The International Max Planck Research School for Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences (IMPRS-LS) offers an international PhD program in life sciences covering areas of biochemistry, cell biology, molecular medicine, neurobiology and structural biology. The 3 to 4 year program, entirely taught in English, provides comprehensive scientific training in a superb and vibrant research environment with state of the art facilities and cutting edge research projects. The interdisciplinary setting of the program exposes students to a wide variety of different topics and technologies thereby promoting the ability of cross-frontier thinking. Laboratory work will be supplemented by seminars, summer schools, elective courses, training in soft skills and participation in international conferences.
Doctoral students usually have their doctoral degree awarded by one of the two Munich universities both of which are amongst the highest ranking universities in Germany. International doctoral students may also choose to have their doctoral degree awarded by a university of their home country.
More than 250 doctoral students from all over the world are currently working at the Max Planck Institutes of Biochemistry and Neurobiology and, together with numerous doctoral students from university laboratories, are creating a young and dynamic international atmosphere at the institutes.
PhD Program
The program is jointly conducted by the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in cooperation with the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich and the Technical University Munich. More than 30 research groups, internationally recognized for their innovative research approaches and technologies, form the core faculty of the research school. Using state of the art approaches, these groups aim to answer essential questions relevant to basic and applied biological and biomedical research. The laboratories of the participating groups are located at various sites on the campus Martinsried/Großhadern, in downtown Munich and in Munich-Garching.
Requirements for Admission
Applicants to the PhD program are required to hold a Master's degree (or an equivalent degree) in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, medicine or in a related discipline.
A one year preparatory program is now available to a limited number of outstanding applicants with a Bachelor's degree allowing a fast track path towards a doctoral degree (details will be announced soon).
It is not necessary to hold the respective degree at the point of application. However, the degree will have to be awarded before classes start in October each year.
Degrees of applicants from foreign countries will have to be approved by the admissions and registration office of the university that will award the doctoral degree (normally either Ludwig Maximilian University Munich or Technical University Munich). The coordination office will support students accepted to the PhD program in all admission procedures.
Selected candidates have to be fluent in written and spoken English and, unless native speakers, should document their proficiency in English. German language skills are not required but interested international students will be offered opportunities to take German language courses.
Details on the evaluation and selection procedure as well as information helping you to assess or perhaps even improve your chances for acceptance to the program can be downloaded here.
Application Procedure
Application to the program is a two step online procedure: First you need to register online. After successful registration you will receive a confirmation link via email that allows you to log in and to submit your online application. Please note that registration will be activated after September 15, 2009. Deadline for application is January 15, 2010.
Submitted applications will be checked for completeness and acceptance of complete applications will be confirmed by a separate email.
Letters of recommendation should be mailed directly to the coordination office by the referees. Arrival of each letter of recommendation at the coordination office will be confirmed by email.
Due to the large number of incoming applications we are not able to process incomplete applications or separate documents that are forwarded to the coordination office via email. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
Applications are independently reviewed by several faculty members of the Research School. Based on academic qualification, research experience, motivation, scientific background and the letters of recommendation, candidates are selected for personal interviews in Martinsried / Munich. Interviews are scheduled from March 8 to March 12, 2010. Travel expenses and accommodation will be covered by the Research School.
For details regarding online application procedures and requirements please visit the Application Guidelines.
Online registration will be activated after September 15, 2009
CONTACT
IMPRS
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
Am Klopferspitz 18
D-82152 Martinsried
Phone: +49 (0)89 8578 2281
Fax: +49 (0)89 8578 2282
Email: info@imprs-ls.mpg.de
Coordinator:
Dr. Hans Joerg Schaeffer
International Max Planck Research School
for Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences
Am Klopferspitz 18
82152 Martinsried/Munich, Germany
phone: ++49 89 8578-2281
fax: ++49 89 8578-2859
email: info@imprs-ls.mpg.de
Assistant coordinator:
Maximiliane Reif
phone: ++49 89 8578-2852
fax: ++49 89 8578-2859
email: reif@biochem.mpg.de
Speaker:
Prof. Dr. F. Ulrich Hartl
International Max Planck Research School
for Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences
Am Klopferspitz 18
82152 Martinsried/Munich, Germany
