The letter of motivation is one of the most important parts of a DAAD scholarship application, especially for the development-related Master’s programmes (EPOS). Selection committees read dozens of similar letters; the ones that work answer specific questions clearly and honestly instead of retelling the CV in decorative language.
This guide follows DAAD’s written guidelines for the letter of motivation (linked in the sources below), with practical examples of our own.
Start early
DAAD’s guidelines explicitly warn against writing the letter in one evening. A sensible process:
- Reflect on your goals and take notes.
- Read about the programme and about your field in your home country.
- Discuss your ideas with a colleague or professor.
- Write an outline, then the text.
Do not include the outline or the guiding questions in the final letter.
The five questions your letter should answer
DAAD lists these questions and notes that you do not have to answer every one, but strong letters cover most of them.
1. What is your professional goal after the Master’s?
Name the sector and the role: a ministry, an NGO, a university, a company. “I want to serve my country” is not a goal.
2. How will you contribute to your home country’s development?
For EPOS programmes this is central: how will you contribute to the social, political or technical development of your country? The guidelines welcome facts and figures, so use reliable data about the problem you want to work on.
3. Why this programme?
Name specific courses and explain how they serve your goal. It shows you have actually studied the programme.
4. Why are you the right person?
Your knowledge, professional experience and involvement in organisations, with proof where possible, plus a realistic self-assessment.
5. Why Germany?
What do you know about the German system in your field, what could be a model for your country, and which German technologies, organisations or companies do you want to learn from?
Length and style
- Length: no more than two or three pages, according to DAAD; cut everything redundant.
- Do not open by repeating your CV — it is already attached.
- Avoid platitudes, flowery language and flattery.
- Be reflective and factual; the guidelines say not to campaign for your beliefs.
- Proofread grammar and spelling carefully.
A suggested structure
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Who you are in two sentences, the programme, your goal in short |
| Background | Your most relevant professional or research experience, with a concrete result |
| The problem at home | The issue you want to work on, with a fact from a reliable source |
| Why this programme | Two or three specific courses and what you will learn |
| Why Germany | A German institution or practice you want to learn from |
| Plan after graduation | Where you will work and what you will do in the first two or three years |
| Conclusion | Two sentences tying it together, without repetition |
Weak vs stronger sentences
These examples are ours, for illustration only — write about your real experience.
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| “I have been passionate about renewable energy since childhood.” | “In three years at a power distribution company I followed a project installing solar panels in 12 rural schools, and saw that the real problem was maintenance, not technology.” |
| “This is one of the best programmes in the world.” | “The second-semester course on decentralised energy policy relates directly to my ministry’s rural electrification plan.” |
| “I will go back to serve my country.” | “I plan to return to the ministry’s planning department and, within two years, prepare a standard maintenance guide for small solar projects.” |
Common mistakes
- Copying a letter from the internet or generating one with AI without real personal experience.
- Sending the same letter to several programmes with only the name changed.
- Writing about salaries or life in Germany instead of your professional goal.
- Claiming experience you cannot prove.
Final checklist
- ☐ It answers most of the five questions.
- ☐ It is no longer than two or three pages.
- ☐ It names specific courses of the programme.
- ☐ Every fact or figure comes from a reliable source.
- ☐ Someone else has proofread it.
- ☐ It meets any extra requirement in the programme’s own call (signature, date, format).
Important: deadlines and eligibility differ by programme. In DAAD’s 2027/28 deadline list for development-related courses, every programme refers to its own website for the date, so check the page of your programme before writing.