Master's Scholarship•Germany · Freiburg

DAAD-EPOS Scholarship — MSc Environmental Governance (MEG), University of Freiburg

Funding

Fully Funded

Program dates

Oct 1, 2027

The MSc Environmental Governance (MEG) is a four-semester, fully English-taught master’s programme at the University of Freiburg’s Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources. Through Germany’s DAAD Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) line, a limited number of MEG places carry a full scholarship aimed at young professionals from developing countries who want to strengthen environmental governance, policy and management in their home regions. Since 2005 MEG has graduated more than 500 alumni from nearly 100 countries. Scholars relocate to Freiburg, Germany, for the duration of the programme.

Benefits & funding

  • Monthly stipend of €992 for the duration of the master’s study (standard DAAD-EPOS graduate rate).
  • Exemption from the study/tuition fee (normally €1,500 per semester for non-EU students).
  • Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance.
  • A travel allowance, unless these costs are covered by the home country or another source.
  • A monthly rent subsidy and a monthly allowance for accompanying family members, under certain circumstances.
  • Funding runs for the full programme length (2 years / 4 semesters).

Eligibility

  • Citizen of a developing or newly industrialised country on the DAAD / OECD-DAC EPOS list (China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Viet Nam and many others — see the full list of eligible nationalities).
  • Hold a Bachelor’s (or equivalent first) degree completed with far-above-average results (upper third of the class), normally not more than six years old at the time of application.
  • At least two years of relevant professional experience gained after the Bachelor’s degree; internships, volunteer work and purely academic posts do not count.
  • Must not have resided in Germany for more than 15 months at the application deadline.
  • Proof of English: TOEFL iBT, IELTS Band 7, Cambridge C1 Advanced or PTE Academic 76 (native English speakers are exempt).
  • Holders of a prior master’s degree may apply but must justify the need for a second postgraduate degree.

Application process

  1. 1
    Prepare a single merged PDF containing all required documents following the MEG admissions instructions; the MEG programme application and the DAAD-EPOS scholarship application are one combined submission.
  2. 2
    Submit the application to info-meg@unr.uni-freiburg.de within the EPOS window (applications open 15 June and close 15 October 2026 for an October 2027 start); referees send their recommendation letters separately.
  3. 3
    The MEG programme committee pre-selects candidates; DAAD then reviews the selection and decides on the scholarship awards.
  4. 4
    Shortlisted applicants are notified in February and invited to an interview; the final scholarship selection is confirmed after the interview.

Program timeline

  1. DAAD-EPOS application window opens

    15 June 2026

  2. 15 October 2026

    Application deadline (for the October 2027 intake)

  3. First selection results; shortlisted candidates invited to interview

    February 2027

  4. Programme begins (winter semester)

    October 2027