DAAD Leadership for Africa Master’s Scholarship Programme for West Africans(Fully Funded Study in Germany).

May 26, 2022May 26, 2022 press_admin 0 Comments

Objective

The scholarship programme “Leadership for Africa” (LfA) aims to support the academic qualification and advancement of young refugees and national scholars from Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger and Senegal at higher education institutions in Germany. In times of conflicts and displacement in various African countries, this programme intends to contribute to the education of future leaders, who will be essential for the further development of their home countries. “Leadership for Africa” offers scholarships for Master studies in Germany to qualified applicants in all fields of study except for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Arts and Architecture. All “Leadership for Africa” scholarship holders benefit from a complementary training programme in good governance, civil society and career development. The mandatory programme must be completed in addition to the regular studies.

Who can apply?

The programme targets two groups:
1) Highly qualified refugees who hold refugee status and fulfil the necessary qualifications for Master’s studies in Germany.
Applicants must fulfil the following conditions:

Holding refugee status in their host countries, being granted before April 18th, 2022
Country of asylum must be either Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger or Senegal
Completed Bachelor’s degree at the time of application

2) Highly qualified graduates from Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger or Senegal who fulfil the necessary qualifications for Master’s studies in Germany.
Applicants must fulfil the following conditions:

Citizenship of either Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger or Senegal
Country of residence is Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger or Senegal
Completed Bachelor’s degree at the time of application

Please note:

With a Degree in Medicine, you can apply for Public Health or Biomedical Master related programmes only. A Master programme in Medicine is not eligible for funding.
For applicants from artistic disciplines and the field of architecture, the DAAD offers subject-specific scholarship programmes (see separate DAAD scholarship offers in the scholarship database).

What can be funded?

The scholarship includes:

Language course (2-6 months) in Germany before the start of the university studies
Tuition-free M.A. or M.Sc. degree programme at a public or state-recognized university in Germany starting in the winter term 2023 (September/October 2023)
Additional mandatory training programme LEAD!

Duration of the funding

Generally, selected candidates will start their German language course in April 2023 and take up their studies at a German institution of higher education by approx. October 1st, 2023. The duration of funding is determined by the standard period of study of the chosen programme. In general, Master’s programmes require two years of full-time study.

Value

If necessary: Language course (2, 4 or 6 months) in Germany before the start of the study programme, including the coverage of the test fees for a German language certificate (TestDaF or DSH test), pocket money and accommodation. The DAAD decides whether to fund participation and for how long depending on German language skills and project. Participation in a language course is compulsory if the study programme is taught in German.
Additional mandatory training programme LEAD!
Monthly scholarship rate payments of 861 EURO
Adequate health, accident, and private/personal liability insurance in Germany
Travel allowance
Yearly study allowance
If applicable, monthly rent subsidy and monthly allowance for accompanying family members (spouse and/or children)

Selection

A pre-selection will take place based on the submitted application documents. Only complete applications with all mandatory documents will be considered. Preselected candidates will be invited to an (digital) interview with an independent selection committee of university professors.
In addition to previous achievements in school and university, language skills and the general motivation, the main selection criterion is a convincing description of the planned studies in Germany and the suitable choice of study programmes in the DAAD form “Study course profile”.
To ensure equal opportunities, social criteria such as special life circumstances, migration background or students from non-academic families can play a role. Criteria such as social engagement about which you can provide information in the application form are also considered.

For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information, Section E.

What requirements must be met?

Successful completion of a Bachelor’s degree at the time of application which qualifies to study for a master at an officially recognized university in Germany
A Bachelor’s degree of at least 2nd class upper division level is required
As a rule, not more than 6 years should have passed since the completion of the last academic degree (see important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, point 2)
Good English or good German language skills

Explanatory note: Please note that the scholarship applicant is responsible for ensuring to apply for admission at the German host university by the due date. The application process for the winter term 2023 is not available at the time of application for the scholarship. Application periods for winter term programmes at German universities usually start in spring every year. Please be aware that a Letter of Award from the DAAD is only valid if you have been admitted to a Master’s programme at a public German Institute for Higher Education.

Language skills

The language of instruction in study programmes in Germany is usually German, or in international programmes English and/or German. To be admitted to a programme, you are therefore usually required to submit an appropriate language certificate (e.g., DSH or TestDaF if the language of instruction is German, Toefl/IELTS in case of English). The necessary language skills for the desired field of study must be proven by the start of study programme at the latest. Suitable proof of necessary language skills or the ability to acquire them within the German language course must be submitted with the application documents.
Find more information on the Important Scholarship Information / A.9 and A.10.

Basic-Requirements

Status:	Graduates
Country of Origin:	Only specified
Subject:	See list

Application documents

Please note that all documents must be uploaded to the DAAD portal. Incomplete applications will be formally rejected and will be excluded from the application process.
The following documents may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. If you submit documents in your national language, you must include English or German translations.

Required documents:

Online DAAD application form duly completed (available on the DAAD portal)
Curriculum vitae (max. 3 pages) containing information about your academic career to date, former scholarships, current address and current or previous employers. (Please use the European specimen form at https://europa.eu/europass/en)
Letter of Motivation (1-3 pages) containing a precise description of your academic/professional and personal reasons for the planned study project. Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / Section B, Point 1.
DAAD Form “Study course profile” duly completed (please specify 3 Master’s programmes). Please be aware that DAAD does not consider your suggestions of master programmes which charge tuition fees. This should be taken into consideration while deciding for the master programmes. Please also note the information on how to fill in the form ‘Study course profile’.
Proof of necessary language skills for the desired master programmes. Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, Point 9.
University degree certificate indicating final grade(s) including transcripts of records for all study years with all individual grades incl. explanation of grading system
Copies of your passport/national identification card and copies of your passport’s/national identification card’s biodata page and other documents containing information about you and your current residence status
For refugees: UNHCR registration or official proof of asylum by authorities

Optional:
Other documents you think might be of relevance to your application (e.g., certificates of employment and/or internship, proof of former scholarships, extracurricular engagement, recommendation letters, (expired) admissions to a German master programme)

Application deadline

Application deadlines are updated at least once a year. In most cases, they are in the same period as the previous year. You can find the current dates here:

June 30th, 2022

Please note

Applications have to be submitted via the DAAD portal.
Applications submitted through other channels or to other authorities will not be considered.
The DAAD portal closes at 24.00 hrs. Central European Time (CET) on the last application day.
Incomplete applications cannot be considered. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete.
Please note that the “Application portal” tab in the scholarship database only appears while the current application period is running. Once the application deadline is expired, the portal for this programme is not accessible until next year’s application period.

Information and advisory centres

Find helpful information on

If you have any further questions, please check our website Leadership for Africa – DAAD

or contact

Section ST32 – Africa
Email: lfa@daad.de

The DAAD Regional Office regularly offers virtual information and counselling seminars (WebSeminars) during the application period for the programme.
Find more information on Leadership for Africa – DAAD

General information on the application via DAAD portal

You can access the DAAD portal by clicking “Application portal” at the end of the page. Here you will find an online application form in which you can enter your application data.

This is what you have to do:

1. Register in the DAAD portal (Read notes about registering in the portal >>)

2. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Read notes on applying in the portal >>)

Download and complete the online application form
Prepare application documents
If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
Scan paper documents (except references) and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
Upload the completed application form and the other application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
Submit the uploaded application documents online.

Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact our technical Portal hotline: +49 (0228) 882-8888 or via e-mail portal@daad.de, open every weekday from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm (CET).
Please consider this when you are planning your application.

Leadership for Africa, 2023