DFG PhD funding explained: routes, pay and how to apply

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) doesn’t award PhD scholarships, and you can’t apply to it for funding for your own doctorate. DFG PhD funding usually reaches you as a paid job: the DFG funds Research Training Groups and research projects, and they hire doctoral researchers. So you apply to the group or project leader, not to the DFG.

That makes the question less ‘how do I win DFG money?’ and more ‘which DFG-funded post should I apply for?’. The answer depends on two things: whether you want a structured programme with a cohort or a single project, and which degree you hold now. Below, we explain the routes, what a DFG-funded post pays, how long the funding lasts and how to find and apply for one.

Can you get a DFG scholarship for a PhD?

No, not from the DFG directly. The DFG is clear that you cannot apply to it for individual funding for your doctorate. To submit a proposal to the DFG, you must already hold a doctorate.

Instead, the DFG supports doctoral researchers by funding doctoral positions in its Research Training Groups and research projects. It isn’t involved in choosing who fills them either: the people who run each group or project make that decision. If you’ve been looking for a DFG application form for PhD students, you can stop. What you’re looking for is an advertised post.

Common mistake: searching for ‘DFG scholarship’ and finding the DFG’s fellowship pages. Those are for researchers who have already finished a doctorate (more on them below).

How DFG PhD funding reaches students

DFG funding for PhD students comes through doctoral posts in several kinds of programme. They differ in how structured your PhD will be and how long the funding runs.

Route	What it is	How long the DFG funds it	What it means for you
Research Training Group (RTG, Graduiertenkolleg)	A university-based doctoral programme around one research theme, with a training programme	Up to nine years per group	You join a cohort with shared training and supervision
International Research Training Group (IRTG)	An RTG run jointly with a partner institution abroad	Up to nine years per group	Dual supervision and at least six months at the partner institution
Collaborative Research Centre (CRC, Sonderforschungsbereich) or CRC/Transregio (TRR)	A large, long-term research programme at one university (CRC) or two or three (TRR)	Up to 12 years, in four-year periods	You work on one project within a big network; some CRCs run an Integrated Research Training Group
Research project or research group	A project led by one or more researchers and funded by the DFG, such as one funded by a DFG research grant	Depends on the project	You’re employed on a defined project and write your thesis within it
Cluster of Excellence	A large research cluster funded under Germany’s Excellence Strategy	Up to two periods of seven years	Some clusters run integrated doctoral programmes

Sources: DFG pages on Research Training Groups, Collaborative Research Centres and the Excellence Strategy; DFG flyer ‘Doing Your Doctorate in Germany’ (August 2025).

These are big programmes. As of 1 May 2026, the DFG funded 212 Research Training Groups, including 28 international ones. As of 1 October 2026, it also funded 260 Collaborative Research Centres, with €909 million budgeted for them in 2026.

Which route fits you? An RTG suits you if you want a cohort, a set training programme and a team of supervisors. A project post suits you if one supervisor’s project matches your interests closely. Inside a CRC you get a single project with a large research network around it.

You may also read about DFG ‘Graduate Schools’. They were one of the three funding lines of Germany’s Excellence Initiative, which the DFG ran with the German Council of Science and Humanities. The DFG says Graduate Schools were financed from 2006 until 2019.

Today’s Excellence Strategy funds Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence instead. So don’t look for DFG Graduate Schools as a current route.

How much does a DFG-funded PhD position pay?

Most DFG-funded PhD places are jobs with an employment contract, not stipends. Some groups and projects offer a fellowship or scholarship instead, so check the advert. On a post, you’re paid on the public-sector pay scale the advert names, usually TV-L E13, and many posts are part-time.

Under the TV-L table valid from 1 April to 31 December 2026, a full-time E13 post at step 1 pays €4,759.37 a month before tax. Here’s what that means at the percentages you’ll see in adverts.

Share of a full-time post	Gross monthly pay (TV-L E13, step 1)
65%	€3,093.59
75%	€3,569.53
100%	€4,759.37

Source: the TV-L pay table (Anlage B), as published by Saxony’s State Office for Finance, valid 1 April to 31 December 2026. Part-time amounts are our calculation from the full-time figure.

Which percentage will you get? It depends on the group. The DFG says the majority of Research Training Groups offer posts, paid at 65% to 100% of a full-time TV-L E13 post. It adds that the rate is usually in line with similar posts in the same region and research area.

We checked three RTG adverts from 2022 to 2025: two offered 65% and one 75%. They were Erlangen-Nürnberg (65%, three years), Wuppertal (six months on a scholarship, then three years at 65%) and Tübingen (75%, four years). All three were in the humanities and social sciences, so check the advert in your own subject.

E13 has six pay steps, and your advert or contract tells you which one applies. Step 2, for example, is €5,106.09 a month full-time, so check your step before you compare offers.

The ‘DFG grant amount’ you may have seen

The DFG publishes a personnel rate for doctoral researchers of €81,600 a year (€6,800 a month) for 2026. In 2027 it rises to €83,700 (€6,975 a month). That isn’t your salary.

