DAAD Call for Scholarship Applications 2026: MPhil in Urban Studies – Southern Urbanism

Applicants must:

• clearly show motivation and strong commitment;
• be graduates with a first academic degree, who have successfully completed a four-year university degree (Bachelors + Honours) with above average results (at least: Second Class/Upper Division or equivalent, if applicable.) Candidates who cannot provide a Second Class/Upper Division or a higher result are not eligible;
• have thorough knowledge of the language of instruction;
• have completed their last university degree not more than 6 years ago at the time of application;
• must be nationals or permanent residents of a Sub-Saharan African country (excluding South Africa South Africa or students with permanent residence in South Africa);
  • should be a) staff member of a public university,
  • b) or a candidate considered for teaching or research staff recruitment,
  • c) or from the public sector and/or
  • d) Alumni of the DAFI-programme. Fresh graduates, professionals and other candidates who do not fit in the above-mentioned areas are also invited to apply for the programme.

Female applicants, refugees with recognised refugee status and candidates from other less privileged regions or groups are especially encouraged to participate in the programme.

• Tuition fees
• Study and research allowance
• Thesis publishing costs
• Monthly Scholarship (Accommodation, food etc.)
• Travel allowance (In-Region only)
• Health insurance (In-Region only)

*Please note that in some cases not all fees and costs mentioned in the official fee structure of the host institution can be covered by DAAD in full, e.g. if the agreement with the funding organisation prevents the DAAD from funding certain items in the fee structure or if items that are included in the fees are supposed to be covered through the individual scholarship benefits. The DAAD will transfer the fees directly to the host institution.

As a first step, all applicants must submit a complete application for the programme via the DAAD Portal. This is a standard uploading area for all programme applications and some documents may not be mandatory for your application. Please refer to your programme call to check which documents are required.

Please be aware of the DAAD’s application deadline as well as the University of Cape Town’s deadline.

The application process for DAAD scholarships contains the following steps:

1. Register on the portal: https://funding.meindaad.de/sites/personalfunding#PBFApplication- Start?fundingProgramInstance=57803618
2. Log in to the portal
3. Carefully read the instructions on how to apply in the portal
4. Submit your application via the portal by the deadline April 09th 2025

All documents should be saved in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.

Deadline: April 09th, 2025

Applications submitted through other channels or to other authorities will not be considered. The DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hours. Central European Time (CET or CEST) on the last (deadline) application day.

Remember to check that your application is complete and meets the DAAD requirements before submitting! Otherwise, your application cannot be considered.

The DAAD will conduct a formal review of the applications received via the DAAD portal only, according to the DAAD criteria.

▶In addition to the application process, applicants must apply for admission at the University of Cape Town using the contact details and procedure prescribed by the institution. The institution sets its own deadline for the admission process. Please inform yourself in plenty of time about the application process at the host institution.

Please note: in some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, a document from the Qualifications Authority must be submitted for admission to the universities (e.g., from SAQA in South Africa). The application for these documents can take a while and it is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain the documents from the respective authorities in time.

In a final selection organised by the DAAD, applications that have met both the admission requirements at the host university (and the university’s rank in the pre-selection) and the DAAD’s formal criteria are evaluated by an independent selection committee (international university teachers and experts from German and foreign universities as well as alumni). The independent selection committee evaluates the applications based on the submitted documents, taking into consideration the pre-selection ranking of the institution. Areas evaluated include academic performance and quality, extracurricular activities, motivation, and relevance of the research topic (if applicable).

The selection process usually takes place in September. The final decision will be announced for the region of Sub-Saharan Africa, approximately six months after the application process has been concluded.

Please note, that the information about the selection process and the deadlines for an announcement of the final decisions are a subject to change.

The DAAD reserves the right of final selection.

