Scholarships to study in Germany

How do scholarships in Germany work when tuition is already free?

In the UK or Australia a scholarship is a fee discount. In Germany, where state universities charge no tuition for most degrees, a scholarship is a monthly stipend that replaces the €992 a month you would otherwise have to show in a blocked account. That changes the arithmetic: a DAAD master's scholarship of €992 a month for 24 months is worth about €23,800 (₹26 lakh), which is the entire cost of a two-year MS at a tuition-free university.

It also changes the visa. The German missions in India list a German or EU public scholarship as an accepted proof of funds in place of the blocked account, and holders of such scholarships are exempt from the APS certificate. A DAAD award therefore removes the two slowest steps in the Indian application process at once.

The catch is scale and eligibility. The DAAD funds well over 100,000 people a year worldwide, but its full master's scholarships for Indians sit in specific programmes with strict criteria: EPOS wants two years of professional experience, the Helmut-Schmidt-Programme wants relevant practical experience, the DAAD STEM study scholarships are not open to applicants from India, and the DAAD programmes generally want upper-third grades. Most Indian students in Germany are self-funded or hold smaller awards, so plan the blocked account first and treat scholarships as the upside.

Germany scholarships for Indian students: amounts, eligibility and deadlines

Amounts are those published on the DAAD scholarship database, the Deutschlandstipendium portal and university pages on 26 September 2026. Deadlines differ by programme and course; the DAAD database lists the current one for each call.

DAAD scholarship rules that decide Indian applications

The DAAD publishes one set of conditions for all its scholarships. These are the ones that most often disqualify Indian applicants or shape which programme they can use.

• You must apply from India: applicants who have been in Germany for more than 15 months at the closing date are not eligible, and for stays over six months your last degree must have been earned in your country of residence.
• The programme must be tuition-free. DAAD study scholarships are not awarded for fee-charging programmes such as Baden-Württemberg's €1,500-a-semester universities or TUM's €4,000–6,000 master's unless the university confirms in writing that the fee is waived. Semester contributions are fine; they are not tuition.
• No stacking: you cannot hold two study or research scholarships of seven months or more within one educational period (a master's or a doctorate). A full DAAD scholarship cannot be held at the same time as a Deutschlandstipendium (you can take leave from the Deutschlandstipendium during DAAD funding); only a DAAD partial scholarship can be combined with it. Anyone already receiving merit-based material support averaging €30 or more a month cannot receive a Deutschlandstipendium.
• Language: English requirements differ by course, and the EPOS FAQ tells applicants to check the regulations of the respective course for the needed proof; the university's own admission bar still applies. For German-taught courses the DAAD funds a preparatory German course in Germany (EPOS: six months; Helmut-Schmidt: mandatory, up to four months).
• Grades: the DAAD programmes want results in the upper third of your cohort, and EPOS additionally requires at least two years of relevant work after the bachelor's and a letter from your current employer, ideally promising re-employment.
• Selection is by independent committees on academic quality, the study or research project and personal potential, not on need alone. Motivation letters that link your Indian experience to a development or research outcome score highest.
• Payments are made in Germany to a German account; the award letter is what you upload in the Consular Services Portal as proof of funds, and it exempts you from APS under the missions' published exemption list.

How to apply for a scholarship in Germany from India: step by step

Scholarship deadlines run a year ahead of the semester and, for EPOS, sit inside the university application itself. The sequence below is for an October 2027 start.

1. 1

   June–August 2026: search the DAAD scholarship database

   Filter by country of origin India, status (graduate) and subject. Read each call's "Application requirements" tab: EPOS routes you to the participating university and Helmut-Schmidt to a fixed list of PPGG master's.

2. 2

   July–September 2026: check the programme is tuition-free

   Confirm on the university page that no general tuition applies, or obtain a written waiver. Shortlist Deutschlandstipendium universities and note whether they also run their own international-student grants.

3. 3

   August–October 2026: assemble the DAAD file

   CV in Europass form, motivation letter, degree and marksheets with a grade-scale explanation, one reference per programme (EPOS: a letter of recommendation from your current employer; Helmut-Schmidt: one current written reference from your employer or a lecturer), the language certificate the course asks for and, for EPOS, employment certificates covering two years and a re-employment letter.

