Study Scholarships – Postgraduate Studies in the Fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film • DAAD

Objective

DAAD scholarships offer graduates the opportunity to continue their education in Germany with a postgraduate or continuing course of study. The scholarships also promote the exchange of experience and networking amongst colleagues.

Who can apply?

Foreign applicants who have gained a first university degree in the fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film at the latest by the time they commence their scholarship-supported study programme.

What can be funded?

In this study programme, you can complete

• a Master’s degree course/postgraduate degree course leading to a final qualification, or
• a complementary course without degree (not an undergraduate course)

at a state or state-recognised German university of your choice.
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:

• Between 10 and 24 months depending on the length of the chosen study programme
• Start: usually from 1st October, of the following year 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). In the case of 2-year courses, further funding is provided after the first year of study, if your academic achievements thus far indicate that you will successfully complete the study programme within a reasonable period of time.
• Applicants who are already in Germany in the first year of a postgraduate course at the time of application may apply for funding for their second year of study. It is not possible to extend the scholarship.

Complementary studies not leading to a final qualification:

• one academic year
• 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 861 euros
• Travel allowance
• One-off study allowance
• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover

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

• Monthly rent subsidy
• Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family
• In the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers: Further information

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. Due to the pandemic, German courses may take place online.
• Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the scholarship period
• Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF or DSH test which has either been taken in the home country after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany before the end of the funding period

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 makes the final decision about scholarships in the fields of Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication and Film. The decision is based upon written applications and work samples which have to be submitted (see: www.daad.de/extrainfo).

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

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 find out 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. If an applicant is offered a scholarship by the DAAD but fails to be admitted to any of the universities indicated in the application, he/she may not make use of the scholarship that has already been awarded.