Study and research in Germany

Additional Information on DAAD Study Scholarships in the Field of Music

Academic studies in musicology are offered by universities only. Scholarship applicants for this subject do not apply in the separate process for music, but rather pass through the general process applicable to all academic subjects.

DAAD study scholarships in the field of music are only awarded for extension studies.  As a rule, applicants must hold a first academic degree; if this is not possible, they should at least have exhausted all the training options offered for their instrument in their home country. At the time of application, they must not have been resident in Germany for more than one year.

Final selection of study scholarship holders in music is made by a special DAAD Selection Committee made up of professors from the German colleges of music (Musikhochschulen). Besides the written application papers, applicants must submit sound recordings, which form the decisive basis for the selection decision.

The scholarship is awarded exclusively for studies at one of the state colleges of music (Staatliche Musikhochschulen) in the Federal Republic of Germany.  Depending on the length of the chosen degree course or study project, the study scholarship will be awarded for between 10 and 24 months. Initially, scholarships are awarded for one academic year and can be extended for students with good study achievements to cover the full length of the chosen degree course. In individual cases and upon application, a scholarship may be extended for a course of postgraduate study lasting several years. In principle, all colleges of music offer postgraduate programmes that generally last four semesters. However, participation in a postgraduate course does not automatically lead to scholarship extension.

The scholarship award does not automatically guarantee admission to a college of music.

The respective college of music is responsible for setting age limits for admission, whereby differing rules apply depending on the applicant's academic level and chosen subject. As a rule, however, applicants will only be accepted who are no older than 28 to 30 years of age.

The required sound recordings must meet the following requirements and standards:

• The sound recording must contain pieces/works of a higher degree of difficulty played or sung by the applicant.
• At the time of application, all recordings must be no older than one year and must be of the best possible technical quality ( (no mp3, AAC, etc.). 
• Sound-/image media in the form of an audio CD or DVD video are accepted. The audio CD or DVD video must be playable on standard CD / DVD players.
• Sound recordings must be labelled with the following information:
  • applicant's name
  • composer's name
  • title of the work/piece
  • individual movements (one movement per track)
  • index numbers for selecting individual works and movements
  • details on the length of the individual numbers
  • place of recording
  • date of recording
  • labelled as a CD or DVD.

Failure to meet these requirements may lead to applicant's exclusion from the application process.

Instrumentalists from the field of Serious/Classical Music must submit complete works (not only individual movements) from at least 3 different style eras of essential relevance to the discipline in question. One of the works should be from the field of Modern Music. Failure to meet the minimum criteria will result in the candidate being excluded from the process.

Instrumentalists from the field of Jazz should present at least 3 pieces of differing character or tempi (e.g. a ballad or a quick piece).

Applicants for the subjects Chamber Music or Song Accompaniment must, in addition to the three required works in the subject Chamber Music or Song Accompaniment , submit the recording of at least one work for their solo instrument.

Members of ensembles or duos applying for a scholarship must, in addition to the three required ensemble works, also present at least a work to demonstrate their soloist play.

Singers are requested to prepare a comparably differentiated programme made up of three style eras that additionally cover the fields of Opera, Song, and Concerto.

The total recording time must be at least 20 minutes for singers and at least 30 minutes for instrumentalists.

Please note that your application can only be processed if the formal requirements have been met regarding the completeness and length of the sound recordings!

Special conditions apply to applicants from the following subjects:

A) Composition
Composers must submit their own compositions in the form of full scores (four s.t. of copies, please) and sound recordings, including, as far as possible, recent works. No more than three scores should be submitted. Scores must be labelled with the date of completion. The requirements listed in points 3 and 4 above apply for the sound recordings. Candidates must additionally submit a list of works.

B) Conductors (orchestral and choral)
Conductors are expected to present a recent DVD recording of their own conducting (please ensure that it is compatible with Windows Media Player or VLC Media Player) showing rehearsal work and a performance, as far as possible, with the conductor facing the camera, so that the applicant can be appropriately assessed. The conducted works should come from various representative style eras (e.g. Baroque, Classic, Opera, Modern, etc.). The selected literature must correspond with the aspired field of study (choir or orchestra conducting). A recording of the applicant playing an instrumental piece is also required. Conducting presentations should not fall below 15 minutes.

The DVD recordings must be labelled with the following information:

• applicant's name
• composer's name
• title of the work/piece
• individual movements (one movement per track)
• index numbers for selecting individual works and movements
• details on the length of the individual numbers
• place of recording
• date of recording.

The DAAD registers scholarship holders for admission at the college of music of their choice. However, the applicant is essentially free in his or her choice of state college of music. Applicants are therefore urgently advised to inform themselves in good time about the institution in question, about the range of studies it offers and about the professors teaching there. The application must already state at which college and with which teacher they would like to study, and whether or not they have already been in contact with the teacher in question. Studies under a teacher of the same nationality or from the same cultural sphere can only be funded if this teacher has not been living in the original cultural sphere for a long time and, in particular, if it is certain that the language of instruction will not be the language of the country of origin. In such cases, reasons for the choice of teacher are already requested with the application. Further information on the colleges of music is available from German embassies, from the DAAD regional offices and from the Goethe Institutes abroad, as well as from DAAD head office in Bonn.

The individual college of music decides on admission of the scholarship holder, on acceptance in a specific class and on credits for previous study periods and academic achievements. In most cases, applicants are additionally required to take an entrance examination. Please inquire in good time about the application deadlines and audition/interview dates at your chosen College of Music (Conservatory) and please note that these may under certain circumstances lie several months before the desired start date for your studies or even before the DAAD's scholarship award decision. Following a positive scholarship decision, the DAAD will also once again contact the College of Music (Conservatory).

If an applicant is not accepted by a college of music, even though the DAAD reached a positive decision, the DAAD regrets that the applicant cannot then take up the scholarship.

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