Land Steiermark und der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz - Go Styria - scholarship program for southern European students

What Go Styria gives you

As a Master’s or PhD student, you will receive 900 EUR per month to carry out research at the University of Graz in Austria for one or two months. Furthermore, the University of Graz will waive your tuition fees. Postdoctoral researchers (researchers who have completed their PhD) will receive 1,200 EUR per month for a stay of the same duration. During your stay, you will be enrolled as an exchange student for one semester; however, you will not be awarded a degree by the University of Graz – you will complete your degree in your home country. The University of Graz runs the programme in collaboration with the Province of Styria.

Who can apply

• Level: You are a Master’s or PhD student and are already working on your thesis, or you are a postdoctoral researcher and completed your PhD no more than 3 years ago with an excellent result.
• Where you study now: You are studying or working at a higher education institution in South-Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary or Cyprus.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects.
• Plan: You’ll be coming to Graz for a research placement and will then complete your degree at your home university.
• Language: You must have at least level B2 in the language in which you will be conducting your research.
• Supervisor: A professor at the University of Graz has agreed to supervise your dissertation.
• No double funding: You may not receive any other scholarship (such as Erasmus+ or CEEPUS) during the same period. Furthermore, you must not already be enrolled as a student or member of staff at the University of Graz.

How to apply

Applicants for Master’s and PhD programmes should first send an email to the International Office to gain access to the online application portal, and then upload their complete application for the summer semester 2027 by 12 October 2026, 13:00. Postdoctoral researchers should email a complete PDF file. After the deadline, applications will be assessed on their academic merit, and the best candidates will be selected at a selection meeting.

How realistic are your chances?

The selection criteria for this scholarship are strictly defined: you must be from one of the listed South-Eastern European countries, be at the dissertation stage or have just completed your postdoctoral research, and secure a professor in Graz as your supervisor before applying. This commitment to supervision is the key selection criterion, as it means you must already have a concrete research plan and a contact person in Graz. If you meet these requirements and have an outstanding academic record, the small, carefully selected pool of applicants will work in your favour.