National Research Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service Call for Applications: 2026 NRF-DAAD In-Country Scholarship Programme

The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) call for application for its 2026 NRF-DAAD In-Country Scholarship Programme to support Master’s and PhD studies for South African citizens and permanent residents.

Requirements:

• Be a South African citizenship or a permanent South African residency is a requirement for the scholarship.
• The NRF’s minimum academic requirement for postgraduate funding is 65%.

Type of scholarships: 

• A short-term research scholarship:
  • Funding duration: 3-6 months
  • Applications should be made at least 4 months before the intended research stay on the DAAD Portal
  • After completion of the research stay, the scholarship holder still needs to have a minimum of 4 months left before completing their degree, so that the research that has been done in Germany can be incorporated into the current research project in South Africa
  • Benefits: 
    • a monthly scholarship rate for living expenses of 992 € per month (for Master students) or 1.300 € per month (for PhD candidates)
    • health/accident/personal liability insurance
    • a lump sum for travel expenses

Read more about the short-term research scholarship here. 

• Interdisciplinary Summer Schools in Germany:
  • Scholarship holders are eligible to apply for one of five  interdisciplinary summer schools offered in Germany during their funding period:
    • Heidelberg University – Enhancing Academic Qualifications in Teaching and Research in Global Health (28 July – 22 August 2025)
    • TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences – Coping with Climate Extremes (30 August – 21 September 2025)
    • Leipzig University – Green IDEAS – Innovators, Doers and Entrepeneurs at Summer School (20 August – 9 September 2025)
    • Osnabrück University – GeoTraining 2025 – Environmental and Remote Sensing Data Analysis via Geospatial Technologies in Research and Teaching (7 September – 29 September 2025)

Read here for more information on interdisciplinary summer schools in Germany.. 

Application deadline, 4th of July 2025.