Status: Course deadlines vary. The DAAD EPOS Scholarship 2027-2028 does not have a single application deadline. Each development-related postgraduate course at a German university sets its own deadline, and DAAD publishes the full list of courses with their application deadlines for 2027/2028. Most courses close between August and October, so by 13 November 2026 many 2027/2028 deadlines had already passed — but a few courses close later, so you must check the deadline of your own course. This article explains the programme as the DAAD describes it in its official scholarship database.
EPOS stands for the DAAD programme “Development-Related Postgraduate Courses”. With its development-oriented postgraduate study programmes, the DAAD promotes the training of specialists from development and newly industrialised countries. The idea is simple: well-trained local experts, networked with international partners, play an important part in the sustainable development of their countries. The DAAD’s own description puts it plainly — such experts are the best guarantee for a better future with less poverty, more education and more health for all.
Summary
| Programme | DAAD Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) |
|---|---|
| Host country | Germany |
| Funded by | DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) |
| Study level | Postgraduate / Master’s degree; doctoral degree in exceptional cases |
| Funding duration | 12 to 42 months, depending on the study programme |
| Monthly payments | 992 euros for graduates; 1,300 euros for doctoral candidates (1,400 euros from February 2026) |
| Deadlines | Set by each course; published in DAAD’s list for 2027/2028 |
| Status | Check your course deadline |
What the scholarship covers
The DAAD publishes the funding for EPOS in its scholarship database, and the figures are specific. Depending on academic level, scholarship holders receive monthly payments of 992 euros for graduates or 1,300 euros for doctoral candidates — rising to 1,400 euros for doctoral candidates from February 2026. On top of the monthly payment, the DAAD pays health, accident and personal liability insurance cover, and a travel allowance, unless those expenses are covered by the home country or another source of funding. Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may also receive a monthly rent subsidy and a monthly allowance for family members accompanying them.
Two points about that package deserve attention. First, it is a living-cost package: the monthly payment is meant to cover the cost of living in Germany, and the insurance and travel elements remove two large extra costs. Second, the amounts changed recently, and the DAAD page itself shows the change — the doctoral monthly payment of 1,300 euros becomes 1,400 euros from February 2026. If you read an older article that gives a different figure, it is probably out of date. Use the DAAD scholarship database entry as the authority, and check whether it has changed again by the time you apply.
Who can apply
EPOS is for graduates with at least two years of professional experience from developing and newly industrialised countries. The DAAD publishes a list of eligible countries, and you should check it before you apply. You should also know that eligibility is about more than your passport and your degree. The DAAD’s selection criteria are: candidates fulfil the necessary academic requirements and can be expected to successfully complete a study programme in Germany — an above-average result for the first academic examination, in the top performance third — and language skills; candidates have a bachelor’s degree, usually a four-year course, in an appropriate subject; candidates have at least two years of professional experience; and candidates can prove that their motivation is development-related and can be expected to take on social responsibility and to initiate and support processes of change in their personal and professional environment after their training and scholarship.
That last condition is the one applicants most often underestimate. EPOS does not only ask what you want to study. It asks what you will do with it at home. Your application has to show a development-related motivation and a believable plan for change in your own professional environment after the scholarship. If you cannot describe that plan, you are not yet ready to apply, however strong your degree is.
What you can study
EPOS funds individual scholarships exclusively for postgraduate courses in Germany that are listed on the DAAD’s list of all postgraduate courses with application deadlines for 2027/2028. The courses are development-related postgraduate courses at state or state-recognised German universities, across all disciplines: subjects include agriculture, health, economics, engineering, environmental science, education, law and social sciences, and many more. The degree is normally a master’s degree; a doctoral degree can be funded only in exceptional cases, and only if the course itself is on the list.
Because funding is tied to the listed courses, the course comes first. You do not apply for an EPOS scholarship in the abstract and then choose a university. You find a listed course that fits your background and your development goals, check its entry requirements and its deadline, and apply for that course. The list is the starting point for every EPOS application, and it is the document that also tells you the deadline.
Deadlines: one programme, many dates
There is no single EPOS deadline, and that is the most common misunderstanding about the programme. Each course sets its own application deadline, and DAAD publishes them together in the list of all postgraduate courses with application deadlines for 2027/2028. Most of those deadlines fall between August and October for courses starting the following year, which means that by the time this article was written, on 13 November 2026, many of the deadlines for the 2027/2028 cycle had already passed.
That does not mean the programme is closed in general. Courses run every year, and the list is refreshed for each new cycle. If your course’s deadline has passed, the right step is to prepare your application for the next list of courses and deadlines, and to watch for it in advance, rather than to look for a late route. If your course’s deadline is still open, apply through the course itself.
How to apply
Applications for EPOS go to the course, not to the DAAD directly. For most courses, you send your application to the course itself. Some courses also expect you to send your application to the DAAD, and the procedure differs by course and is set out by the course. For courses offered in cooperation with the Global Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at TU Berlin, the application procedure is different again and differs by course.
Where an application is expected by the DAAD, it should go to the DAAD Regional Offices or the DAAD Information Centres in your home country, and you can use the DAAD’s portal. The application must be in English or German, and incomplete applications are not considered. The application documents are published on the DAAD’s scholarship database page for the programme: the DAAD application form, a hand-signed curriculum vitae in the Europass format with an up-to-date date, a hand-signed motivation letter using the current sample, a letter of recommendation from your current employer with a specific wording, proof of employment, certificates of your academic degrees, and proof of language skills, including an EUROPASS language-certificate reference. Where the course’s own pages ask for them, you also submit course-specific documents, references and employment letters addressed to the course itself.
Two details in that list are worth noting. The curriculum vitae and the motivation letter must be hand-signed, and they must carry your current date — the DAAD says the date must be up to date on the day you apply. And the motivation letter must use the DAAD’s current sample. Those are small conditions, but they are the sort of thing that can make an application incomplete, and incomplete applications are not considered.
Preparing a strong application
A strong EPOS application connects your past, your course and your future. The selection panel looks for an above-average first degree, at least two years of professional experience in a relevant field, language skills that are strong enough for study in Germany, and a motivation that is clearly development-related. The strongest applications show a track: work you have already done, a course that builds directly on it, and a plan for what you will change at home afterwards.
Start early with the documents that take time. A letter of recommendation from your current employer, proof of employment, and certified copies of your degree and transcripts all take time to arrange. Your language evidence should also be ready before the deadline: the DAAD’s language requirements and the course’s own requirements are separate things, and you need to meet both.
Frequently asked questions
How much does EPOS pay?
Monthly payments of 992 euros for graduates or 1,300 euros for doctoral candidates, rising to 1,400 euros for doctoral candidates from February 2026, plus health, accident and personal liability insurance and a travel allowance. A monthly rent subsidy and a family allowance may be available under certain circumstances.
How long is the funding?
From 12 to 42 months, depending on the study programme.
Do I apply to DAAD or to the university?
For most courses you apply to the course itself. Some courses also expect an application to the DAAD, and the procedure differs by course.
What is the deadline?
There is no single deadline. Each course sets its own, published in DAAD’s list of postgraduate courses with application deadlines for 2027/2028.
Do I need work experience?
Yes — at least two years of professional experience.
Official source
All funding, eligibility and deadline details in this article were checked against the DAAD scholarship database on 13 November 2026.
Official page: Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) — DAAD Scholarship Database
Official page: Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) — DAAD
Last checked: 13 November 2026. Amounts, deadlines and documents can change; the DAAD scholarship database entry and the course’s own pages are the authority.