Closing Date: 31 July 2026
Apply now for the International Parliamentary Scholarship 2027 and join the three-month internship in German parliamentary office
International Parliamentary Scholarship 2027
As part of the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS), the German Bundestag provides up to 120 politically and socially engaged young university graduates from up to 50 nations worldwide with an in-depth insight into Germany’s parliamentary system.
The president of the German Bundestag, Ms. Julia Klöckner, is the president of the International Parliamentary Scholarship. The program is run in cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin and extends over a period of five months.
The Idea and IPS global Participating Countries
The German Bundestag has been conducting the International Parliamentary Scholarship since 1986. What initially emerged from the German-American parliamentary friendship has now become a unique scholarship program for young, talented, cosmopolitan and politically interested young people worldwide who want to take an active and responsible role in shaping the democratic future of their countries. The IPS thus also makes an important contribution to promoting intercultural exchange and international understanding.
Countries participating in the IPS currently include: Egypt, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Kosovo, Croatia, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Palestinian Territories, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Syria, Czech Republic, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine, Hungary, USA, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.
The program
The IPS global takes place from the beginning of March to the end of July.
As part of the five-month program, the participants have the opportunity to get to know the working methods of the German Bundestag intensively. At the beginning of the scholarship, the topics “Parliamentary Democracy in Germany”, “Plural Society, Minority Protection”, “Media Landscape in Germany” and “Memory Culture” are taught as a political mission during an introduction phase. The model of an active civil society is deepened by events of the political foundations and supplemented by workshops.
The centerpiece of the scholarship is the three-month internship in a parliamentary office. As part of a full-day employment, the scholarship holders will be introduced to the various tasks of a parliamentary office. At the same time, emphasis is placed on active participation: this includes the writing of speeches, articles and letters, the preparation of meetings and completions of secretariat tasks. In addition, the scholarship holders accompany their Members to meetings of the committees, political groups and other bodies and gain insights into the functioning, contexts and procedures of Parliament. A visit to the constituency complements this experience.
The scholarship holders are enrolled in the summer semester as program students at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. You can attend up to two courses at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin or one of the other Berlin universities during the internship phase.
Scholarship
Participants will receive a monthly grant of 700 euros. Likewise, the scholarship includes free accommodation in a residential complex, the assumption of the costs of arrival and departure, as well as a health, accident and liability insurance.
Parliamentary Coordination
Parliamentary coordination of the IPS is carried out by the rapporteur group for the International Exchange Programmes in the Commission of the Council of Elders for Internal Affairs of the German Bundestag.
Application Requirements
- Citizenship of the participating country
- younger than 30 years at the beginning of the scholarship
- completed university studies (at least bachelor’s degree) in any subject (proof of the degree degree can in justified cases up to 31. December 2026 to be submitted)
- Strong interest in political and social contexts
- social and/or political engagement
- very good German language skills (at least level B 2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
How do you apply for the International Parliamentary Scholarship 2027?
Please send your application as a PDF file (with the name: Last name) by E‑Mail to the German Embassy in your home country. The E-Mail-Adresse can be found at “Contact addresses: German embassies“. The PDF file must not exceed a maximum size of 10 MB. If the PDF file exceeds the size of 10 MB, please share your application documents on several E-Mails up. Please do not send ZIP files.
Only with the following documents your application is complete:
- application form (to be completed in German);
- Proof of very good knowledge of German;
- Letter of motivation in German (max. 2 pages);
- degree certificate of the university (in the original or as an officially certified copy in English or German);
- Two current letters of recommendation (in German or English) in which the professional qualifications for the IPS programme are assessed (in accordance with the Guidelines for the letter of recommendation(Download);
- copy of the passport or national identity card as proof of nationality of one of the participating countries;
- an application photo as an image file (JPEG or other usual image format).
Application deadline
Here you can find the Application deadlines for the program year 2027
What happens after submitting the application?
Inquiries regarding the receipt of your application, please direct directly to the responsible German diplomatic mission.
Participants are selected in a two-step procedure. The pre-selection is made by the responsible German mission abroad. The most qualified applicants will be invited to a personal interview from July to December. A selection committee of the German Bundestag makes the final selection on the basis of the linguistic, professional, social and intercultural competences of the applicants. Further information on the application process can be found in the FAQ.
