Selection process
How does the selection process work?
Applicants will be chosen based on their academic qualification, aptitude, motivation, scientific interest and letters of recommendation.
Complete applications will be reviewed by the PhD office and forwarded to participating group leaders at the MDC and partner institutions.
Short-listed candidates (about 50 candidates) will be invited to Berlin for interview. Travel and Visa expenses are reimbursed and accommodation, including food, for the interview days is covered by the MDC.
The selection week in Berlin includes:
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Assessment day (1 day) including a short presentation of a research project to MDC faculty and a panel discussion
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Personal interviews (2 days) with faculty members and lab presentations of research group leaders. You are welcome to bring a longer version of your presentation or other useful material for these discussions.
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Berlin Tour, Campus Tour, dinners and various occasions to meet faculty and students of the MDC and learn about ongoing research project and the PhD program of the MDC.
At the end of the week, candidates will be asked to give us the names of the research group(s) they would like to join for a PhD project. In a final plenary session all faculty members will determine the candidates that will be accepted to the MDC. Successful candidates will be offered a position according to the candidate’s preferences. Results of the plenary session will be announced within 3 days. We expect the success rate of invited candidates to be 1:3. Successful candidates have 2 weeks to accept or decline this offer. Students may start latest by December 1st 2012 with their research project.