Leadership for Africa - FAQs
Our FAQs are intended to guide you through the application process and answer some of your questions. Please read this document carefully before you contact us with any additional question you might have.
All answers provided here in the FAQs are given to our best knowledge. However, please understand that this document is not legally binding. DAAD reserves the right to make corrections and amendments due to given reasons at any time.
Basic Application Conditions
No, if you meet all the formal requirements you can apply. But please note that your last academic degree must not be older than six (6) years at time of application. Reasonable exceptions: Child-rearing period, care of family members, military service (if applicable, specify and explain in the curriculum vitae).
No, unfortunately you cannot apply for this very programme.
Please provide us alternatively with the country-specific asylum or refugee documents you received. Please note that only holders of asylum status issued before 30 April 2021 can apply for the scholarship.
In case you do not have a passport, it is also allowed to hand in another national identification document. There is no need in applying for a passport at this stage of application if you do not already have one.
You can apply also in case you already have a Master’s degree. In this case we need detailed explanation why another master’s degree and therefore this scholarship would benefit your academic career.
Courses of Study – Degrees Offered
Only full-time no part-time programmes are eligible for funds (3 to 4 semesters of studies). Study programmes has to be offered at a German Institute of Higher Education, no Joint Masters that take place in other countries are eligible.
The Master’s programme you are applying for needs to align with what you have studied in your Bachelor‘s programme – otherwise you will most likely not be accepted. Otherwise consider interdisciplinary programmes if you want to branch out from your previous field of study (but be aware of the information of full-time study programmes).
In general, this scholarship scheme is open to all fields of study and to all courses currently offered at German universities with the exception of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, law, fine arts, music and architecture. Please note: For the decision about your scholarship application, it is irrelevant which course of study you would like to follow in Germany. Language or cultural studies carry the same value to us as engineering or natural science courses.
No, unfortunately, fine arts, music and architecture are excluded due to the very restrictive admission policy. The DAAD has special scholarship programmes for those fields of studies on offer (see our scholarship database).
Unfortunately, the DAAD cannot offer a scholarship for the study of medicine (including dentistry, veterinary medicine and public health). We do regret this very much, but due to the special admission procedure and the length of study and to certain legal aspects involved (in case of specialized training), the field of medicine is excluded. Please do not ask us for exceptions, it will be futile.
In order to enter the Master’s Programme you need your Bachelor’s certificate at the time of applying to a German university. Nevertheless, you can apply with your current academic transcripts, indicating that you will have completed all academic requirements for your degree and giving the timeline for that.
Language Requirements
Please submit any official document that can prove your sufficient knowledge of the English language. It does not necessarily have to be a TOEFL or IELTS score, if there is currently no chance for you to take the test. Please note that all interviews at time of selection will be held to a great extent in English (or in German).
If you are not comfortable communicating in English at all or your TOEFL/IELTS scores are below 500/5.0, then chances for obtaining the scholarship are low. We recommend you to work on your English skills, especially for a potential selection interview.
No, you do not need to know German in order to apply. You can apply if you consider a degree course in English language. A basic knowledge of German is helpful but not necessary. The scholarship programme itself will offer German Language courses before your first semester at the German university begins. If you chose a study programme in English, you only need to prove your knowledge of the English language.
If the study course you choose is in German and you can hand in proof of sufficient knowledge of the German language (e.g. DSH, TestDaF or any certificate from the Goethe-Institute), you may apply even with a low proficiency in English. Please be aware that the mandatory civic society study programme will be in English.
Application Requirements
Please explain in your statement how you – with your academic knowledge and skills – can contribute. What made you choose to apply for this programme and why you want to study the mentioned programme. Very important: We are NOT interested in a political statement.
All necessary information (including searchable databases) can be found on the Internet. A very good place to start is www.study-in-germany.de/de/.
No, you do not have to apply beforehand. Just include a printout (see Master form in the application requirements) with the information on your three suitable selected courses with your application. However, if you already obtained an admission to a suitable German Study programme in time for application, please hand it in as well. Note that application deadlines for international master programmes vary extremely. Therefore make sure you monitor the deadlines.
Yes. We do only accept application enter through our application portal. Please refrain from sending us any documents or entire applications via post, e-mail or dropped at our offices.
For any problems with the online application process at DAAD portal, please contact portal@daad.de.
No. You should only send copies and if necessary certified translations of the original documents.
Scholarship Selections
During pre-selections, DAAD will check your application to make sure all required documents are on hand. We will also check if any documents submitted are forgeries – which will exclude you automatically from this scholarship. Only candidates with complete applications will be admitted to the final selections.
Yes, all pre-selected candidates will have to be prepare for a personal interview. Due to the ongoing Covid19-pandemic the DAAD will make an exception to the rule and substitute the personal appearance in 2021 with an interview exclusively held online via video conference.
You will be given a time slot when you will be interviewed. Please be on time, otherwise you may be excluded. First, you will have to present originals of your application documents to members of our staff who will once again check for authenticity. Secondly, a committee of German professors, asking you questions about your CV, your previous academic work and your study plan for Germany, will interview you. Some questions will be academic questions, making sure that you have the necessary qualifications for studying in Germany. Other questions are related to motivation, intercultural qualifications and to your plans for the future. Please note: All interviews will be conducted in English or German!
DAAD aims to have a high number of female applicants and of female scholarship holders, if possible, as high as 50%. Female students are therefore especially encouraged to apply.
Academic achievements and academic potential assessed by our selection committee are the most important selection criteria. Additionally, language skills in English or German, intercultural qualifications and motivation will be taken into consideration.
Very important:
- All applicants submitting any forged documents will be excluded from the selection process
- Applicants should strictly adhere to international standards of good scientific practise. Any form of plagiarism found will lead to disqualification.
