Call for entries for the DAAD Prize 2026

07.09.2026|14:23 Uhr

For more than twenty years, the university of Wuppertal has been awarding the DAAD Prize – which is funded by the Federal Foreign Office – to international students and PhD candidates who have distinguished themselves through outstanding academic achievement combined with social commitment.

The DAAD Prize, worth 1,000 EUR, helps to put a face to our international students and PhD candidates and highlights their importance in acting as a bridge between Germany and the rest of the world – something that is of inestimable value, particularly in an increasingly complex and tense global situation.

The DAAD Prize is open to international students enrolled at the university of Wuppertal who are at an advanced stage of their Bachelor’s degree (at least the second year of study) or Master’s degree (at least the second semester). In addition, recent graduates and PhD candidates may also be nominated. It should be noted that this is not a research prize, nor is the DAAD Prize intended to recognise a doctoral thesis.

‘Foreign students’ are students and doctoral candidates of foreign nationality who obtained their university entrance qualification (HZB) for their first degree or doctoral programme in Germany whilst studying abroad. A Bachelor’s degree from a German higher education institution does not mean that a person with an initial foreign HZB is no longer considered a foreign student. (Contact for enquiries regarding the HZB of potential candidates: Andrea Bieck, Head of the International Office; Tel.: 439 2181; email: bieck[at]uni-wuppertal.de). Recent graduates are defined as students and PhD candidates whose degree was awarded no more than three months prior to the selection process.

Members of the University are requested to submit nominations in electronic form, accompanied by a brief (maximum half a page) statement of merit, including the candidate’s nationality; in the case of students, this must also be accompanied by a transcript showing the matriculation number, degree programme, semester and average mark, via the International Centre (icenter[at]uni-wuppertal.de) to the vice-rector for Third Mission and International Affairs. Self-nominations are not permitted.

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2026

The DAAD Prize is sponsored by: the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federal Foreign Office