If you're a student in Pakistan — or India, Bangladesh or Nepal — trying to study abroad without a fortune in the bank, Germany deserves to be at the top of your list. Here's why: many German public universities charge no tuition fees at all. On our own Dare To Dream profiles, LMU Munich and RWTH Aachen charge zero tuition even to students from outside the EU, and Berlin's public universities are the same. Where fees do exist, they're modest by Western standards — Heidelberg University charges non-EU students €1,500 per semester, and even the Technical University of Munich, Germany's top-ranked technical university, charges €2,000–€6,000 per semester for non-EU students.

That flips the scholarship game. In the UK or USA, a scholarship has to defeat a mountain of tuition. In Germany, funding mostly has to cover your living costs — roughly €992–€1,100 per month depending on the city — and Germany's political foundations and research institutes offer exactly that kind of monthly stipend. Add a large and growing menu of English-taught master's programmes, Europe's strongest engineering job market, and a welcoming Pakistani student community in cities like Munich, Berlin and Aachen, and you see why thousands of South Asian students choose Germany every year.

This page collects every Germany scholarship and funded opportunity currently live on Dare To Dream, verified against the official details: a fully funded research internship that closes within days, the big foundation stipends from Heinrich Böll and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and Erasmus Mundus routes that include German universities. One honest note: the famous DAAD EPOS scholarships for the 2027/28 intake closed on October 15, 2026 — we've explained below how to be first in line for the next round. Whether your dream is a research master's in Munich, a PhD in Heidelberg, or a summer inside a Max Planck lab, there is a funded route with your name on it — if you move in time. Germany rewards students who plan early. Let this page be your plan.

Germany scholarships and funded opportunities open now

Listed by deadline, soonest first.

1. Max Planck Computer Science Research Internship — Saarbrücken & Kaiserslautern

Deadline: November 1, 2026 · Fully funded internship · View on Dare To Dream

A fully funded 12–14 week research internship (May–August 2027) at the Max Planck Institutes for Informatics, Software Systems, and Security and Privacy. It covers a monthly stipend, housing and round-trip travel, and you'll do hands-on research with a faculty mentor. Open to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral students worldwide with a computer science background — professional English is required, German is not. The deadline is strict and it's the soonest on this page: if you qualify, apply this week.

2. DAAD RISE Germany — Research Internships in Science and Engineering

Deadline: November 30, 2026 (11:59 pm CET) · Funded internship · View on Dare To Dream

DAAD RISE matches undergraduate STEM students with research projects at top German universities and institutes for about 3 months, starting mid-May 2027, with a monthly stipend, housing assistance and a PhD student mentor. Working language is English. Read the eligibility carefully: RISE is for Bachelor's students enrolled in the USA, Canada, the UK or Ireland — so if you're a Pakistani student currently studying in one of those countries, this is a brilliant route into a German research lab; students enrolled in Pakistan itself are not eligible for this particular programme.

3. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarships — Europe, including Germany

Deadline: January 1, 2027 on the D2D listing (each consortium sets its own deadline) · Fully funded Master's · View on Dare To Dream

Erasmus Mundus funds two-year joint master's degrees studied in at least two European countries, covering tuition fees, a living allowance, visa fees and travel costs, with over 300 scholarships awarded each year. Several consortia include German universities — the D2D post lists the University of Bayreuth, TU Darmstadt and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences among the eligible institutions — so an Erasmus Mundus award can put Germany at the heart of a multi-country degree. You apply directly to the consortium running your programme.

4. Heinrich Böll Foundation Scholarship

Portal opens January 15, 2027 · Deadline: March 1, 2027 · Partial stipend · View on Dare To Dream

The Heinrich Böll Foundation supports international Master's and PhD students in Germany with €992/month for non-EU master's students and €1,500/month for PhD candidates, plus mobility and other allowances. Priority goes to applicants from DAC countries (Pakistan included) who are not yet resident in Germany — in other words, students applying from home. Beyond grades, the foundation looks for social and political engagement and identification with its values, and German language skills are expected. Missed the spring round? A Fall 2027 round runs from July 15 to September 1, 2027.

5. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Scholarship

Deadline: July 15, 2027 (12:00 noon CET) for the in-Germany route · Partial grant · View on Dare To Dream

KAS funds international students and doctoral candidates in Germany with up to €992/month (Bachelor's and Master's) or €1,400/month (PhD), plus a €120/month health subsidy, family and child allowances, and travel grants — along with mentoring and a strong alumni network. It suits students who pair strong grades with proven civic and social engagement. Two routes exist: if you're already studying in Germany, the deadline above applies; if you're applying from abroad (for example, from Pakistan), you apply through your local KAS office, which sets its own deadline — so contact them early. You'll need German at B2 level by the start of your studies, and funding runs for a minimum of four semesters.

