📅 Last Updated: October 2026
University of Erfurt PhD Scholarships 2027 — €1,400/Month
The University of Erfurt in Germany is awarding up to four PhD scholarships worth €1,400 a month for three years, with a possible fourth year. They are funded by the state of Thuringia’s graduate support programme. The call is open to applicants regardless of origin, so Pakistani and South Asian master’s graduates can apply on equal terms.
One research group recruiting through this call is CEREB, Erfurt’s centre for behavioural economics and decision-making research. This guide explains how the scheme works, what the 6–8 page exposé needs to cover, the one step most applicants miss, and an honest view of your chances with only four awards available.
| University/Organization | University of Erfurt: Thuringian State Graduate Support |
| Country | Germany (Erfurt, Thuringia) |
| Degree/Level | PhD (Doctoral) |
| Funding Type | €1,400/month stipend + family allowance + up to €600/year research costs |
| Deadline | 24 November 2026, 11:59 pm CET |
| Open To | International Students Worldwide |
| Pakistani Students Eligible | Yes |
| Official Link | Apply Here |
🎓 About the University of Erfurt PhD Scholarships 2027
The University of Erfurt is a compact public university in the capital of Thuringia, in central Germany. It is known for its social sciences, economics, education, religious studies and humanities, and it is home to the Max-Weber-Kolleg, an institute for advanced cultural and social studies.
These scholarships are paid from Thuringia’s state graduate support fund (Landesgraduiertenförderung) under the state regulation ThürGFVO. They belong to Erfurt’s structured Erfurt Doctoral and Postdoctoral Programme (EPPP). Projects must be based in one of the university’s certified Graduate Centres or at the Max-Weber-Kolleg.
CEREB, the Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, is actively recruiting through this call. It combines economic theory with experimental and empirical methods to study how people make decisions, from rational choice to rules of thumb, in individuals, groups, organisations and healthcare.
How does it compare with DAAD? (For master’s-level funding, see our DAAD Helmut Schmidt Scholarship 2027 guide.) DAAD’s doctoral research grants are the better-known route for Pakistani students and come with extras such as insurance and travel support, but they draw thousands of applicants from every country. Erfurt’s state scholarship is far less known internationally, which means a smaller applicant pool, although only four awards are available.
💰 Benefits and Funding
- 💶 Monthly stipend: €1,400
- 👨👩👧 Family allowance: €300 a month for the first child, plus €150 for each additional child
- 📚 Research and travel costs: up to €600 per year, on request and subject to funds
- 📆 Duration: 3 years, extendable by 1 year on request
- 🎓 Training: Academic Skills Training courses, networking events and science-communication platforms
- 🏫 Tuition: Thuringia’s public universities don’t charge tuition for doctoral study, so you pay only the semester contribution (verify current amount)
Is €1,400 enough? Erfurt is one of Germany’s more affordable university cities. A room in a shared flat often costs roughly €350–500 a month (approximate; verify current rents). €1,400 is a modest but workable budget for a single student. It is a stipend, not a salary, so you pay your own health insurance, and the cost depends on your age and status. Budget for it from day one.
For Pakistani readers, €1,400 is roughly PKR 420,000–450,000 a month (approximate; check today’s rate).
✅ Eligibility Criteria
You must meet all of these requirements. The last four only need to be met by the start of funding, not on the application date:
- Academic record: above-average grades and exam results that show a particular aptitude for research
- Completed degree: a master’s, Diplom or Magister. Your full thesis must be submitted with the application
- Doctoral acceptance by an Erfurt faculty or the Max-Weber-Kolleg
- Matriculation (enrolment) at the University of Erfurt
- Full membership of the Graduate Centre your application is assigned to, such as CEREB
- Proof of health insurance
- No double funding: no other public scholarship for the same purpose and period
- Work limits: no more than 12 hours a week in research or teaching, or no more than 5 hours a week of other work
English test: the call doesn’t set a language test requirement. Documents may be in German or English. CEREB’s research environment is international, but individual faculties may have their own doctoral admission rules (verify on official website).
Pakistani students: eligible. The call welcomes applicants “regardless of origin”. Degree certificates in English need no translation.
✅ Strong Candidates
- Master’s graduates in economics, psychology, management or public health with a clear research question
- Applicants who have already worked with experimental, survey or econometric methods
- Pakistani MS and MPhil holders with an above-average CGPA and a well-argued thesis they are proud to submit in full
- Candidates who contact a Graduate Centre such as CEREB several weeks before the deadline
❌ Not the Right Fit If
- You need a salaried PhD position with employer-paid insurance
- Your field is engineering or the natural sciences, which Erfurt doesn’t cover
- You don’t yet have a concrete project to describe in 6–8 pages
- You are already funded by HEC, DAAD or another public scholarship for the same PhD
On competitiveness: with up to four awards across the whole university, you are competing with every Graduate Centre’s best candidates. Pakistani applicants win these awards through the strength of the project rather than the name of their university. A focused exposé with a clear method and a realistic three-year plan is what the committee scores most heavily.
📚 Research Fields at CEREB
If you apply through CEREB, your project can connect with researchers working on:
- Behavioural economics
- Social and health psychology
- Organisational psychology
- Organisation and management
- Corporate and business ethics, and corporate governance
- Individual and group decision-making
- Children’s decision-making
- Medical decision-making and health communication
You can’t apply to several Graduate Centres at once. If your topic fits another centre or the Max-Weber-Kolleg better, apply there instead. Your cover letter must name the centre and explain why it fits. Mentioning overlaps with other centres counts in your favour.
