Who can apply?

• US or Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
• Foreign nationals who live in the US/Canada by the time of application deadline must have gained their last degree in the US/Canada or will be gaining it before the beginning of their funding period.
• All other foreign nationals may need to apply via a different DAAD office.
• Applicants may not have been living in Germany for more than 15 consecutive months by the time of application deadline.
• If you are a German national, you must have been residing in the US/Canada for 6 continuous years at the time of the application deadline. Please call our office to make sure you are eligible.
• Applicants should have completed their last degree no longer than 6 years before the application deadline.

Which requirements must be met at the time of the application deadline?

• For doctoral students enrolled in a program in the US/Canada: no more than 3 years should have passed since receiving ABD status.

• Monthly stipend (varies based on academic level).
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance
• Travel allowance, unless these expenses are covered by the home country or another source of funding
• One-time research allowance

Under certain circumstances, grant holders may receive the following additional benefits:

• monthly rent subsidy
• monthly allowance for accompanying members of family

To enable grant holders to learn German in preparation for their stay in the country, DAAD offers the following :

• Payment of course fees for the online language course “Deutsch-Uni Online (DUO)” (www.deutsch-uni.com) for six months after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter.
• A very limited number of scholarship recipients may be awarded an additional two-month intensive language course grant. This is decided on a case-by-case basis by the independent selection committee and does not require a separate application.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the grant period.
• Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF test taken either in the home country after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany before the end of the funding period.
• As an alternative to the TestDaF for scholarship holders who have taken a language course beforehand: the fee for a DSH examination taken during the scholarship period may be reimbursed.

Please visit the daad.de website for more specific information on the terms of this award.

Please note:

• DAAD scholarship recipients are not permitted to receive supplementary funding through any other German funding body. Supplementary funding from a non-German funding body may in some cases be permitted. However, they would then be treated as additional earnings, i.e. grants exceeding the tax-free income level in Germany (currently EUR 450 per month) would be deducted from the DAAD scholarship, unless the additional grant payments are put on hold for the duration of your DAAD scholarship.

For more information about long-term research grants, click here.

Please note that we can only offer funding for the following periods, no exceptions.

• The funding period begins October 1st, 2023. Research grants may range from 7 to 12 months in length. Earlier start dates are not possible.
• The grant is non-renewable.

The application takes place online through the DAAD portal. Your reference  must be sent by post to the DAAD New York office.

The portal will close automatically at MIDNIGHT Central European Time (6 PM EST/5PM CST/4PM MTN/3PM PST) on the deadline date. Please see the daad.de website for the next deadline. Applicants are advised to start the application process at least one week before the closing date.

1. Check here if your University is a DAAD Partner University.

At a DAAD Partner University: contact your DAAD campus coordinator first and follow the application guidelines for your university’s pre-selection. Please note that your university may have an earlier internal deadline. (if you miss your university’s deadline, you may follow the general application guidelines below). This does not apply to short-term research grant applicants or to performing/visual artists.

Not at a DAAD Partner University: follow the general application guidelines below.

2. Application Checklist 

Please use the Application checklist to ensure you submit a complete application. Download the checklist here:

These guidelines are region specific for North American applicants only. You will find some different details on the application portal and the DAAD Bonn website, such as maximum pages; the instructions on this checklist supersede any conflicting information potentially found elsewhere. 

Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal.

3. Helpful links for the Online Portal

• Step by step Manual for Personal Funding.
• Technical support with the online portal, please email portal@daad.de

4. After You Submit your Application

• Please DO NOT CALL OR EMAIL. You will receive an acknowledgement letter through the portal 8 weeks after the deadline.
• Results will be announced through the Portal at the beginning of April.
• Application decisions will not be accompanied with an explanation.
• The application documents remain with the DAAD. Data relating to applicants is saved by the DAAD in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act insofar as this data is needed to process applications.

• Check out the Manual for Personal Funding on daad.de. On this site, you can download manuals to assist with the personal funding section of the DAAD Portal.
• If you seek technical support with the registration or the online application please e-mail portal@daad.de
• If you have questions regarding the DAAD Long-Term Research Grants, please contact please contact kim (at) daad (dot) de.(Kindly understand that questions already answered by information on our website cannot be answered separately).

See here for Frequently Asked Questions