Finding Scholarships
Welcome to our scholarship database!
Here you will find information about our DAAD scholarship programmes for international students and
researchers as well as offers from other selected funding organisations.
Study Scholarships - Postgraduate Studies in the Fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film • DAAD
Overview
Eine Druckversion dieser Ausschreibung (PDF) steht Ihnen in den weiteren Registerkarten (z.B. „Bewerbungsvoraussetzungen“) zur Verfügung.
A print version of this announcement (PDF) is available in the further tabs (e.g. “Application requirements”).
Objective
This scholarship programme offers you the opportunity to continue your education in Germany with a postgraduate or complementary course of study in the fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film. The scholarships also promote the exchange of experience and networking amongst colleagues.
Who can apply?
You can apply if you have gained a first university degree in the field of arts.
What can be funded?
In this study programme, you can complete:
- a Master's degree course/postgraduate degree course leading to a final qualification at a state or state-recognised German university of your choice
or - a complementary course without degree (not an undergraduate course). This can be either a study year in Germany as part of your study programme at your home university or an independent project or complementary study course with a professor/an instructor in Germany. The connection to a university in the fields of art in Germany is mandatory and needs to be verified with the confirmation of supervision.
Funding for a Master's degree programme/a postgraduate degree programme that has already started in Germany cannot be granted.
If you are enrolled in a Master's or postgraduate degree programme which includes a study period abroad, funding for this period abroad is usually only possible under the following conditions:
- The study visit is essential for achieving the scholarship objective,
- the visit does not take place in the home country,
- and it is no longer than a quarter of the scholarship period. Longer periods cannot be funded, not even partially.
Please note: This programme only funds projects in the artistic and creative area. Other DAAD scholarship programmes are available for applicants from the field of History of Art or Art Studies or for artists with a scientific project.
Duration of the funding
Master's degree/Postgraduate degree course:
- Between 10 and 24 months depending on the length of the chosen study programme
- Start: usually from 1st October, of the following year (depending on the start of your study programme) or earlier if a German language course is taken prior to the study programme
- The scholarships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen study programme (up to a maximum of 24 months). Please state the entire period for which you wish to apply for funding in your application. For example, if you are planning a 2-year degree programme, you must directly indicate two years as the desired scholarship duration in your application. After the first year of study, your academic achievements will be assessed in a further funding procedure. If this shows that you will successfully complete your programme within a reasonable period of time, the scholarship will continue as planned.
- One academic year. This can be either a study year in Germany as part of your study programme at your home university or an independent project or complementary study course with a professor/an instructor in Germany.
- Start: usually from 1st October of the following year, or earlier if a German language course is taken prior to the study programme
Value
- A monthly payment of 934 euros
- Travel allowance
- One-off study allowance
- Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
- Monthly rent subsidy (please read the important scholarship information / section D, point 9)
- Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family. Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / section F, point 3.
- In case of a disability or chronic illness: on application, a subsidy may be provided for justified additional costs, incurred in Germany due to the disability, that are necessary to realise the project in Germany and that are not covered by a third party; whether and to what extent a subsidy will be paid will be reviewed and determined on an individual basis (see important information for scholarship applicants, section F, point 8).
- Green Mobility Top Up (Support for climate-friendly travel) or reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel
To enable scholarship holders to learn German in preparation for their stay in the country, DAAD offers the following services:
- Payment of course fees for an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
- if necessary: German language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the study visit in Germany; the DAAD decides whether to fund participation and for how long depending on German language skills and project. Participation in a language course is compulsory if the language of instruction or working language is German at the German host institution.
- Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the scholarship period
- Reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH test, which you can take either in your home country after you have received your Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany during your funding period.
Please note that the DAAD does not cover tuition fees.
Selection
After you have uploaded your application documents to the DAAD portal, the DAAD will first carry out a formal check. It will be checked whether the application requirements have been met and whether the application is complete. If this is the case, you will be asked to submit your work samples.
A special DAAD committee made up of professors from German art, design and film schools is responsible for the final decision about scholarships in the fields of Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication and Film. The decision is based upon the written application and work samples which have to be submitted (details about the work samples: www.daad.de/extrainfo).
The selection process from the time of the application deadline until the final selection can take up to 5 months. In general, you should receive the selection result in March.
Selection criteria
- the artistic qualification and artistic maturity, measured by study achievements and work samples
- the quality of the project as measured by the study plan and the letter of motivation
In addition, the selection committee will give due consideration to aspects of equal opportunities, on which you can provide information in the application form.
For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information / Section E.
Further information
Confirmation of a scholarship does not automatically guarantee admission to one of the universities. The respective university decides whether or not to offer scholarship holders a place. In most cases, applicants are required to take an entrance examination. Please inform yourself in time about admission requirements and application deadlines and interview dates at your chosen university, and bear in mind that these may be several months before the planned start of your studies or even before the DAAD awards the scholarship. We cannot cover the costs of the entrance examination. A Scholarship Award Letter from the DAAD is only valid if you have been admitted to study at the host university named in your application.
Application requirements
What requirements must be met?
Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:
- As a rule, your university degree should not date back more than 6 years at the time of the application deadline. Please read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, point 2.
- Prerequisite for the funding is a full-time and attendance study. Extra-occupational or part-time study programmes and study programmes with a predominant share of e-learning can not be taken into account.
- Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.
