German DAAD Scholarship Research

German DAAD GROW Scholarship 2026 Paying You €2,150

Month to Do Research

BONN / GLOBAL — The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has opened applications for the 2026 cycle of its GROW programme — Global Research Opportunities for the South — offering funded research stays in Germany for early career and established academics from Sub‑Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the programme funds stays of up to six months at German universities and research institutions, targeting scholars whose work addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The GROW programme sits at the intersection of two trends reshaping international academic mobility. The first is Germany’s sustained effort to position itself as a destination for researchers from the Global South, at a time when competition for academic talent between Europe, North America, and increasingly China and the Gulf states has intensified. The second is a growing emphasis among funders on “development‑relevant” research — work that does not merely advance a discipline but produces measurable outcomes in areas such as public health, climate resilience, and governance.

By tying its eligibility to the OECD DAC list and its evaluation criteria to the SDGs, DAAD is signaling that GROW is not a conventional mobility grant. It is a capacity‑building instrument designed to strengthen research ecosystems in countries where institutional resources remain uneven, while deepening Germany’s partnerships with those regions. For researchers from eligible countries, it represents one of the more structurally purposeful funding streams available in 2026.

GROW provides monthly scholarship payments that scale by career stage: doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers receive €1,400 per month, assistant professors and lecturers receive €2,000, and full professors receive €2,150. These rates are broadly consistent with other DAAD‑administered programmes, though the tiered structure is notable for its recognition that senior academics have different financial obligations than early‑career scholars.

In addition to the monthly stipend, the programme covers health, accident, and personal liability insurance, as well as a travel allowance for the journey to and from Germany. Scholars with a disability or chronic illness may apply for supplementary funding to cover costs that arise from their condition and are not met by third‑party sources. The funding duration ranges from one to two months for preparatory and cooperation visits under Programme Line 1, and two to six (06) months for research stays under Programme Line
2. Neither funding line can be split into segments, and all funded activity must begin in 2026 and conclude by 31 January 2027.

While GROW does not cover tuition — it is a research programme, not a degree programme — its combination of a competitive stipend, insurance, and travel support puts it on par with comparable schemes from the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships and Japan’s JSPS postdoctoral fellowships, albeit with a sharper development‑policy orientation.

The programme is open to doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, university teachers, and established academics and scientists from countries on the OECD DAC list of Official Development Assistance recipients. The primary geographic focus is Sub‑Saharan Africa, with Latin America and Asia designated as additional target regions. Applicants must hold a current position at a university or research institution in their home country at the time of application.

Postdoctoral researchers are defined narrowly: the PhD must have been completed no more than four years before the Final date to receive applications. Candidates who are already based in Germany at the time of application, or who are conducting their entire doctoral or postdoctoral research at a German institution, are not eligible.…