📄 Required Documents
Part 1 must be merged into one PDF of 5 MB or less, with a table of contents, in this order:
- Cover letter (max 2 pages): your Graduate Centre, why you chose it, and how far your project has progressed
- Tabular CV plus the university’s CV supplement form
- Exposé (6–8 pages, excluding cover page and bibliography): research question, state of research, method, bibliography, plus a 3-year work and time schedule
- Graduate Centre contact confirmation form, or your admission form if you are already a member. This form is only available in German
- Doctoral acceptance confirmation, if you already have it
- List of publications and presentations, if any
- Degree certificates (bachelor’s and master’s), with certified translations if they aren’t in German or English
- Your complete master’s thesis, with a 2-page summary in English or German if it is written in another language
- Signed data-processing consent (German form; an English information sheet is available)
Part 2: one letter of recommendation on the university’s form, written by a professor or lecturer. The referee emails it directly to the university. It must not be included in your PDF.
A common mistake by Pakistani applicants: HEC attestation isn’t mentioned in this call. You will probably need attested degrees later for doctoral admission and your visa, so start early (verify with the faculty and the German Embassy).
🧭 Step-by-Step Application Process
- Choose your Graduate Centre. For decision science, this is CEREB. Contact the director, Prof. Dr. Manfred Königstein (manfred.koenigstein@uni-erfurt.de), with a 1-page project summary and your CV.
- Get the contact confirmation form signed by the Graduate Centre. Without it, your application is incomplete.
- Write your exposé (6–8 pages) and the 3-year schedule.
- Ask your referee to complete the university’s recommendation form and email it to graduiertenfoerderung@uni-erfurt.de before the deadline.
- Merge everything into one PDF of 5 MB or less in the required order, with a table of contents.
- Email it to graduiertenfoerderung@uni-erfurt.de with the subject: Application for the State Graduate Scholarship 2026 – Surname, First name.
- If selected: complete doctoral acceptance, enrolment, Graduate Centre membership and health insurance before funding starts, then apply for your German visa.
Practical tip: treat the Graduate Centre contact as your first step, not your last. Professors in Germany often receive many emails in November. Contacting CEREB in October gives you time to adjust your project to the group’s interests, which strengthens your exposé and your cover letter.
📅 Important Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Call published | August 2026 |
| Application deadline | 24 November 2026, 11:59 pm CET |
| Decision period | About 10 weeks |
| Results expected | By the end of February 2027 |
| Funding starts | 1 April 2027 (1 July 2027 at the latest) |
📌 Bookmark this page. We update deadlines as soon as changes are announced.
🌟 Why Apply
This is one of the few German PhD scholarships where you write your own project, instead of applying for a pre-defined position. For applicants with a strong research idea in economics, psychology or management, that freedom is valuable, and Erfurt’s structured programme adds training and networking to the stipend.
The application is also reusable. A good exposé and 3-year plan can go straight into DAAD and other German foundation applications. For more German options, read our Study in Germany guide. If you are further along in your career, see our Max Weber Fellowships guide. You can also browse all Scholarships, research-assistant posts in Jobs & Internships, exposé and proposal guides in Guidelines & Resources, and doctoral workshops in Events & Conferences.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
These questions are based on what students most commonly search about this program.
Q: Can Pakistani students apply for the University of Erfurt PhD scholarship?
Yes. The call is open regardless of origin. Pakistani applicants need above-average grades, a completed master’s degree, a 6–8 page exposé, and a signed contact confirmation from an Erfurt Graduate Centre such as CEREB.
Q: How much is the Erfurt PhD scholarship?
€1,400 per month for three years, extendable by one year. There is a family allowance of €300 for the first child and €150 for each additional child, and up to €600 a year for research and travel costs, on request.
Q: Do I need IELTS for the University of Erfurt PhD scholarship?
The scholarship call doesn’t require a language test, and documents may be in German or English. Individual faculties may have their own doctoral admission requirements, so confirm with your Graduate Centre (verify on official website).
Q: Do I need a supervisor before applying?
You need documented contact with a Graduate Centre or the Max-Weber-Kolleg, using the official contact confirmation form. Formal doctoral acceptance and centre membership can be completed by the start of funding.
Q: How many scholarships are available?
Up to four across the whole University of Erfurt, depending on the state funds available.
Q: Can I work while holding the scholarship?
Yes, within limits: up to 12 hours a week in research or teaching at a university or research institute, or up to 5 hours a week of other employment.
🔗 Official Source
- Official call: Doctoral Scholarships Announcement 2026 (English PDF)
- CEREB: Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences
- University of Erfurt research announcements
Contact: Research and Graduate Services · graduiertenfoerderung@uni-erfurt.de · +49 (0)361 737-5042
📊 Summary Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| University | University of Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany |
| Scheme | Thuringian State Graduate Support: Doctoral Scholarships |
| Number of Awards | Up to 4 |
| Level | PhD |
| Stipend | €1,400/month + family allowance + up to €600/year research costs |
| Duration | 3 years (+1 year possible) |
| Example Graduate Centre | CEREB: behavioural economics & decision science |
| Application | One PDF of 5 MB or less, by email; reference letter sent separately |
| Deadline | 24 November 2026, 11:59 pm CET |
| Start | 1 April 2027 (latest 1 July 2027) |
| Pakistani Students Eligible | Yes |
| Official Link | uni-erfurt.de: official call |
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