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The Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) / German Academic Exchange Service offers the“Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral Degrees / Cotutelle” program. This program provides doctoral candidates with the opportunity to pursue a bi-national doctoral degree at their home university and at a university in Germany.
There are two types of doctoral programs:
- Option a) Doctorate with binational supervision (“sandwich model”): The PhD project is supervised jointly by an academic advisor at the home university and another at the host institution in Germany. The doctoral degree is awarded by the home university.
- Option b) Joint Doctoral Program: The PhD project is carried out jointly at the home university and a university in Germany under an individual joint supervision agreement established specifically for the project. Upon successful completion, the two universities jointly award the doctoral degree.
The scholarship provides €1,400 per month for the research stay in Germany, for a period of 7 to 24 months.
It also includes a travel allowance, a €460 research allowance, and health, accident, and liability insurance. Additional allowances may be available depending on the applicant’s circumstances.
Requirements:
- As a general rule, the most recent university degree must have been earned no more than 6 years prior to the application deadline.
- If the doctoral program has already begun, it must have started no more than 3 years before the application deadline.
- Applicants must not have been residents of Germany for more than 15 months as of the application deadline.
- For the “Sandwich Model,” applicants must hold a master’s degree or a Diplom (or, in exceptional cases, a bachelor’s degree) by the start of the funding period.
- For the “Cotutelle model,” applicants must have been admitted to a doctoral program by the start of the funding period.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted online via the DAAD Portal—by clicking the “SUBMIT AN APPLICATION” button. Applicants must complete the online application form and upload the required supporting documents, including the research proposal, CV, motivation letter, academic documents, and the confirmation from the German supervisor.
For the Cotutelle option, an individual Cotutelle agreement between the home university and the German university is required before the funding period begins. The application deadline is November 16, 2026.