PhD Studentship Opportunities in the overall Field of Cognition Research

Applications accepted every fall

The Max Planck School of Cognition (MPS-Cog) is a joint graduate program of the Max Planck Society and leading German universities together with Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, and University College London, and is additionally funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The School is comprised of an outstanding and world-renowned cluster of faculty researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds but with overlapping research interests. The MPSCog explores new paths in postgraduate education in Germany by linking the dispersed excellence of approximately 50 researchers in the field of Cognition, thus attracting top international graduates to its world-class doctoral program.

The English-taught program (table 1) bridges the gap between disciplines such as biology, physics, computer science, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, genetics or philosophy during its four-year course. It begins with an orientation year where students can choose up to three laboratories of associated fellows to acquire interdisciplinary perspectives on common research themes in the area of Cognition. In addition, students will take basic e-learning courses throughout the first year in fields such as Cognitive Neuroscience, Functional Neuroanatomy & Neurophysiology, Artificial Intelligence & Intelligent Systems, Philosophy of Mind & Ethics, Methods in Cognitive (Neuro-)Sciences, Computational Neuroscience & Statistics, Basics in Molecular Neurobiology & Genetics, and Clinical Neuroscience. Furthermore, they will attend several classroom weeks on location, the so-called “Cognition Academies”, allowing all students to come together repeatedly throughout the duration of the program. In the remainder of their time (year 2 to 4), doctoral candidates will work together with their selected supervisors to develop and execute a feasible and relevant research project for their doctorate. Doctoral degrees will be awarded by the university to which the supervisor of the respective student is affiliated.

Doctoral candidates with (but not exclusively) backgrounds such as artificial intelligence, biology, cognitive neuroscience/neuroscience, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, neurobiology, neurology, psychiatry, philosophy, and psychology are encouraged to apply to the fully financed program. Students can enter the program with a Bachelor’s (fast track) or a Master’s degree.

For more information:
www.maxplanckschools.de/en/cognition

MPSCog also offers a new parallel track, the fully funded Clinician Scientist Program (CSP), targeting medical candidates with an interest in a dual clinical & research career in areas such as neurology and neuropsychiatry.

More information can be found here: https://cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en/csp

Application requirements:
www.maxplanckschools.de/en/schools/cognition/application

Contact Information
Scientific Coordinator: Matthias Bolz
E-Mail: matthias.bolz@maxplanckschools.de
Web: www.maxplanckschools.de/en/cognition

Deadlines
In Autumn (please consult our webpage)

Places
25 PhD students per year
Scholarships available

Tuition Fee:
None

Table 1. Overview of the four-year doctoral program at the Max Planck School of Cognition.