• Scholarships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen programme (up to a maximum of 24 months). Please state the entire period for which you wish to apply for a scholarship in your application. For example, if you are planning a 2-year degree programme, you must directly communicate two years as the desired scholarship duration in your application. After the first year of study, your academic achievements will be assessed in a further funding procedure. If this assessment shows that you will successfully complete your programme within a reasonable period of time, the scholarship will continue as planned.
• The scholarship usually begins on 1st of February of the following year. Please note that the maximum duration of the scholarship consists of the year you apply for, plus the time left to the end of the regular period of studies in that programme. For example, if you apply for a DAAD scholarship starting in your second year of studies of a three-year programme, the maximum duration of the scholarship will be two years.
• The standard period of study and the start date are based on the Affiliate Agreement between the host university and the DAAD. Please note: if you arrive later, the duration of your scholarship will be shortened accordingly.

Documents for the DAAD scholarship application to be submitted and uploaded to the DAAD portal (in either English or German):

• Curriculum Vitae
• One recent Letter of Recommendation
• Copies of the last relevant Bachelor’s degree certificate
• Copy of the most re- cent university degree certificate stating final grades
• Letter of Motivation
• Copy of a valid passport or a copy of a valid National Identification Card

Mandatory Attachments to the Application (MUST BE SUBMITTED AT THE LATEST BY THE START OF THE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING)

• Proof of Admission
• Semester Schedule

Optional Attachments to the Application Form (if applicable/available)

• List of publications
• Time Schedule
• Further university degree certificates and transcripts
• As refugee a valid refugee identity card and/or the UNHCR registration document
• Additional documents that might be relevant for your application

Your application is only valid if you submit all the mandatory documents to the DAAD portal on time. Incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete. If you do not have documents at the time of application or you cannot use the DAAD form provided, please mention and explain this at an appropriate place in the application.

Please note that the scholarship only becomes effective when:

→ a proof of Admission (this can be subsequently submitted before the scholarship begins if it is not available before) from the university has been issued

AND

→ a proof of arrival (e.g., airline ticket, letter from supervisor or coordinator, admission test) has been submitted to show that you are on site at the host university to begin your studies. This must be submitted via the DAAD portal as soon as possible and is part of a complete application (this can also be subsequently submitted before the scholarship begins if it is not available before).

before).

NB: Please refer to the call for applications for a comprehensive guide on documents to attach.

• The DAAD will endeavour to transfer/pay out the first monthly payment as quickly as possible after your arrival/ after the beginning of your scholarship.
• Processing the first transfer of funds may take some time, especially if you are only able to set up your bank account after your arrival in your destination country. To cover the costs which arise before you receive your first scholarship payment, we recommend that you bring enough money with you for at least two months.
• Payments cannot be made in advance/prior of the scholarship start date and the commencement of studies at the host institution. Furthermore, no additional benefits other than those listed in this call for applications, such as benefits for family members, can be made.
• Please note that the travel allowance for In-Region scholarship holders will only be transferred along with the first scholarship rate, i.e. after the arrival in the host country.
• The scholarship funds will be paid directly to the scholarship holder’s bank account. Further details will be communicated after admission to the scholarship programme in the Letter of Award.
• The DAAD reserves the right to terminate the scholarship, if good cause is found, by cancelling the scholarship agreement. In this case, the scholarship payments shall be discontinued immediately. Good cause exists, in particular, if you have violated the rules of good scientific practice.

The DAAD plans to offer a virtual information session for interested applicants on Thursday, the 13th of March 2025 at 10 a.m. (Central European Time (CET). Click here to join the meeting (Microsoft Teams)

MPhil Urban Studies info session: Dr Anna Selmeczi, programme convener for the MPhil in Urban Studies – Southern Urbanism, will host an info session on Thursday, the 20th of March at 11AM (SAST). Click here to register for the session.

Enquiries related to the DAAD Scholarship

DAAD Contact Person: Hellen Sahlmann

E-Mail: sahlmann@daad.de

Website: https://www.daad.de/incountry-inregion

Enquiries related to the general admission and the study programme at University of Cape Town

Contact Person: Dr. Anna Selmeczi

E-Mail: anna.selmeczi@uct.ac.za

Website: MPhil in Urban Studies – Southern Urbanism – African Centre for Cities