DAAD 2027
onSET for a DAAD scholarship: from booking to certificate, step by step
DAAD master’s scholarship deadlines for 2027 close between 21 October and 16 November 2026. If you want to study in German, you need proof of German by then. Here is how to plan the onSET backwards from your deadline.
Do you need proof of German at all?
It depends on the language of your master’s programme. If it is taught in German, the DAAD asks for proof of German with your application. If it is taught in English, you prove English instead, and the onSET does not help there.
Check two places: the “Study Scholarships – Master Studies” call in the DAAD scholarship database, and the page of the DAAD office in your country. The office sets the deadline and may add its own notes on documents.
Which certificates count
For programmes taught in German, the DAAD usually lists TestDaF, DSH, DSD, Goethe-Zertifikat, ÖSD, telc Deutsch and onSET Deutsch. Certificates should be no older than three years.
The onSET is the quickest of these: one test of about 40 minutes, scored automatically, with the result right after the test. TestDaF or Goethe have fixed exam dates and you wait weeks for the certificate. With a deadline a few weeks away, that is the difference that matters.
Step by step to the onSET certificate
You register on the official participant portal at onset.de, choose a licensed test centre and get a TAN to book your date. Each centre sets its own fees and dates. You take the test at the centre on a computer, not at home and not on a phone.
On test day you work through eight short texts with 20 gaps each, five minutes per text. Your score from 0 to 160 is mapped to a CEFR level. You add the certificate to your DAAD application with the rest of your documents.
Plan backwards from your deadline
The deadlines come in three waves: 21 October (including Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam), 2 November (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the Caucasus) and mid-November (Egypt and Ukraine). For some countries we only found the date on third-party sites, so check it with the DAAD office.
Book the onSET at least a week before your deadline. Test centres have few dates, and they fill up in the weeks before a deadline. After the test you still need time to upload the certificate and finish the other documents.
Which level you need
There is no single minimum level. What counts is what your programme asks for at admission. Many German-taught master’s programmes expect a high level, often B2 or C1. Read your programme’s admission page before you book a date.
The onSET maps your score to a level from below A2 to C1 or higher. Our guide to the onSET score explains how points add up and where the B1 line is.
Prepare in the time you have
Start with a free C-Test to see where you stand and which grammar costs you points. Then the 7-, 14- or 30-day study plan gives you concrete tasks for every day until the test: lessons, timed texts and simulations.
onSET Prep is an independent practice platform. It is not a DAAD or TestDaF-Institut product, and practice scores do not predict an official CEFR level.