DAAD EPOS scholarship for Bangladeshi students: who can apply and how
DAAD funds master's degrees in Germany for graduates with two years of work experience. Here is what DAAD itself says about eligibility, money, documents and deadlines.
Quick answer: the DAAD EPOS programme (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) pays for a master's degree at a German university. It is for graduates with at least two years of work experience, and you apply directly to each course, not to DAAD. There is no single deadline: every course sets its own.
Everything below comes from DAAD's own scholarship database page for EPOS. DAAD says it cannot guarantee that its information is complete, so check the page and the course website before you apply.
What it is
DAAD (the German Academic Exchange Service) offers development-oriented postgraduate courses to train specialists from developing and newly industrialised countries. Scholarships allow foreign graduates with at least two years of professional experience to earn a master's degree or, in exceptional cases, a doctoral degree at a German university. They are individual scholarships, only for courses on DAAD's course list.
Who can apply
| Requirement | What DAAD says |
|---|---|
| Degree | A bachelor's degree, normally four years, in a related subject, usually no more than six years old |
| Results | In the upper third ("far above average") |
| Work experience | At least two years of related professional experience after your first degree, at the time of application |
| Residence | If you have lived in Germany for more than 15 months at the deadline, you cannot be considered |
| Country | Eligibility depends on the country where you live and apply. DAAD links a list of eligible countries |
| Language | English-taught courses: proof of the level each course sets. German-taught courses: at least B1 at application and DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 before the course starts |
Bangladesh appears in the country list of the application form. The page does not reproduce the full eligible-country list, so confirm Bangladesh on the DAAD list yourself. It also says nothing special about Bangladesh, and the APS certificate rule applies only to applicants from China.
What the scholarship pays
- Duration: 12 to 42 months, depending on the course.
- Monthly payment: €992 for graduates. Doctoral candidates receive €1,300, rising to €1,400 from February 2026.
- Insurance: contributions to health, accident and personal liability insurance are covered (amounts not stated).
- Travel: a travel allowance is included unless your home country or another source covers it (amount not stated).
- German course: for German-taught courses, a preparatory German course of up to 6 months in Germany is included.
- Possible extras: a monthly rent subsidy and an allowance for accompanying family members, in some cases. DAAD gives no amounts on this page.
Germany also asks for proof of funds for a student visa. See Germany blocked account 2026 to understand how that works alongside a scholarship, and ask the embassy and DAAD which proof applies to scholarship holders.
How to apply
- Choose up to three courses from DAAD's EPOS course list and rank them. Your motivation letter must explain your choices.
- Apply to each course directly. Applications sent to DAAD are not forwarded.
- Send the documents in this order:
- signed checklist
- EPOS application form
- CV in reverse chronological order, preferably Europass
- motivation letter
- recommendation letter from your current employer (letterhead, signature, stamp, current date)
- employment certificates showing at least two years of relevant experience after the bachelor's degree
- recent language proof: IELTS or TOEFL (institutional TOEFL is not accepted), or German if required
- copies of degree certificates, with certified translations if not in German or English
- full transcript of records, with an explanation of the grading system
- Complete applications must be in English or German. Some courses ask for more documents.
- A selection committee proposes candidates. DAAD then contacts them to upload their documents as PDFs to the DAAD portal.
Deadlines
DAAD states that deadlines are set per course. They depend on the programme you choose, so use the EPOS brochure and each course's website. Do not rely on a "DAAD deadline" you saw in a blog post. Several guides online give different dates and amounts, and some mix EPOS with other DAAD schemes.
A realistic plan
- Now: check your degree year, your results and your work experience against the table. If you have fewer than two years of work experience after your bachelor's, EPOS is not open to you yet.
- Now to the deadlines: shortlist courses, read each course page for its language level and extra documents, and ask your employer for the recommendation and employment letters early.
- Language: book IELTS or TOEFL in time. Do not use an institutional TOEFL.
- Money: apply for as many suitable courses as the rules allow (up to three on the forms) and keep a plan B, because places are limited.
Common mistakes
- Applying to DAAD instead of the course.
- Counting internships or study time as the two years of work experience (DAAD asks for professional experience after the first degree).
- A degree older than six years without checking the course's rules.
- Sending an institutional TOEFL.
- Trusting an agent who says they can "guarantee" a DAAD scholarship. Scams that use scholarship names are common, and DAAD's page describes a direct application to the course, so be wary of anyone who asks for money to "secure" a place. See how to spot a fake scholarship offer.
Related reading
- Scholarships for Bangladeshi students 2027: what has closed and what opens next
- Master's abroad from Bangladesh: a month-by-month plan
- Funded PhD abroad: how it works in Germany, the Netherlands and Canada
Source: DAAD scholarship database: Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS). Read on 29 October 2026. Always confirm the current rules and your course's deadline on the official pages.
