Interest in the scholarship program from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has grown. Compared to the previous year, about 60 percent more German students have applied for DAAD scholarships in Western Europe and North America, especially for masters courses. This is the result of a preliminary assessment of the number of applicants for 2021, which DAAD released on Monday.
The United States (116 percent more applications), the United Kingdom (38 percent growth) and Sweden (59 percent growth) are particularly popular with German students. Among the German doctoral students, the target countries are the United States, France and the United Kingdom. DAAD received 30 percent more applications for this doctoral scholarship than the previous year.
The number of international students applying for a master’s degree in Germany has also increased by 30 percent A total of more than 5,000 applications for scholarships have been accepted, mostly from Russia, Azerbaijan and the United States. Also, about 1,500 young scientists have so far applied for doctoral scholarships in Germany Most came from India, where 30 per cent more applications were received than in 2019.
“We are currently facing a Corona paradox: the epidemic is severely restricting global academic exchanges, at the same time increasing interest in Germany or abroad,” said DAAD President Professor Jayabrato Mukherjee. He sees it as a constant desire for intercultural experience and an increased reputation for Germany as a place of study.
This is also confirmed by a quick poll by DAAD in mid-December. According to this, 330,000 international students are enrolled in German universities in the winter semester, which is about three percent more than the previous year. Even after Corona, the number of international first-year students has dropped by just one percent and is still around 6,000.
On the other hand, the number of applicants for bilingual doctoral and artist programs has decreased or stagnated. According to the announcement, scholarships suspended in 2020 due to the Corona epidemic, for example congressional trips abroad, will be reintroduced in 2021.
Updated 12/17/2020, first published 12/7/2020