Language skills
Applicants in the fields of Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication and Film should have the knowledge of the language of instruction which corresponds to the requirements of the chosen university at the latest by the time they start their scholarship. If you do not yet have the language skills required by the university at the time of your application, your application should indicate the extent to which you are in a position to reach the required level. After you have been awarded a scholarship, take advantage of the funding opportunities described under "Value".
Application Procedure
Application deadline
Application deadlines are updated at least once a year. In most cases, they are in the same period as the previous year. You can find the current dates here:
11.11.2024
Selection date in March 2025 for funding starting from October 2025
Application documents
Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.
1. Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:
- Online application form
- Full curriculum vitae in tabular form
- Statement about academic and personal reasons for the planned study project in Germany (letter of motivation; 1 - 3 pages). Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, point 2.
- Form "Information about your preferred master programmes". Please upload the provided form even if you only have one university of choice or you already received the admission letter from your host university.
- If available: Letter of acceptance from the host university.
If you have not yet received notification of admission at the time of application, you must submit this before the funding period begins. Please note that you yourself are responsible for ensuring that you apply for admission at the host university by the due date and that a Scholarship Award Letter from the DAAD only becomes valid if you are admitted to your chosen host university.
- Confirmation of supervision from a German university teacher if you undertake an independent project or complementary study course with a professor/an instructor in Germany.
or - If you are planning to spend time studying in Germany as part of a second or Master's degree programme in your home country, you must submit proof that credits acquired in Germany will be recognised by your home university.
- A current Transcript of Records with individual grade(s), incl. explanation of grading system
- University degree certificate indicating final grade(s): the certificate must be subsequently submitted before the scholarship-supported study programme begins if studies have not been completed at the time of application.
- Proof of German language proficiency according to the European Framework of References for Languages or the Test-DaF for study programmes in German. The language certificate should be no more than two years old.
- Proof of English language proficiency according to the requirements of the chosen study programme in English (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS). The language certificate should be no more than two years old.
- Form “List of work samples” with details about your work (size, date of creation, place etc.), that you want to upload at a later point in the process. (Please upload this under “List of work samples”) Please do not upload full portfolios, work samples or other visual material to the DAAD portal at this point. You will receive the link to the DAAD media database after the formal check of your documents.
If you want to inform yourself beforehand about the formalities of the work samples, you can find further information on the info page www.daad.de/extrainfo. - A declaration that the works of art have been produced or created by you or the names of those persons involved in producing collaborative pieces of work. In the case of collaborative work or projects, the applicant's own contribution must be marked as such or appropriately described. Please also upload this document under “List of work samples”.
2.Submitting work samples to the DAAD media database:
If the review of your scholarship application shows that it meets the criteria of the scholarship announcement and is complete, you will receive a link to upload your work samples to the DAAD media database. When you receive the link, please upload the work samples to the Media Database until the given deadline. Please follow the instructions given. Work samples that are not uploaded by the given deadline can unfortunately not be considered. .
For formal requirements for the work samples, read: "Additional Information for DAAD Study Scholarships in the Field of Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication and Film" at: www.daad.de/extrainfo.
All application documents listed under 1. and 2. must be submitted in German or English. Documents in other languages must be translated. Please provide them with your application.
The application is submitted in two steps:
1. Submission of the application documents
2. Submission of work samples
1. Submission of the application documents
The application documents are submitted online via the DAAD portal.
Please note that the access to the application portal only appears while the current application period is running. After the application deadline has expired, the portal for this programme is not available until the next application period.
Application location
Online via the DAAD Portal and the DAAD Media Database
Please note
- Your application is only valid if you submit all the required documents to the DAAD portal (see Item 1) and to the DAAD media database (see Item 2).
- The DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hrs. (CET or CEST) on the last application day.
- Late or incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete.
- The application documents remain with the DAAD. Your personal data is saved by the DAAD in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act and with the EU Data Protection Regulation insofar as this data is needed to process the application.
Contact and Consulting
Information and advisory centres
DAAD-Lectors:
Nadine Vollstädt
University Zagreb
Faculty of Philosophy
Department of German Studies
Ivana Lucica 2
10000 Zagreb
Email
Mareike Korte
J.J. Strossmayer-University Osijek
Faculty of Philosophy
Department of German Studies
ul. Lorenza Jägera 9
31000 Osijek
Email
Judith Hansmeier
University Zadar
Faculty of Philosophy
Department of German Studies
Obala P. Krešimira IV/2, 23000 Zadar
Email
More detailed information
- DAAD website section "Important information for scholarship applicants"
- DAAD website section "Study programmes and language courses"
- DAAD website section "Plan your studies" to help you prepare for your stay in Germany
- Campaign website https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/
Submitting an application
General information on the application via DAAD portal
Applications for this scholarship programme are possible in the period June until the stated application deadline.
Click on 'Application portal' at the bottom of the page to go to the DAAD portal. There you will be provided with an online application form to enter your application data.
This is what you have to do:
1. Register in the DAAD portal (|Read notes about registering in the portal >>)
2. Applying online in the DAAD portal (|Read notes on applying in the portal >>)
- Prepare application documents
- If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
- Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
- Fill out the application form and upload the application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
- Submit the application online.
3.Submitting work samples to the DAAD media database:
If the review of your scholarship application shows that it meets the criteria of the scholarship announcement and is complete, you will receive a link to upload your work samples to the DAAD media database by 15 December at the latest. When you receive the link, please upload the work samples to the Media Database by 10 January CET at the latest.
Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact portal@daad.de via e-mail.
Please consider possible processing times of your request when you are planning your application.
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