The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a German political foundation, and its international scholarship programme is financed by the German Federal Foreign Office. It supports international students and doctoral candidates who study or carry out research at a university in Germany, and it is aimed at applicants from countries outside the European Union. Around 300 international scholars from more than 50 countries hold the scholarship at any one time, and about 3,000 international alumni have passed through it.
Money is only part of the offer: scholars join a German-language seminar programme, work with a personal academic mentor, and belong to local university groups and the Network of International Scholars. Selection weighs an above-average academic record together with regular voluntary engagement and a clear commitment to democracy and human rights.
Benefits & funding
- Monthly stipend of up to EUR 992 for bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate scholars.
- Monthly stipend of up to EUR 1,400 for doctoral candidates.
- Health insurance subsidy of up to EUR 120 per month on request.
- Family allowance of EUR 276 when a spouse lives in Germany for at least three months, plus EUR 250 per child.
- Standard funding period: two years for bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate study; three years for doctorates.
- Travel grants for research stays abroad, conferences excluded, and in exceptional cases tuition reimbursement of up to EUR 750 per semester.
- Non-financial support: seminars on political, economic and cultural topics, personal mentoring by an academic advisor, local university groups, the Network of International Scholars, and membership of the alumni association (ASeV) afterwards.
- Enrolment, re-registration and exmatriculation fees are not covered, including semester tickets and student union fees.
Eligibility
- International students and doctoral candidates studying at a university in Germany; the programme is aimed at applicants from countries outside the European Union. German citizens are not eligible, and EU citizens are directed to the foundation’s general student support programme instead.
- Bachelor’s applicants apply after completing at least two semesters at a German university. Master’s and postgraduate applicants may apply before the first degree is finished and submit the certificate afterwards. Doctoral applicants need admission to a doctoral programme at a German university.
- At least four semesters of study must remain; three-semester programmes, such as some LL.M. degrees, cannot be funded.
- Above-average academic results, documented voluntary engagement in politics, social work, church or culture, and agreement with the foundation’s values on democracy and human rights.
- German at level B2 of the Common European Framework by the start of studies, evidenced by a Goethe-Institut, TestDaF, DSH or telc certificate; ONSET results are not accepted. The non-financial programme runs in German even for scholars in English-taught degrees.
- Human medicine, dentistry in the state examination track, and medical specialisation training are excluded; all other fields are open.
- No age limit. Postdoctoral funding is not offered, and bridge or follow-up funding is unavailable except when moving from undergraduate to graduate support.
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Application process
- 1Identify the route: applicants already in Germany use the selection procedure in Germany, while applicants in their home country apply through a participating KAS office abroad, and the set of participating offices changes from year to year.
- 2Register on the KAS Campus portal at campus.kas.de and complete the application questionnaire.
- 3Upload a tabular CV without photograph, a letter of motivation, previous certificates and transcripts with German translations where needed, performance records from German universities, proof of German at B2, and an informal reference from a university teacher no older than two months.
- 4Doctoral applicants add a five- to ten-page outline of the doctoral project, a second informal reference from the doctoral supervisor, and written confirmation of supervision.
- 5Submit by 15 July, 12:00 noon CET, for the procedure in Germany; applicants abroad follow the deadline published by the KAS office handling their region.
- 6Shortlisted candidates attend an individual interview of about 45 minutes with a three-person selection board.
Program timeline
Deadline of the regional route run by the KAS office in Buenos Aires for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
Dec 15, 2025
Deadline, 12:00 noon CET, for the selection procedure in Germany
Jul 15, 2026
Regional selection interviews held through the KAS offices in Buenos Aires and Nairobi
2026
Next deadline for the selection procedure in Germany, which the foundation sets for 15 July each year
Jul 15, 2027