The application and admission process in GGNB for Route 1 and Route 2 candidates


I. The GGNB office will check the fulfillment of all formal requirements for admission upon receipt of the application package:

Master's degree in the natural sciences or mathematics, including a Master's thesis with a minimum duration of six months. Please note that due to the peculiarities of the German university system, medical degrees are not considered as equivalent to an MSc in the natural sciences.

English proficiency / language requirements: Candidates have to be fluent in written and spoken English. Candidates whose mother tongue is not English can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English e.g. by internationally recognized tests such as TOEFL or IELTS or equivalent achievements. During online application, applicants can indicate proven higher education in English or a reasonably long stay in an English-speaking country, if applicable. Knowledge of the German language is not required, but international students will be offered opportunities to take German courses.

Reference letters (optional): During online application, two referees are indicated by the applicant who are able to comment on her/his personal and academic background and who can be contacted for references if the admission panel decides so. This information is sufficient for your application. Should you have letters of recommendation available, these can be included in your application package in separate and closed envelopes, stamped with the institutional seal and signed personally by the referee. References can also be submitted by a referee directly to GGNB office via e-mail. Notice that only letters of reference submitted from an institutional e-mail address will be considered.


II. Application and selection:

For Route 1:
1) Screening by admission board: The admission board of the respective PhD program will screen the applications and will forward forward promising applications to the indicated preferred research groups. If successful,
2) interview with leader of preferred research group: If a research group is interested and has a free PhD position, the group leader will usually conduct an interview by telephone or Skype (or another video conferencing tool).
3) If the candidate has passed the first interview, he/she will be invited to Göttingen for further interviews and a presentation in front of the admission panel (travel expenses will be reimbursed by GGNB).

For Route 2:
1) Screening by admission board reg. the qualification of the candidate and the thematic fit of the prospective PhD project. If successful,
2) the candidate will be invited to Göttingen for further interviews and a presentation in front of the admission panel (travel expenses will be reimbursed by GGNB).

Applicants will be informed about the status of their application approx. 8-12 weeks after the receipt of their application. If you have any further questions, please contact Susanne Kracke (ggnb@gwdg.de).


III: Admission:

If the candidate is succesful in his/her presentation and a supervisor has agreed to offer a PhD position, the candidate will be admitted to one of the doctoral programs of GGNB. The GGNB Office will issue all necessary documents for enrollment.


IV. Enrollment:

All doctoral students have to be enrolled at the University of Göttingen for the entire duration of their PhD thesis project. PhD students can enroll throughout the year, i.e. independent of deadlines. Once you have been notified about your admission to GGNB, you are asked to enroll/matriculate at the University of Göttingen within four weeks.

For information on the enrollment procedure, see information provided by the Registrar's Office.

The administrative fee of approx. 300 EUR has to be paid every semester. Doctoral students who receive a scholarship from public German funding schemes (e.g. DAAD, Max Planck Society) pay a reduced fee (by approx. 75 EUR) upon presentation of their official scholarship confirmation to the Registrar's Office when handing in their documents for enrolment.