochum, tight in Munich or Frankfurt. Check rents in your specific university’s city before you plan a budget.
Who Can Apply
- Graduate from an eligible developing or newly industrialised country
- Bachelor’s degree, normally with above-average results — DAAD typically expects the upper third of your graduating class
- At least two years of relevant professional experience after your degree on most courses
- Language proficiency for your course: commonly IELTS 6.0 or above for English-taught programmes, or DSH-2 / TestDaF for German-taught ones
- A clear, evidenced development-related motivation
- Your degree should normally have been completed within the last six years
Eligible fields cluster around development themes: economics and business, development co-operation, engineering, regional planning, agriculture and forestry, environment and natural resources, public health, social sciences, education and law, and media studies. Health professionals are particularly well served — public health, health economics, epidemiology, health systems management, water and sanitation and nutrition all appear regularly on the list.
How to Apply: Step by Step
- Open the official EPOS course list for the current academic year on the DAAD site. This is your source of truth for which courses are funded and when they close.
- Shortlist up to three courses that genuinely match your professional background. Ranking matters, so put the strongest fit first.
- Read each course’s own admission page. Requirements differ — some demand more experience, some specify a particular bachelor’s discipline, some require German.
- Prepare your documents: degree certificate and transcripts, CV in the requested format, language certificate, employer references confirming your experience, and the motivation letter.
- Write the development-motivation statement. This is the scored element that separates candidates. See below.
- Submit to the university or course, not to DAAD, before that course’s deadline.
- If shortlisted, DAAD will contact you to upload full documents to its own portal for final approval.
Worked Example: Writing the Development Motivation
DAAD explicitly wants evidence that you intend to take on social responsibility and drive change in your professional environment after your studies. Most applicants assert this. Few evidence it. Compare two versions from the same candidate, an agricultural extension officer applying for a master’s in rural development:
Weak: “I am deeply committed to the development of my country’s agricultural sector. Germany has world-class expertise in this field, and after completing my studies I will return home to apply my knowledge and contribute to national development.”
Strong: “I advise 340 smallholder farmers across four wards on cassava production. Since 2023 I have watched yields fall roughly a fifth as rainfall became less predictable, and my current training material still assumes a planting calendar that no longer holds. I do not have the agronomic modelling skills to rewrite it credibly. This course’s module on climate-adaptive cropping systems is the specific gap; my agency has already asked me to lead a revision of the extension curriculum on my return, and I want to bring evidence rather than guesswork to it.”
The second version names a measurable problem, shows the candidate is already responsible for it, identifies precisely which part of the course addresses the gap, and points to a concrete role waiting at home. That structure — problem, your role in it, the specific gap, the plan on return — is what a selection panel is reading for. Draft yours in four sentences before you write anything else.
How Competitive Is DAAD?
Reported acceptance rates for DAAD scholarships sit broadly in the 10–15 per cent range, varying considerably by course and field — a niche engineering programme may be less contested than a popular public health course. More than 7,000 EPOS scholarships have been awarded since 1987, around half currently going to women, and over 90 per cent of scholars complete their degree. The programme is competitive but not lottery-like: candidates who meet the work-experience bar and write a specific motivation are in genuine contention.
Other DAAD Routes Worth Knowing
If EPOS does not fit, DAAD runs other programmes. Study Scholarships for Graduates fund master’s study across many disciplines without the development-specific framing, and are open more broadly. Research Grants support doctoral and postdoctoral stays at German institutions. Separate university-specific and institute-specific DAAD awards also exist. Each has its own database entry, rules and deadline — use the DAAD scholarship database rather than assuming the EPOS rules apply.
Common Mistakes
- Sending an application to DAAD instead of to the course or university
- Applying without the two years of professional experience and hoping it is flexible
- Choosing three courses that are popular rather than three that fit your record
- Writing a motivation letter about personal ambition instead of development impact
- Missing a course deadline because you read a date from a different DAAD programme
- Budgeting for a high-cost city on a €992 allowance without checking local rents
- Paying an agent — DAAD applications are free and no intermediary can influence selection
DAAD EPOS Scholarship FAQ
What is the DAAD EPOS deadline?
There is no single deadline. Every postgraduate course on the official EPOS list sets its own application date, so you must check the specific course you intend to apply to.
How much does DAAD EPOS pay per month?
€992 a month for graduates and €1,400 a month for doctoral candidates, plus insurance contributions and a travel allowance. Rates are reviewed periodically, so confirm on the official page.
Do I really need two years of work experience?
Yes on most EPOS courses, and it is a firm requirement rather than a preference. It must normally be relevant professional experience gained after your first degree. Check your specific course, as a few vary.
Do I apply to DAAD or to the university?
To the university or course, in the first instance. DAAD only contacts you directly if the course shortlists you, at which point you upload documents to the DAAD portal for final confirmation.
Do I need to speak German?
Not for English-taught EPOS courses, which typically require around IELTS 6.0 or equivalent. German-taught courses require DSH-2 or TestDaF. Some programmes fund a German course before studies begin.
Is there tuition to pay in Germany?
Most public German universities charge no tuition fee, though semester contributions still apply. Confirm the fee position for your specific course, as a small number of programmes differ.
Can I bring my family?
A family allowance may be available under certain circumstances, but it is conditional rather than standard. Confirm your eligibility directly before making any plans that depend on it.
Your Next Step
Open the official EPOS course list today and find three courses that match what you already do for a living. Write down their three deadlines. That single action puts you ahead of most applicants, who spend weeks on a motivation letter and then discover their course closed two months ago.
If you are comparing funded routes, see our guides to the Chevening Scholarship for the UK, the Fulbright Foreign Student Program for the USA and Erasmus Mundus across Europe — all three, like EPOS, reward a specific plan over a general ambition. Our guide to getting strong recommendation letters is worth reading before you approach your employer for a reference.
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