It’s the standard amount the DFG gives a grant holder to budget one full-time doctoral post. It’s a flat amount based on the employer’s gross cost, including employer social security contributions and the annual special payment. The DFG says plainly that these rates are ‘neither intended nor suitable for calculating personal remuneration’. Your contract and the pay table decide what you’re paid.

Contract or scholarship: why it matters

In a Research Training Group, you normally sign an employment contract with the university. DFG-funded posts come with the usual statutory rights and benefits. Staff funds left unused because of maternity leave, parental leave or similar can be reallocated to you later. That happens on an individual basis, using a DFG form.

That’s a real difference from many scholarships. Germany’s 13 government-funded scholarship foundations have paid a basic doctoral grant of €1,650 a month since 1 October 2025, according to the German government.

The University of Göttingen’s Graduate School of Forest and Agricultural Sciences notes that scholarship holders aren’t covered by health insurance or social security schemes. DAAD scholarships are the exception: they include health, accident and liability insurance. If you’re weighing a DAAD scholarship (see our DAAD research grants guide) against a DFG-funded post, compare the cover as well as the monthly figure.

How long does DFG PhD funding last?

In a Research Training Group, your own funding usually lasts at least 36 months. Some groups fund doctoral researchers for up to 48 months, and no RTG may go beyond 48. The RTG adverts we checked offered three or four years, so ask the group’s spokesperson what applies in theirs.

For a project post, the length depends on the project, so read the advert.

The DFG doesn’t fund the completion of a doctorate. If your thesis in an RTG runs past your funding, your supervisors or university are expected to arrange completion funding. So ask how a group handles late finishers before you accept.

How to find DFG-funded PhD positions

Because the DFG doesn’t hand out PhD places itself, finding a post means searching where groups and projects advertise.

Search GEPRIS. The DFG’s database GEPRIS lists every DFG-funded project. You can search by research area, researcher, university or type of programme, including the list of current Research Training Groups.
Check the DFG’s job adverts. The DFG publishes job advertisements from DFG-funded projects (the page is in German). It may list only a few adverts at a time, so use it alongside GEPRIS and university job pages.
Watch university job pages and RTG websites. RTGs recruit in cohorts. Göttingen’s graduate school notes that these positions ‘will only be advertised every three years and their number is limited’, so a group you like may not be recruiting this year.
Contact the person in charge. If a group or project fits your interests, a short, specific email helps. Our guide on how to email a potential supervisor shows what to include.

How to apply for a DFG-funded PhD

Apply as the advert says, usually to the RTG’s spokesperson or the project leader.

The DFG’s own guidance gives a general picture of what groups look for. You should have a very good university degree that you completed within a fairly short time. You should also have a genuine interest and talent in research. Your qualifications should fit the group’s topic, and some first research experience helps.

The documents vary by advert. Wuppertal’s Research Training Group, for example, asked for a cover letter explaining your motivation and an application form. It also wanted your bachelor’s and master’s certificates and an outline of a possible doctoral project of up to three pages.

So even on a structured programme you may write a short proposal that fits the group’s theme. If an advert asks for a motivation letter, our guide to writing a PhD motivation letter shows how.

If you’re applying from outside Germany

International applicants are welcome. Asked whether international applicants can apply, the DFG answers ‘Yes, of course’. Many DFG-funded programmes run in English and offer language courses, but ask the group what language skills you’ll need.

You do have to do the PhD in Germany. The DFG can’t fund a doctorate carried out entirely abroad, although an IRTG includes research time at its partner institution. For entry requirements, visas and living costs, see our guide to doing a PhD in Germany.

If you only have a bachelor’s degree

If your degree doesn’t yet meet the doctoral admission requirements, some Research Training Groups offer qualification fellowships of up to 12 months. They’re designed to let you move into doctoral study quickly. Ask the group’s spokesperson whether theirs offers one.

DFG funding after your PhD

Once you hold a doctorate, you can apply to the DFG yourself. If you searched for a ‘DFG fellowship’, this is the section for you.

Walter Benjamin Programme: for early-career postdocs who want to run their own research project, usually for up to two years. It’s paid as a post in Germany or as a fellowship abroad. The abroad option has conditions: for example, at least three continuous years of research in Germany just before you apply.
Emmy Noether Programme: lets you lead an independent junior research group for six years. You’d normally apply up to four years after your doctorate, with at least two years of postdoctoral experience.

Our guide to postdocs explains what a postdoc involves, how long it usually lasts and how posts are funded.

Other ways to fund a PhD in Germany

A DFG-funded post is one of several routes. Göttingen’s graduate school points international students to the DAAD, whose programmes depend on your home country. It also notes that the biggest scholarship donors in Germany are organisations linked to political parties and religious denominations. Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral networks are another option to look at: our Marie Curie fellowship guide explains how they work.

Next steps

Start by searching GEPRIS for Research Training Groups and projects in your subject. Then check their websites and the DFG’s job adverts for open posts. When you find one, read the pay group, percentage and contract length closely, because those decide what DFG PhD funding means for you in practice.

You can also browse current PhD positions on DiscoverPhDs to weigh a DFG-funded post against funded projects in other countries.

Sources