DAAD Study Scholarship

[tanzbaer]

I'm preparing my documents for the DAAD Study Scholarship and I hope to get into a master's program. On the DAAD website the instructions state that...

Applicants for Master's programs should have a study proposal explaining why a particular program has been chosen and how it will further the applicant's educational and career goals. The proposal should be no more than two pages in length, double spaced. Your name should appear on each page.

This "study proposal" sounds dangerously close to a statement of purpose. I have been trying to find examples of past study proposals, but have only been able to find examples for the "independent study" section of the application. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips for how to write the study proposal? Anyone dealing with the same uncertainty?

Thanks in advance!

[herbertmarcuse]

Sounds more like a paper proposal to me!

[dan128ed]

I am working on a similar application for DAAD, only it's a scholarship for a PhD.

I am also not sure, what exactly do they want - the description of the research project plus SOP and the motivation should be in the total length of 5-10 pages.

now, im uncertain about how should the research proposal be - should it be a scientific text, with all the techn. terms and citations, or a more friendly explanation to people outside the field (im guessing more of the latter, since the reviewers are not from one field).

evenso, i have discussed my research project in details with my supervisor yet, as i will start only in october. that is why i'm even more confused on what do they expect, since clearly at this point i am not able to give a details plan of the research, beside the general field.

regarding your application for a master - is it in Germany? if so, it isn't research oriented, rather more a taught master. that means your main focus in studies will be doing courses and taking exams, so i can't see the point in spilling out your research ambitions at this stage.

do they specify how many pages should it be? any more details?

If it asks about a study program, which is a taught master, than im guessing you should basically explain what is your interest in this field, and how it relates to your previous studies.

good luck!

[tanzbaer]

Dan128ed,

Thanks for the advice! I think that is what I'll do. The application is for Germany and it only needs to be two pages long. That is why I was so confused by the term "study proposal" -- that's a pretty short proposal.

As far as your research proposal is concerned, I'm sure you've already looked at this pdf:

http://ic.daad.de/accra/download/How_to_write_a_research_proposal.pdf

but in it they state "if" you have a supervisor and "if" you have a time table, include them. For this reason I think you're right in giving a generic overview of what you accomplished as a master's student and what you hope to accomplish in the future. At the same time, having an academic tone and loading the proposal up with previous research and a literary review would only help you. Have you emailed DAAD to ask them?

Best of luck!

[Wanderlust90]

Hello all,

I was recently thinking about applying for a DAAD grant but noticed the deadline is Nov. 15. Is it too late to get started and be able to have proof of correspondence with a German university? I believe most unis here won't begin courses until Oct. 15 or so.

Thanks!

[tanzbaer]

Are you applying for the independent study or the master's program? If you're beginning a master's program, you don't need to be in contact with a German institution. And the description for the independent study only says that it would be a great advantage "if" you could prove you were already in contact or had attempted contact with a German institution. So, I say either way you have a shot. Maybe see if an undergraduate prof. has any contacts you could use.

[Wanderlust90]

Thanks for getting back to me, tanzbaer. I'm actually hoping to begin a master's program, so I should be good to go without prior contact (I reached the same conclusion as you after re-reading the instructions again).

By the way, is everyone listing three university choices? For some reason I was under the impression that applicants only need apply to one program, but I seem to be mistaken. (Perhaps this is for another type of DAAD scholarship.)