The programme aims at fostering strong, internationally oriented higher education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa with the capacity to contribute to sustainable development. To this end, scholarships are granted for development-related Master or doctoral studies for individuals who plan to pursue a career in teaching and / or research at a higher education institution in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The programme aims at university staff in the first line, without neglecting the public sector demand of academically trained personnel (more general background information about the programme can be found here).

Graduates and postgraduates from Sub-Saharan Africa with a first academic degree if applying for a Master’s programme, or with a Master’s degree if applying for a doctoral programme who want to pursue Master’s or PhD courses in their home country (so called In-Country scholarships) or in another Sub-Saharan African country (In-Region scholarships).
Female applicants and candidates from less privileged regions or groups are especially encouraged to participate in the programme.

Please note that In-Country scholarships for students from South Africa are administrated by a cooperation between DAAD and NRF in a separate call for applications and a separate deadline.

Master and PhD studies in selected, development-related degree programmes

Funding is provided for the usual duration of a course – generally, up to two years for Master's and up to three years for the PhD degree programmes.

Generally:

• Monthly scholarship
• Study and research allowance
• Thesis publishing costs
• Tuition fees

Only applicable for In-Region scholarship holders:

• Travel allowance
• Health insurance

For further information, in particular the respective amounts, please see the call for applications of the degree programme you wish to apply for.

The selection process differs between the individual degree programmes. Please see the call for applications for further information.

Please note that the application procedure may differ between the regions and host institutions. The specific application instructions regarding each host institution are listed in the respective calls for applications (linked below).

Application deadline
Application deadline was April 9, 2025.

Please find below the list of the degree programmes funded within this scholarship programme including the links to the respective calls for applications that have already expired and are expected to be published again in summer 2025.

West and Central Africa

Benin

• University of Abomey – Calavi (UAC) Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Subject fields:
  Master: Statistics, Major Biostatistics
  PhD: Agronomic Sciences, Major Biometry

Cameroon

• University of Dschang, Subject fields:
  PhD: Parasitology
  PhD: Pharmacology

Ghana

• Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Subject field:
  PhD: Development Studies
• West African Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, Subject field:
  Master: Seed Science and Technology
• West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, Subject field:
  Master: Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases

Nigeria

• Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Subject fields:
  Master: Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
  PhD: Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
• Benue State University Makurdi (BSUM), Subject fields:
  Master: Food Chemistry
  PhD: Food Chemistry

Eastern Africa

Kenya

• Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Subject field:
  Master: Energy Technology
  Master: Soil and Water Engineering
  PhD: Soil and Water Engineering
• Moi University, Subject field:
  PhD: Biostatistics
• East and South African-German Centre of Excellence for Educational Research Methodologies and Management (CERM-ESA) - Moi University, Subject field:
  Master: Education in Research
• Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT), Subject field:
  Master: Food Science and Technology
• Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR)*, Subject field:
  Master: Research and Public Policy (MRPP)
  *at the following universities: Egerton University, University of Lagos, Maseno University, Mzumbe University, University of Ibadan
• Pwani University; Subject field:
  Master: Bioinformatics

Tanzania

• Ardhi University, Subject field:
  Master: Geomatics
• Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Subject fields:
  Master: Embedded and Mobile Systems

Uganda

• Busitema University, Subject field:
  Master: Public Health
• Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Subject fields:
  Master: Biology (Natural Resources Ecology, Management and Conservation)
  Master: Biology (Microbiology and Parasitology) (MAP)

Southern Africa

Botswana

• Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), Subject field:
  Master: Physics (by research)

Malawi

• Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), Subject field:
  Master: Environmental Health

Further calls for applications that are currently not open:
Below you will find a list of the study programmes funded under this scholarship programme with the links to the respective calls that have already expired and will be republished at the beginning of 2026.

Southern Africa

Malawi

• Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Subject field:
  Master: Aquaculture and Fisheries Science

Namibia

• Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Subject field:
  PhD: Computer Science

South Africa
(In-Region scholarships only; In-Country scholarships for South Africa are addressed in a separate call for applications -> daad.de/go/en/stipa10000279)

• Stellenbosch University (SUN), Subject fields:
  Master: Molecular Biology and Human Genetics (MBHG)
• University of Cape Town (UCT), Subject fields:
  Master: Urban Studies - Southern Urbanism
• University of the Western Cape (UWC), Subject fields:
  Master: Development Studies at ISD
  PhD: Development Studies at ISD