Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS)

Benefits & funding

• Funding lasts 12–42 months, depending on the selected programme.
• Graduate students receive €992 per month; doctoral candidates receive €1,400 per month from February 2026.
• The scholarship contributes to health, accident and personal liability insurance and normally provides a travel allowance unless another source covers travel.
• A rent subsidy and an allowance for accompanying family members may be available in qualifying circumstances.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be graduates from a country or territory on DAAD’s EPOS eligibility list and hold a relevant Bachelor’s degree, normally from a four-year course.
• At least two years of relevant professional experience after the Bachelor’s degree is required by the application date.
• Applicants must have results in the upper third, meet the selected course’s language standard and show development-related motivation and capacity for social responsibility.
• Residence in Germany for more than 15 months by the course deadline makes an applicant ineligible; DAAD also says academic degrees should normally be no more than six years old.
• German-taught courses require at least B1 German at application and DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 before study; English-taught courses set their own proof requirements.

Application process

1. 1
   Choose up to three courses from the current EPOS list and check each course website for its deadline, procedure and any extra documents.
2. 2
   Submit the EPOS form, checklist, reverse-chronological Europass CV, one motivation letter, employment evidence, language proof, degree certificates and transcripts directly to each selected course.
3. 3
   Keep the same course priority order in every application and explain that order in the single motivation letter used for all selected courses.
4. 4
   If nominated by a course selection committee, upload the complete application to the DAAD portal when contacted.
5. 5
   Wait for DAAD to complete the final selection and notify nominated candidates.

Program timeline

1. Course-specific date

   Submit the application directly to the chosen postgraduate course.

2. After course review

   The selection committee nominates potential DAAD scholarship candidates.

3. After nomination

   DAAD contacts candidates to upload the complete file to its portal.

4. Final selection

   DAAD completes the process and informs nominated candidates.

5. Programme-dependent

   Study begins in Germany and funding runs for 12–42 months.