Study in Bavaria (BAYHOST) - Scholarships for Graduates from Central-, Eastern- and Southeastern Europe

One-year scholarship program sponsored by the Free State of Bavaria for graduates of Central, Eastern and Southeastern European states.

The new call for applications for the academic year 2025/26 is expected to be published in summer 2024.

As an applicant for a one-year scholarship by the Free State of Bavaria you need to:

• have the citizenship of one of the following countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, or Ukraine.
• be living full-time in your home country at the time of application.
• be no older than 30 (for master’s degree students) or 35 (for doctoral candidates) in the first year of your scholarship (i.e. on October 1st, 2025).
• be needy, meaning that you are not able to finance your studies at a Bavarian university yourself, nor through the funds of a third party (for example through a scholarship from another institution).
• provide evidence of your German and / or English language skills according to your intended study program in Bavaria. Your language skills should be at a level that you can master seminars and academic papers in German or English without difficulty (recommended C1 level of the CEFR).
• be able to give evidence at the time of application that you have achieved / or will achieve a distinctively above-average university degree.
• be matriculated in a master’s or PhD program at a Bavarian University, University of Applied Sciences or Art Academy of your choice during the period of your granted scholarship. At the time of the scholarship application the enrolment is not yet required.

Criteria of selection:

• previous academic achievements (i.e. grades, scholarships or prizes, publications, talks at conferences etc.)
• letter of motivation: make it clear from your application that your postgraduate-studies are a continuation of your previous studies to a certain extent and will bring you closer to your professional goal
• description of your project (for PhD proposals only): convincing description of your research project and the academic relevance of your topic of research
• very good knowledge of the German and / or English language
• practical experience (e.g. internships, voluntary work, part-time jobs)
• international experience (e.g. studies or internships abroad)
• participation at conferences / non-curricular seminars / other advanced training etc.
• foreign languages
• voluntary work and commitments (e.g. student representation, theatre groups, sports associations, political clubs)
• letter of endorsement of a Bavarian university (recommended for master’s degree applications; mandatory for PhD in Bavaria / one-year research sojourns in Bavaria as part of the PhD in the home country); letter of recommendation of the PhD supervisor from the home institution (only for PhDs conducted in the home country)
• In addition, please indicate whether there is any kind of scientific cooperation in your field of studies between the university where you graduated and the Bavarian university of your choice. Please note that this is not mandatory for your application. Nevertheless, the annual scholarship program is supposed to enhance international scientific cooperation of Bavarian universities.

PLEASE NOTE: We can only accept applications that arrive by the set deadline and that are complete (see list of documents needed in the application form). Mail postage only (not e-mail or fax!).

The scholarship is paid out monthly (934,- €) and amounts to 11.208,- € per year. Students with at least one child receive 1.094,- € per month, which amounts to 13.128,- € per year.