FULLY FUNDED PhD at the MDC, GERMANY

Fully-funded PhD positions

We are committed to meet today’s challenges in biology and medicine and realize that excellent science requires outstanding researchers. If you aspire to be one of them – welcome to the MDC! 

Calls for PhD candidates open in Spring and Fall each year (usually around May for Fall recruitment, and in November for Spring recruitment). 

For details on eligibility and application process, please see tabs Eligibility and Application manual. For further information, make sure to visit the FAQ section, and the pages of the Application portal.

Recruitment process

We have set up a multi-step recruitment process with the goal of identifying people with right mix of skills, experience, and future potential. This involves an assessment of the application based on academic accomplishments and professional experience, presentations, structured interviews, and on-site visits.

Our communication policy aims to maintain an objective and fair hiring process for all applicants. Communication between candidates and institute will be primarily by e-mail. We acknowledge every submitted application immediately with an automatic e-mail response. During the hiring process, all successful applicants will receive notifications on the next steps via e-mail. In due course, candidates who have not been short-listed will be informed by email. 

We value diversity and are committed to carrying out a transparent recruitment process for every position. There may be minor variations, but in general our selection process has the following structure:

Application

Applications are submitted through the online recruitment portal.

Application screening and interviews

Following the application deadline, applications will be checked for eligibility and reviewed by the hiring committee.

Interview week in Berlin

Short-listed applicants will be invited to visit the MDC in Berlin.

Offer

After the interview week, all candidates will receive feedback within a few days.

We adhere to principles of responsible research, good scientific practice, openness and transparency, and are committed to setting a good example as a scientific environment where scientists can flourish and grow, independently of their national or ethnic background, functional variation, sex/gender identity/alignment/orientation, family configuration, or other such feature of their persons or contexts. 

Funding

PhD researchers are fully funded through an initial 3-year employment contract with the MDC. Salaries are competitive to national standards, according to 65% TVöD 13 (monthly net payment of approximately 1600 EUR). Health and social insurance are included in the contract. In many cases, contracts are extended for an additional year. All PhD researchers are expected to complete their doctoral research and thesis in 4 years. The university tuition fees per semester are approximately 350 EUR, and include public transportation ticket.

Berlin

The MDC is situated at two locations in Berlin: majority of infrastructure is located on Campus Berlin-Buch, a modern science and biotechnology park with a clear focus on biomedicine. Since April 2019, the laboratories and offices of the MDC-BIMSB are located in our new building on the campus of Humboldt-Universität in Berlin-Mitte.

Frequent and radical changes through Berlin’s turbulent and noticeably present history have transformed the face of the city many times over. But despite this, the city has succeeded in becoming a thriving metropolis, with a population of 3.7 million people. Extraordinary wealth of cultural opportunities attract increasing numbers of visitors, making Berlin one of the most popular destinations in Europe. It boasts a lively scene with lots of pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafés. Densely urban areas coexist with large green spaces, nature reserves, lakes and rivers, all within the city boundaries, offering a truly metropolitan lifestyle.

Official website