EPOS – Development Related Postgraduate Courses

Applications are now open for the DAAD Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS), a fully funded scholarship programme that supports qualified graduates from developing and newly industrialised countries to pursue postgraduate or Master’s degrees at German state or state-recognised universities.

This programme is ideal for professionals with at least two years of relevant work experience who want to return home as qualified specialists and contribute to sustainable development, poverty reduction, education, and health in their countries.

The scholarship is fully funded — there is no application fee, no tuition fees, and the monthly stipend, insurance, travel allowance, and additional benefits (such as rent subsidy or family allowance in certain cases) cover all living and study costs. Deadlines for intake 2027/2028 are set by each individual university programme and must be checked on the respective course website. You can check out more Internships, BS, MS, PhD and postdoc positions here.

Who Can Apply:

• Graduates with at least two years of professional experience from developing countries list
• The programme supports specialists from all disciplines who want to return home as well as possible change agents after their studies.

What Can Be Funded:

The scholarship provides participants with:

• The opportunity to earn a German university qualification while gaining practical knowledge and networks that directly support development work upon return
• A monthly stipend of 992 euros (graduates) or 1,300 euros (doctoral candidates, rising to 1,400 euros from February 2026)
• Full health, accident, and personal liability insurance
• Travel allowance (unless covered by the home country)
• Possible monthly rent subsidy and family allowance for accompanying family members

Also Check: Paid Research internships at the Max Planck Institutes ,Germeny

List of all Postgraduate courses

• MSc Development Economics at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (GAU Göttingen)
• Small Enterprise Promotion and Training – SEPT at Universität Leipzig
• Development Management at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RU Bochum)
• Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security at Ruhr-Universität Bochum / United Nations University
• Hydro Science and Engineering at Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden)
• Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology at Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden)
• Master of Engineering in “Sustainable Energy and Development” (SEDev) at Universität Flensburg
• Sustainable Renewable Energy Technologies SuRE at Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
• Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics at Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart (HfT Stuttgart)
• Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering – NHRE at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Urban Management – UM at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin)
• Master of Science Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design – IUSD at Universität Stuttgart / Ain Shams University
• Tropical Forestry at Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden)
• Agricultural Economics – AgEcon at Universität Hohenheim
• M.Sc. Marine Biology – International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology (ISATEC) at Universität Bremen
• Tropical Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering – M.Sc. TropHEE at Technische Universität Darmstadt
• Environmental Governance – MEG at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
• Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation – LENC at Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
• Natural Resources Management and Development (NRM) / Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) / Renewable Energy Management (REM) at TH Köln
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at TH Köln / German Jordanian University
• Environment and Resources Management (ENREM) – Focus Latin America at TH Köln / Universidad de San Luis Potosi
• Master of Science in International Health (Berlin) at Charité Berlin / Freie Universität Berlin / Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Master of Science in International Health (Heidelberg) at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Global Health at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• International Education Management – INEMA at Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg / Helwan University Cairo

Also Check: Remote UNDP Digital, AI & Innovation Internship programme 2026

Duration of the Funding:

• Between 12 and 42 months, depending on the chosen study programme.

Value:

Monthly payments

• 992 euros for graduates
• 1,300 euros (rising to 1,400 euros beginning February 2026) for doctoral candidates

Additional benefits

• Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
• Travel allowance (unless already covered by the home country or another source of funding)

Under certain circumstances

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

Also Check: Paid Research internships at the Max Planck Institutes ,Germeny

Requirements:

Academic requirements

• Bachelor degree (usually a four-year course) in an appropriate subject
• Above-average result in the first academic exam (top performance – rank three)
• Proof of motivation that is clearly development-related
• Ability to demonstrate social responsibility and to initiate and support change processes in personal and professional environments after returning home

Professional experience

• At least two years of relevant professional experience after the Bachelor’s degree (measured at the time of application)

Language requirements

• English: proof of adequate language skills according to the regulations of the respective postgraduate course
• German: DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 certificate for matriculation at courses taught in German. At the time of application, a level B1 certificate is already required.

Other requirements

• The latest academic degree must not be older than 6 years
• Applicants from the People’s Republic of China must submit an APS Certificate

Also Check: Paid Research internships at the Max Planck Institutes ,Germeny

How to Apply:

Application procedure

The complete application must be submitted directly to the respective university. Applications sent to the DAAD are not forwarded.

Required documents

• Completed and signed checklist
• Completed DAAD Application Form
• Curriculum vitae in reverse chronological order (use the Europass template with exact information about studies and practical experience)
• One letter of motivation that clearly explains the academic, professional and personal reasons for applying and, when applying to more than one course, also the detailed reasons for choice and priority of courses
• Letter of recommendation from the current employer (must include official letterhead, signature and official stamp and must be of current date)
• Certificate(s) of Employment from the employer(s) showing at least two years of relevant work experience after the Bachelor’s degree up to the time of application. The certificate from the current employer should, if possible, include a guarantee of re-employment after returning home
• Recent proof of language skills
• Copies of higher education degree certificates (certified translation if the original is not in German or English)
• Full set of transcript of records (explanation of the grading system if this is not part of the transcript)
• Applicants from the People’s Republic of China must submit an APS Certificate with their application documents

Also Check: Remote UNDP Digital, AI & Innovation Internship programme 2026