How To Apply

How To Apply

Dear Applicant,

The IPPAE program is a Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) degree program financed by the DAAD. The DAAD EPOS checklist indicates all documents required for your application.
In addition to the documents indicated in the DAAD EPOS checklist, you need to submit a research proposal, as further explained below. Please make sure that you meet all admission requirements(link to who can apply) and prepare all required documents carefully. Otherwise we will not be able to consider your application.

 

1.Documents required by the DAAD EPOS checklist

This information is taken from the DAAD EPOS website

  1. Scroll down to Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) DAAD and click on application procedure
  2. Completed and signed checklist
  3. DAAD application “Application for a research/study scholarship” (please type your answers or make sure they are easy to read)
  4. A curriculum vitae in reverse chronological order without any unexplained gaps (please use the europass template including exact information about your studies, and on practical experience
  5. One Letter of Motivation with detailed reference to academic, professional and personal reasons for applying for the programme. IMPORTANT: When applying for more than one postgraduate course (maximum 3 courses), please also give detailed reasons for your choice of courses and prioritisation in the letter of motivation. Please submit a uniform letter of motivation to all postgraduate degree programmes of your choice.
  6. Letter of recommendation from your current employer; the letter must include official letterhead, signature and official stamp and must be of current date (not in a sealed envelope)
  7. Certificate(s) of Employment from the employer(s) showing at least two years of relevant work experience after the Bachelor's degree up to the time of application and if possible, a guarantee of re-employment from your current employer upon returning home. The certificate of employment from the current employer should, if possible, include a guarantee of re-employment after returning to the home country.
  8. Recent proof of English Language Skills: – TOEFL and IELTS are the most common ones. Please find here a link to a list of all accepted proofs of English language proficiency by the University of Hohenheim
  9. Copies of your higher education degree certificates. Please provide a certified translation if the original is not in German or English, and make sure these are clearly legible.
  10. Copy of your full set of transcript of records. Please provide an explanation of the grading system if this is not part of the transcript.
  11. Applicants from the People’s Republic of China are asked to submit an APS Certificate with their application documents.

2. Research proposal

In addition to the documents indicated in the DAAD checklist, you are required to submit a research proposal. This proposal serves to assess your research skills and to identify an appropriate PhD supervisor. Your proposal should meet the following requirements:

  1. Topic : Select a research topic of your interest that is suitable for a 3.5-year PhD research scholarship.
  2. Structure of the proposal : Use the following structure: introduction, problem statement, objectives, state of the art, research area, methods of data collection and analysis, expected results, references.
  3. Length : 5-8 pages (front size not more than 12, line spacing not more than 1.5).
  4. Originality : Write in your own words. All proposals will be checked by a software for plagiarism. Evidence of plagiarism leads to the rejection of your application.
3. Form of submission

The application period for the 2025 intake is closed. The application period for the intake of 2026 will open 30th of April 2025. The application deadline is 31st of August 2025. Only complete applications will be considered. You need to send an email to phd_daad@uni-hohenheim.de  with two attachments:

  1. Attachment 1 :
    Merge all documents listed in the DAAD EPOS combine" function in Acrobat or a free online tool.
  2. Attachment 2 :
    Your research proposal (see details above).


We look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact us at phd_daad@uni-hohenheim.de