International Max Planck Research School for Neural Circuits | Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Study the brain in the heart of Europe

Our profile

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neural Circuits was established in 2011 and offers around ten fully-funded doctoral fellowships every year for talented students holding a relevant Master´s or Bachelor´s degree as their highest degree. The program is taught in English.

We offer a multidisciplinary program to excellent students with backgrounds in neuroscience, mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, (bio) chemistry, biology and medicine as well as research experience in the participating institutions of the Frankfurt Neuroscience community. Students will participate in a tailor-made educational program, including research rotations and neuroscience courses, complemented by training on transferable skills as well as scientific retreats and lecture series. A special fast track option is offered to excellent students with a Bachelor as their highest degree.

Our multidisciplinary approach

The common focus of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neural Circuits is the understanding of neural circuits (from the simple to the large and complex), at all scales required to achieve this understanding. This ambitious objective requires analyses at the molecular, cellular, multi-cellular, network and behavioral levels, with the full understanding that macroscopic phenomena (spatial patterns, dynamics) can be scale-dependent, and that reductionism is not always sufficient as a method.

Our research areas

Research areas are perception, connectomics, theoretical and computational neuroscience, synaptic plasticity, molecular systems, brain dynamics, neural circuits, behavior and systems neuroscience. The IMPRS faculty consists of 22 Frankfurt-based neuroscientists at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Goethe University, the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies.

Participating institutions are: Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Goethe University, Ernst Strüngmann Institute, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies.

How to apply

For more information and to apply please visit our website at www.imprs.brain.mpg.de.