Deadline: April 1, 2018

Applications are open for DAAD/SEARCA In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme 2018. DAAD’s partnership with Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture – SEARCA started in school year 1975-1976 by providing support for the Center’s graduate scholarship leading to Masters and PhD degrees in agriculture.

As part of the In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme, DAAD offers scholarships for PhD and Master studies. The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and aims at university staff in the first line, without neglecting the public sector demand of academically trained personnel.

The target group for scholarships are graduates and postgraduates from South East Asia with a first academic degree if applying for a master’s programme, or with a Master’s degree if applying for a doctoral programme who want to pursue Master’s or PhD courses in their home country (so called In-Country scholarships) or in another South East Asia country (In-Region scholarships).

Study Posts

It has been agreed upon that DAAD cooperates with SEARCA by offering up to 21 In-Region/In-Country scholarships for PhD and Master studies at:

• Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) – Bogor, Indonesia
• Kasetsart University (KU) – Bangkok, Thailand
• Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) – Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) – Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
• University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) – Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Scholarship Benefits

Covers tuition and other school fees; study and research allowance; printing allowance; stipend for food, lodging and incidental expenses; travel allowance (In-Region only); and insurance.

DAAD In-Country/In-Region scholarship holders are also encouraged to apply for a research grant in Germany for 2 to 6 months, at the time of application. The short-term research scholarship includes:

• A monthly scholarship payment for living costs
• Health/accident/personal liability insurance
• A flat-rate travel allowance

Eligibility

• Open to nationals of SEAMEO member countries who are employees of academic or research institutions or government agencies (priority is given to regular employees).
• Must not be more than 35 (Master’s Degree) or 40 (PhD) years of age at the time of application.
• Applicants have successfully completed generally a three-year university degree/144 CP (Master candidates) or a five-year university degree/180 CP (doctoral candidates) with above average results (upper third of class)
• Applicants clearly show motivation and strong commitment
• Applicants have thorough knowledge of English language  have completed their last university degree not more than 6 years ago at the time of application
• Applicants must be nationals or permanent resident of an South East Asian country
• Female applicants and candidates from less privileged regions or groups are especially encouraged to participate in the programme.

Proposed thesis research should focus on SEARCA’s overarching theme of inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development (ISARD). Thus, areas of specialization of scholarship applicants should be in agriculture or related sciences, which include:

• Agriculture
• Agricultural Technology
• Statistics
• Food Science and Technology
• Forest Products and Paper Science
• Biological Science
• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Science
• Economics and Management
• Fisheries and Marine Science
• Forestry
• Natural Resources and Environment
• Human Ecology
• Math and Science
• Biology
• Engineering
• Geography
• Social and Political Sciences
• Development Communication
• Agricultural Economics
• Agro-industry

Moreover, priority research topics must fall within the ISARD strategic thrusts on social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and cross-cutting concerns.

Application

Each applicant is required to submit the following documents:

1. DAAD-SEARCA Application form (2 copies);
2. Application forms for admission to the Graduate School of the universities where the applicant may pursue graduate studies under SEARCA scholarship;
3. Official transcript of academic records of each degree completed (BS transcript for MS applicants and BS and MS transcripts for PhD applicants);
4. Certification of employment;
5. Brief description of the research the applicant plans to conduct for thesis/dissertation. The research topic must be in line with the thrusts of SEARCA’s Tenth Five-Year Plan i.e., social equity, environmental integrity and regional economic integration by promoting food and nutrition security; value chains and agribusiness commodity systems; innovations and modern technologies; rural entrepreneurship; climate change adaptation and resiliency, natural resource management; sub-regional cooperation in trade and investments; and government policies/reforms that address rural poverty, inequitable growth, and environmental degradation.
6. Two copies of passport-size pictures of the applicant;
7. Curriculum vitae;
8. Certification from a medical doctor that the applicant is in good physical and mental health condition and is fit to undertake graduate studies;
9. Official endorsement from the employer; and
10. Results of Test of English as a Foreign Language: TOEFL iBT result (80) or IELTS results (6.0). The TOEFL results must be issued by Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Kindly submit an advance copy of your application via email at [email protected]. Send the printed copies of application documents via postal mail or courier at:

Graduate Education and Institutional Development Department

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)College, Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines

Tel: +63-49-536 2290; 554 9330 to 9337; +63-2-657 1330 to 1332

Application forms and information brochures on the universities that may serve as study posts of DAAD-SEARCA scholars are available and may be downloaded from here.

For more information, visit DAAD-SEARCA Scholarship.