Most fully funded master’s programmes screen on grades first. The DAAD EPOS scholarship screens on grades and on work. Germany’s Development-Related Postgraduate Courses programme will not consider you without at least two years of professional experience after your first degree, which changes who realistically competes for it.
The scheme funds graduates from developing and newly industrialised countries to take a postgraduate or master’s degree at a state or state-recognised German university. In exceptional cases it funds a doctorate. It is administered by the DAAD, Germany’s academic exchange service.
Who the DAAD EPOS scholarship is built for
The DAAD describes a typical holder plainly. That person works for a public authority, or for a state or private company in a developing country. They plan or execute projects with a development-policy bearing, whether technological, economic or social.
Think of a Vietnamese public-health officer who has spent three years running district immunisation logistics. That profile fits the programme far better than a stronger academic record with no working history behind it. The scheme is explicitly training specialists to return home, not recruiting talent to stay.
Eligibility rests on four things. You hold a bachelor’s degree, normally from a four-year course, in a relevant subject. Your results sit in the upper third. You have at least two years of relevant professional experience after that degree, counted at the time of application. Your degrees are normally no more than six years old.
What the EPOS scholarship actually pays
Funding runs for 12 to 42 months, depending on the study programme. The monthly payment is 934 euros for graduates and 1,300 euros for doctoral candidates.
The stipend is not the whole package. The award also covers payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance, a travel allowance unless your home country or another funder already covers it, a monthly rent subsidy, and a monthly allowance for accompanying family members. That last item matters for mid-career applicants, who are more likely to move with a partner or children.
The EPOS eligibility bar that trips most applicants
Language requirements catch people out more often than grades. For courses taught in German, you must pass DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 before the course begins. The scholarship includes a six-month preparatory German course in Germany, but you still need a current certificate showing at least B1 German at the time of application.
The DAAD is direct about why. You cannot reach DSH or TestDaF level from nothing, even with the six-month intensive course, and passing the test is a formal condition of enrolling at the university. For English-taught courses you supply IELTS or TOEFL results. The institutional TOEFL is not accepted.
Applicants from the People’s Republic of China must also submit an APS certificate. Applications must be complete and written in English or German. Incomplete files are not considered, and there is no correction round.
How the EPOS application route works, and why deadlines differ
This is the part most guides get wrong. You do not apply to the DAAD. You apply directly to the postgraduate course you want, using that course’s own procedure and its own deadline. Applications sent to the DAAD are not forwarded.
Each course sets its own application deadline. There is no single closing date for the programme, which means two courses in the same intake year can close months apart. Check the deadline on the page of every course you are targeting, and check it again close to submission.
You may apply for up to three courses. If you do, list them in priority order in the DAAD application forms and keep that order consistent across every form. Submit one motivation letter that explains why you chose those specific courses and that ranking. The DAAD warns that ignoring this can void an application, or even an award already made.
The selection sequence runs in four steps. You send complete applications to the courses. A selection committee proposes candidates for a scholarship. Proposed candidates are contacted by the DAAD and upload their full file to the DAAD Portal. The process is then finalised and candidates are informed. Keep a PDF copy of every document, because you will need to upload them again at step three.
Getting your file ready before your course closes
Work backwards from the course deadline rather than forward from today. Employment certificates and certified translations are the slowest items, and neither is under your control.
The required documents run in a set order: the signed checklist, the DAAD application for a research or study scholarship, a Europass CV in reverse chronological order with no unexplained gaps, one letter of motivation, employment certificates proving two years of relevant post-degree experience, recent language certificates, copies of higher education certificates with certified translations where needed, and a full transcript with an explanation of the grading system.
If EPOS does not fit your profile, the DAAD runs a separate general route for master’s applicants without the professional-experience requirement, which we covered in our guide to the DAAD Study Scholarship for master’s students. Applicants comparing European options should also look at Erasmus Mundus deadlines. And if you are not sure which study or work route fits your profile, our visa eligibility checker is a sensible first stop.
Questions EPOS applicants ask most
Is there one deadline for the whole programme?
No. Each postgraduate course sets its own application deadline. Check the deadline published by the specific course you are applying to.
How much professional experience do I need?
At least two years of relevant experience gained after your first degree, counted at the time of application.
Can I apply for more than one course?
Yes, up to three. List them in priority order in the DAAD forms and submit one motivation letter explaining the ranking.
Do I need German to apply?
Only for German-taught courses, which require at least B1 at application and DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 before the course starts. English-taught courses require IELTS or TOEFL instead.
Does the scholarship cover family members?
There is a monthly allowance for accompanying members of family, alongside a rent subsidy and insurance contributions.
Where do I send my application?
Directly to the postgraduate course. Applications sent to the DAAD are not forwarded to the university.
Sources
- DAAD — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS), scholarship database. https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/?detail=50076777
- DAAD — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS), print announcement (PDF). https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database.pdf?detail=50076777
- EURAXESS — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) in Germany. https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/lac/development-related-postgraduate-courses-epos-germany-masters-and-phd-20232024
