Scholarships for Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film Studies

Applications are now open for Scholarships in Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication, and Film in Germany. The program offers graduates the opportunity to continue their education in Germany with a postgraduate or continuing course of study. The scholarships also promote the exchange of experience and networking amongst colleagues. Candidates can use this scholarship to complete a Master’s degree course/postgraduate degree course leading to a final qualification, or a complementary course without a degree (not an undergraduate course) at a state or state-recognized German university of their choice.

Foreign applicants who have gained a first university degree in the fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication, and Film at the latest by the time they commence their scholarship are eligible to apply. This scholarship program only funds projects in artistic and creative areas. Applicants already in Germany in the first year of a postgraduate course at the time of application may apply for funding for their second year of study. It is not possible to extend the scholarship.

These DAAD Scholarships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen study program (up to a maximum of 24 months). In the case of 2-year courses, further funding is provided after the first year of study, if your academic achievements thus far indicate that you will successfully complete the study program within a reasonable period of time. Scholarships are also awarded for complementary studies not leading to a final qualification (one academic year).

Program Details

• Host Institutions: State or state-recognized universities in Germany.
• Field of study: Artistic and creative (Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film) programs at host institutions.
• Number of awards: Not specified.
• Duration: normal duration of the program.
• Eligible countries: Opened to citizens of all nationalities.

Scholarships for Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film Benefits

The program will provide successful applicants with the following benefits:

1. A monthly payment of 934 euros
2. Travel allowance
3. One-off study allowance
4. Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover

Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may receive the following additional benefits:

• Monthly rent subsidy
• Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family
• In the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers: Further information
• Green Mobility Top Up (Support for climate-friendly travel) or partial reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel.

To enable scholarship holders to learn German in preparation for their stay in the country, DAAD offers the following services:

1. Payment of course fees for an online language course after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter
2. if necessary: German language course (2, 4 or 6 months) before the start of the study visit in Germany; the DAAD decides whether to fund participation and for how long depending on German language skills and project. Participation in a German language course is compulsory if the language of instruction or working language is German at the German host institution.
3. Allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the scholarship period
4. Reimbursement of the fees for the TestDaF test, which has either been taken in the home country after receipt of the Scholarship Award Letter or in Germany before the end of the funding period.

Scholarships for Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film Eligibility

To qualify for this scholarship to study in Europe, Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be foreign applicants who have gained a first university degree in the fields of Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication, and Film at the latest by the time they commence their scholarship-supported study program.
• As a rule, your university degree should not date back more than 6 years at the time of the application deadline.
• Your application cannot be considered if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.
• Prerequisite for the funding is a full-time and attendance study. Extra-occupational or part-time study programs and study programs with a predominant share of e-learning cannot be taken into account.

Applicants in the fields of Fine Art, Film, Design, Visual Communication, and Film should have a knowledge of the language of instruction that corresponds to the requirements of the chosen university at the latest by the time they start their scholarship. If you do not yet have the language skills required by the university at the time of your application, your application should indicate the extent to which you are in a position to reach the required level. After you have been awarded a scholarship, take advantage of the funding opportunities available for language education.

Similar Opportunities

1. Singapore University of Technology and Design Scholarships;
2. The Gates Scholarship Program to Study in the USA;
3. Pan African University Scholarships for Youths.

How to Apply for Scholarships in Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film

Interested applicants who would like to apply for this Europe scholarship need to follow the steps below to submit a valid application. Furthermore, applicants must send reference letter by post if required.

1. Register in the DAAD portal (Click here to read notes about registering in the portal)
2. Applying online in the DAAD portal (Please click here to 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 and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
   • Upload the completed application form and the required appendices (except work samples) 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.
3. Submitting work samples to the DAAD media database: If the review of your scholarship application shows that it meets the eligibility criteria and is complete, you will receive a link to upload your work samples to the DAAD media database by 15 December at the latest. When you receive the link, please upload the work samples to the Media Database by 10 January CET at the latest.

Application documents

• Online application form
• Full curriculum vitae in tabular form
• Statement about academic and personal reasons for the planned study project in Germany (letter of motivation; 1 – 3 pages). Please also read our important information for scholarship applicants / Section A, point 2.

Master’s degree/postgraduate study programme leading to a final qualification:

• Form “Information about your preferred master programmes”
• If available: Letter of acceptance from the host university.
  If you have not yet received notification of admission at the time of application, you must submit this before the funding period begins. Please note that you yourself are responsible for ensuring that you apply for admission at the host university by the due date and that a Scholarship Award Letter from the DAAD only becomes valid if you are admitted to your chosen host university.

Complementary studies not leading to a final qualification: Confirmation of supervision from a German university teacher

For all applicants:

• A current Transcript of Records with individual grade(s), incl. explanation of grading system
• University degree certificate indicating final grade(s): the certificate must be subsequently submitted before the scholarship-supported study programme begins if studies have not been completed at the time of application.
• Proof of German language proficiency according to the European Framework of References for Languages or the Test-DaF for study programmes in German. The language certificate should be no more than two years old.
• Proof of English language proficiency according to the requirements of the chosen study programme in English (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS). The language certificate should be no more than two years old.
• A list of all work that have been cited as samples (see www.daad.de/extrainfo) with detailed information (size, date of creation, place, etc.)
• A declaration that the works of art have been produced or created by you or the names of those persons involved in producing collaborative pieces of work. In the case of collaborative work or projects, the applicant’s own contribution must be marked as such or appropriately described.

The application deadline is November 30, 2023. For more details on the Scholarships for Fine Art, Design, Visual Communication and Film, please visit the university website. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.