How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in the IPPAE program. Before sending your application through the IPPAE application form, please read this page carefully. Please make sure that you meet all the admission requirements and prepare all the required documents according to the DAAD checklist.

The application period for the 2025 intake is closed. The application for the 2026 intake will open 30th of April 2025.

Required Documents

General application documents

Please consult the DAAD checklist for the required documents. The DAAD lists specific information about the IPPAE programme here. The DAAD checklist must be signed and handed in with all the required documents. With your signature, you confirm that your application documents are correct, up-to-date, and complete and changes will immediately be reported to the DAAD. One of the required documents is the green DAAD application form. As you sign the DAAD checklist, the signatures in the green DAAD application form as well as under the CV and the letter of motivation can be omitted.

Research proposal

As part of the application process, you should put together a scientific, well-structured and finalized research proposal of 5-8 pages (font size not more than 12, line spacing not more than 1.15) outlining the problem you aim to tackle with your research, objectives and state of the art, the scientific and methodological perspective with which you will conduct the research, the methods you aim to use, the data you plan to collect as well as expected results of the study.

The scientific quality of the proposal is determinant in the selection process. Thereby, we consider it highly important that you respect the principles of good scientific practice in your proposal. Note that all proposals will be checked for plagiarism and applications involving suspect submissions may be denied.

We recommend you to pick a topic which appears to match the research foci of the host institution and/or of specific potential supervisors. You do not need to contact a potential supervisor prior to applying: During the selection process your proposal will be used to identify a suitable supervisor. The supervisors collaborating with the IPPAE in Giessen are listed below (list is not binding).

Please study their websites and publication lists and indicate in your proposal in which professorship you locate your proposal. The research proposals submitted during the application process are not binding nor considered as final. We might, in cases, suggest you to work on a different topic than indicated in your proposal. If and when DAAD awards you a scholarship and you joined the host institution in Germany, you will finalize the dissertation topic jointly with the assigned supervisor at the host institution.

Language proof

As a proof of English language proficiency, we accept in line with the DAAD regulations either (1) TOEFL-Test ITB (internet-based test) with at least 95 points, or (2) IELTS-Test with at least grade of 7 in the academic test, or (3) UNIcert III certificate. Equivalently, we accept a proof of a MSc degree taught in English in one of the following countries: any EU member country, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA. The latter should be a statement by the university declaring that English was the language of instruction.

Application Procedure and Deadline

Please send your application through the IPPAE application form until 31st August. The IPPAE application form is available from 30th April to 31st August every year. As our application process is a multi-stage procedure, admissible candidates will be nominated towards the end of February next year.

The application documents should be uploaded in the application form in two (optionally three) files only:  

1. The first PDF-file should include the general application documents listed on the DAAD checklist (please make sure to merge them into one single file, using for example the "combine" function in Acrobat or a free online tool).
   
2. The second PDF-file should be your research proposal only.
3. The third PDF-file should be your language proof if you use a statement by your university declaring that English was the language of instruction.

Please compress your PDF documents to avoid excessive file size, but make sure document scans remain legible! Kindly note that we will consider neither late nor incomplete applications nor ones that are sent through e-mail.