Worth knowing: two honest notes

DAAD EPOS has closed for this cycle — prepare for the next. The two DAAD EPOS scholarships on Dare To Dream — the MSc Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg and the MSc International Health at Charité Berlin — were fully funded (€992/month, insurance, travel allowance, tuition exemption) for nationals of DAC developing countries with at least two years of professional experience, but their application window closed on October 15, 2026. EPOS runs every year on a similar rhythm, so use the coming months to prepare documents and work experience evidence, and read our DAAD scholarship guide so you're ready the day the next round opens.

FUBiS Winter University is a short-term option — but it is not a scholarship. Freie Universität Berlin's FUBiS Winter University Term I (January 4–22, 2027; registration by November 23, 2026) offers 6-ECTS subject courses in English plus German language courses in Berlin. It's fee-paying, and we list it only so you can tell the difference: on Dare To Dream, we always label funding honestly.

Explore German universities on Dare To Dream

A scholarship is only half the decision — the university is the other half. These profiles are live on D2D with fees, English requirements and admissions details:

How to apply for scholarships in Germany

  1. Choose the university and programme first. German foundation scholarships (Böll, KAS) fund students at German universities, and DAAD EPOS funds specific listed courses — your study place and your funding are two halves of one plan.
  2. Check which route is yours. Some deadlines are for students already in Germany (KAS), others prioritise applicants from home (Heinrich Böll). The D2D post for each scholarship spells out the route.
  3. Prepare certified documents early. Certificates, official translations and recommendation letters take weeks. Our guide on preparing scholarship documents helps you build the file once and reuse it everywhere.
  4. Start your German early, even for English-taught degrees. KAS requires B2 German by the start of studies and Böll expects German skills — and daily life in Germany is easier with the language. Our DAAD Germany scholarship guide gives more background on the German funding landscape.
  5. Apply through official portals only. Every D2D post links the official programme page. Never pay an intermediary for a German public scholarship application.

Frequently asked questions

Is studying in Germany really tuition-free for Pakistani students?

Often, yes — but it depends on the state and university. LMU Munich and RWTH Aachen charge no tuition fees to international students at all (you pay only a small semester fee), and Berlin's public universities are similarly free. Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students €1,500 per semester (for example at Heidelberg and KIT), and TUM in Bavaria charges non-EU students €2,000–€6,000 per semester depending on the programme. The university profiles linked above show the exact figure for each institution.

Do I need to speak German to study in Germany?

For English-taught master's programmes, no German is required for admission — TUM's general floor is IELTS 6.5, RWTH's is IELTS 6.0 — and the Max Planck internship and DAAD RISE run entirely in English. But scholarships are stricter: KAS requires German at B2 level by the start of your studies, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation expects German language skills. Learning German also massively improves your part-time job and post-study options, so start early either way.

I heard DAAD EPOS is the best route. Can I still apply?

Not for the 2027/28 intake — the application window for the EPOS courses listed on Dare To Dream closed on October 15, 2026. EPOS is an annual programme for professionals from developing countries with at least two years of relevant work experience after their bachelor's, so the smart move now is to build your experience and document file and apply in the next cycle the moment it opens.

Can I apply for the foundation scholarships (Böll, KAS) from Pakistan?

Yes, with route differences. Heinrich Böll actually prioritises applicants from DAC countries who are not yet resident in Germany — applying from home is the intended route. For KAS, applicants abroad apply through their local KAS office, which sets its own deadline (the July 15, 2027 deadline on the D2D post is for the in-Germany route), so reach out to the Pakistan office early.

Are there funded options in Germany for undergraduates?

Fewer, but they exist. DAAD RISE funds undergraduate research internships — though only for students enrolled in the USA, Canada, the UK or Ireland. KAS can fund Bachelor's students from their third semester onwards once they're studying in Germany. For most Pakistani school-leavers, the realistic fully funded German routes open up at master's and PhD level — which is exactly why planning your bachelor's-to-Germany pathway early pays off.

Keep exploring

Dare To Dream verifies every listing against official sources. Deadlines and stipends above are copied from the individual scholarship pages — always confirm final details on the official programme page before applying.

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