DAAD-SEARCA Scholarship Programme

Application Deadline: 31 October 2021.

DAAD’s partnership with SEARCA started in the school year 1975-1976 through support to the Center’s graduate scholarship program leading to Masters and PhD degrees in agriculture. The first 15 beneficiaries of the DAAD support were graduate students from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Ten scholarship recipients pursued their Master’s degree, while five pursued their PhD.

As of Academic Year 2021/2022, DAAD and SEARCA have awarded 19 Cambodians, 90 Indonesians, 9 Laotians, 14 Malaysians, 27 Myanmar nationals, 96 Filipinos, 82 Thais, 26 Timorese, and 45 Vietnamese. Among the 408 Southeast Asian awardees, 198 pursued their MS, 205 pursued PhD, and 5 enrolled for Non-degree.

Eligibility

• Open to nationals of SEAMEO member countries who are employees of academic or research institutions or government agencies (priority is given to regular employees).
• Must not be more than 35 (Master’s Degree) or 40 (PhD) years of age at the time of application.
• Have completed their last university degree not more than 6 years ago at the time of application.
• Proposed thesis research should focus on SEARCA’s overarching theme of Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation (ATTAIN). Moreover, priority research topics must fall within the ATTAIN priority areas:
  • Agri-Business Models for Increased Productivity and Income
  • Sustainable Farming Systems and Natural Resource Management
  • Food and Nutrition Security
  • Transformational Leadership for Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD)
  • Gender and Youth Engagement in ARD
  • Enhanced ARD towards Climate Resilience
  • EcoHealth/One Health Applications to ARD

Benefits

Covers tuition and other school fees; study and research allowance; printing allowance; stipend for food, lodging and incidental expenses; travel allowance (In-Region only); and insurance.

DAAD In-Country/In-Region scholarship holders are also encouraged to apply for a research grant in Germany for 2 to 6 months, at the time of application. The short-term research scholarship includes:

• A monthly scholarship payment for living costs
• Health/accident/personal liability insurance
• A flat-rate travel allowance

Application Procedure

Application forms and information brochures on the universities that may serve as study posts of scholars are available and may be downloaded from here.

The required documents to be submitted should be in English:

1. DAAD-SEARCA Application form;
2. Admission notice or proof of application to the university;
3. Recommendation letter by university teachers (one for MS, two for PhD);
4. Official original/certified true copy of transcript of academic records of each degree completed (BS transcript for MS applicants and BS and MS transcripts for PhD applicants);
5. Letter of motivation (mentioning the planned research in Germany, if applicable);
6. Certification of employment;
7. Brief description of the research the applicant plans to conduct for thesis/dissertation. The research topic must be in line with SEARCA’s overarching theme of Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation (ATTAIN) with the following priority areas: 
   • Agri-Business Models for Increased Productivity and Income
   • Sustainable Farming Systems and Natural Resource Management
   • Food and Nutrition Security
   • Transformational Leadership for Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD)
   • Gender and Youth Engagement in ARD
   • Enhanced ARD towards Climate Resilience
   • EcoHealth/One Health Applications to ARD
8. Copy of bio-page of the passport;
9. Hand signed curriculum vitae (please use the European specimen form at http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu);
10. Certification from a medical doctor that the applicant is in good physical and mental health condition and is fit to undertake graduate studies;
11. Official endorsement from the employer;
12. Study plan; and
13. Results of Test of English as a Foreign Language: TOEFL iBT result (80) or IELTS results (6.0). The TOEFL results must be issued by Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Check the schedule and venue of TOEFL tests in your country at http://www.ets.org/toefl. If this is not available at the moment, a certification from the previous study post that the applicant’s English proficiency is in the level of IELTS 6.0 may suffice.
14. For PhD candidates, submit the following additional documents:
    • Declaration of acceptance from the academic supervisor
    • Detailed and precise PhD proposal, including detailed work and time table (mentioning the planned research in Germany, if applicable)
    • Abstract of the proposal on one page (please include name and title of proposal)

Official Website: DAAD-SEARCA Scholarship Programme