In-Country/In-Region Programme Sub-Saharan Africa

Background

In many developing countries, top-level university teachers are scarce, especially in development-related subjects. This limits the quality of university education: due to the small number of highly qualified lecturers, it is not possible to provide enough adequate study places. A well-developed higher education sector is essential for training the professionals and managerial staff that can be highly conducive to the political, economic, and social success of developing countries.

The In-Country/In-Region programme in developing countries ought to contribute to train highly qualified professionals and managerial staff for sustainable development in the partner countries and for the development of top-quality, cosmopolitan universities. The programme thus offers scholarships to future academic and professional leaders from developing countries for postgraduate courses and for doctorates. They study at universities in their home country or at highly qualified institutions in the region.

The partner universities and partner institutions in the respective countries are intermediaries but profit directly from the programme through tuition fees. The regional focus of the programme is Sub-Saharan Africa; however, very similar programmes are run in Central America, South America, South and South-East Asia, and the Middle East.

Programme Objectives

By training future academic and professional leaders, the programme contributes to the following long-term impacts:

• Qualified professionals’ involvement in the solution of development-related problems in developing countries
• Graduates strengthening education and research in developing countries
• Structural strengthening and regional networking of partner institutions and partner universities

To achieve these long-term impacts, the following outcomes have been formulated as programme objectives:

Programme objective 1: Graduates are qualified to take on responsible positions in or for their region of origin. Supported study courses equip graduates for taking on positions of responsibility in development-related areas in teaching and research.

Programme objective 2: The participation of women and underprivileged groups is reinforced.

Programme objective 3: Organisational, financial and personal capacities of partner institutions are strengthened.

This programme strongly encourages mobility of Sub-Saharan Africans to study in participating host institutions within the Sub-Saharan region.

Current Calls for Applications

Please note the calls for the In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme are currently open for limited programmes. The application deadline for application is 29 April 2026.

(Post)graduate programmes below in Southern Africa for which DAAD scholarships are offered are now open. Review the call for applications documents for the programme of interest along with the application information:

(Post)graduate programmes below in West and Central Africa for which DAAD scholarships are offered are now open:

When to Apply

The call for scholarship applications for West, Central, and Eastern Africa study programmes is generally open in the last third of each year. Please visit this page during this period (Sept-Dec) to see the exact deadlines for the call for the next intake year!

For the other Southern Africa study programmes, the call for scholarship applications usually in the first third of each year. Please visit this page during this period (Feb-Apr) for the exact deadlines.

Please note that In-Country scholarships for students from South Africa are administrated by NRF (https://www.nrf.ac.za/)

Please check the call for application documents on this page during the periods mentioned above to confirm the next call.

DAAD Scholarship database: daad.de/go/en/stipa10000486