4. 4

   From August 2026: submit by each call's deadline

   EPOS applications go to the university with the scholarship form attached, on the deadline set by each course (see the course website); doctoral calls go through the DAAD portal on their own dates. The Helmut-Schmidt call for the 2027 start ran 1 June–31 July 2026 and has closed; the next window, around June–July 2027, is for the 2028 intake.

5. 5

   January–May 2027: selection and award letters

   Committees meet in winter and spring (Helmut-Schmidt selection for the 2027 start was set for October/November 2026). Award letters arrive by e-mail; sign the acceptance, then notify the university so your admission and the scholarship line up.

6. 6

   May–July 2027: visa with the award letter

   Upload the scholarship letter as proof of funds in the Consular Services Portal; no blocked account and no APS certificate are required for German or EU public scholarship holders. DAAD preparatory German courses take place in Germany before the programme starts (EPOS: six months for German-taught courses; Helmut-Schmidt: mandatory, up to four months), not before you leave India.

7. 7

   After arrival: apply for the smaller awards

   Enrolled students can apply for the Deutschlandstipendium (€300 a month, not alongside a full DAAD scholarship) under their university's call and, once eligible, for TUM's €500–1,800 per-semester international grant (from the 2nd master's semester, with a short application window each semester). Neither requires a separate visa step.

Which scholarships pay for a master's in Germany without work experience?

Fresh Indian graduates without two years of work are shut out of EPOS, and the Helmut-Schmidt-Programme treats relevant practical experience (work, internships, volunteering or NGO work) as essential, so applicants with none are not eligible. The DAAD Study scholarships for STEM disciplines do not help either: India is not among the 24 eligible countries in the call. The remaining routes to funding are Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's programmes, which are EU-funded and run by university consortia (check each programme's page for its scholarship terms and deadline), and the awards below.

Below full funding, the useful awards are university-run: the Deutschlandstipendium (€300 a month, half from the federal government and half from companies, foundations and alumni, awarded to about 33,500 students in 2025), TUM's international-student grant of €500–1,800 a semester, and completion or hardship grants at most universities. These are applied for after enrolment, so they do not help with the visa but they cut the second-year burden materially. German political and other foundations also run scholarship programmes for international students; each sets its own eligibility, language and engagement requirements, so read their pages before you plan around one.

For fee-charging programmes the relevant money is the waiver: TUM lets non-EU students apply for waiver scholarships on grades or need, and Baden-Württemberg universities award a limited number of exemptions. Ask the international office before you accept, because DAAD funding cannot be used at these universities without a written fee waiver.

Plan the blocked account as if no scholarship will come

Frequently asked questions

Official sources used on this page

• DAAD — Scholarships overview: €992 students, doctoral stipend, insurance and travel allowance — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD scholarship database — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS): eligibility, 12–42 months, €992 / €1,400 — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD scholarship database — Study scholarships for STEM disciplines: 10–24 months, €992, list of eligible countries (India not included) — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD scholarship database — Helmut-Schmidt-Programme (Public Policy and Good Governance master's): practical experience, application period — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — Important information for scholarship applicants (15-month rule, tuition-free requirement, no combining) — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• Deutschlandstipendium — How it works: €300 a month, half federal, half private — Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) · checked 26 September 2026
• Deutschlandstipendium — Student FAQ: each university's call, combining with a DAAD scholarship, other merit support — Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) · checked 26 September 2026
• Deutschlandstipendium — Home: 33,500 recipients in 2025, open to all nationalities — Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) · checked 26 September 2026
• TUM — Scholarship for international students: €500–1,800 a semester — Technical University of Munich · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — EPOS FAQ (PDF): language requirements differ by course — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — EPOS application deadlines for the 2027/2028 intake (PDF): set by each course — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — Helmut-Schmidt-Programme current announcement (PDF): application period 1 June–31 July 2026 — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — Helmut-Schmidt-Programme FAQ (PDF): relevant practical experience is essential — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• Erasmus+ — Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EU programme page) — European Commission, Erasmus+ · checked 26 September 2026
• TUM — Tuition fees for non-EU students: waiver scholarships and exemptions — Technical University of Munich · checked 26 September 2026
• German Missions in India — Student visa checklist: scholarship as proof of funds and APS exemption (PDF) — Federal Foreign Office, German Missions in India · checked 26 September 2026
• DAAD — Finances: proof of funds €992 a month, Baden-Württemberg and Bavarian fees — German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · checked 26 September 2026
• Wise — EUR to INR mid-market rate — Wise · checked 26 September 2026