Applications are now open to eligible Young Africans who are University graduates and have taken over responsibility in church and society for the 2014 Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst (KAAD) scholarships in Germany and Africa.
The programme for sub-Saharan Africa is geared towards development of African countries and societies as well as development of qualified individuals. Beneficiaries of KAAD-scholarships are predominantly from needy families and display academic excellence. The ultimate aim of the scholarship policy is the promotion of “Agents of Change”.
Specifications
KAAD’s mission is to give scholarships mainly to lay members of the Catholic Church. This means, that – There is a preference for Catholic applicants. Among the scholars there is however also a limited number of: Protestant Christians, Orthodox Christians (especially from Ethiopia), Muslims.- Catholic Priests and Religious People are eligible only in very rare cases.
The focus countries in Africa for the scholarships are: Ghana, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Uganda and Tanzania are counted to be part of the focus region East Africa, apart from Kenya.
For the KAAD Africa-department, there is an exception from this rule in that scholarships can be given for Master-studies in three African cities: These are Kumasi/Ghana, Nairobi/Kenya, Harare/Zimbabwe
Worth of Awards:
KAAD is meant to sponsor individuals and they are NOT giving funds for:
- Development projects
- Schools, educational institutions
- Projects and institutions in general
Eligibility
For the scholarship programme 1 of KAAD you can apply if you:
come from a developing or emerging country in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America
have a university degree and professional experience from your home country
want to acquire a master’s degree or a PhD at a German university or do a post-doctoral research project (2-6 months for established university lecturers) at a German university
Are a Catholic Christian (or generally belong to a Christian denomination). Candidates from other religions can apply if they are proposed by Catholic partners and can prove their commitment to interreligious dialogue
Possess German language skills before starting the studies (KAAD can provide a language course of max. 6 months in Germany).
Applicants need to show academic excellence: A university degree (Bachelor,
Master) with very good results.Very good results means for instance:
* in countries where no GPA, CGPA or CWA is given, the average of grades
must be B or above (more As than Cs),
* CWA must be close to 70 (where 60 is 2nd class lower and 70 is 1st class)
* where the maximum CGPA is 4.0, applicants must have at least 3.2
Applicants need to show significant social and religious commitment. This can be activities in the church (at the university chaplaincies, in youth work, in parishes, in social groups, Small Christian Communities, spiritual associations, etc.) and/or in civil society (voluntary work in awareness raising, advocacy, social action, community health, women groups, etc.).
The general rule is that applicants for Master-scholarships should be of the maximum age of 30.
How to Apply
Here the scholars apply from their home countries for studies in Germany.
Applicants are to download the questionnaire and fill.
The first request is placed through filling a questionnaire and sending it to the KAAD offices per Email (af3[at]kaad.de). In the course of the application process, more documents need to be provided by the applicant and the KAAD-Partner-Committees are involved.
The questions are self-explanatory. When asked about academic grades,applicants need to be specific (for example: “I have a B.Sc. with 2nd class upper comprising 10 A, 15 B, 5 C, 1 D, and an M.Sc. with 1 A, 5 B, and 1 C” or: “I have an MA with a CWA of 67 points”). N.B.: In case a GPA or CGPA is given, it needs to be indicated if the highest is 4.0 or 5.0 (for example: “I have a BA with GGPA of 4.1/5.0”).
Also the question about social and religious activities needs to be answered by providing specific information (type of activity, applicant’s role/position in the group/initiative, duration of activity).
Applications can be made already before admission letters are received. However at the end of the application process, the applicant needs to show either an admission letter or a confirmation by the university that they are eligible for the course and that the application has been received and being processed.
Deadline
Applications to be tabled in the March-session of the selection board need to be complete by end of November the previous year. Applications for the September selection need to be complete by end of June. Many times, applicants get admission letters (especially for Master-courses) only when these deadlines have passed. In these cases, the university has tobe asked to defer the admission to the next academic year.
For more details, please click here if you want Africa-specific information, and for more general information for developing countries, click here.