Admission

Only complete online applications which have been submitted by January 15 can be considered for admission. Online registration closes on January 15, 24:00 h CET. Ideally, all letters of recommendation have been submitted at that time as well. Please make sure to inform the persons writing these references for you early enough. Reference letter reaching us after January 17 cannot be considered in the evaluation of your application.

Admission to our Neurosciences Program involves three stages: (1) Evaluation of the online application, (2) evaluation of short-listed candidates (approx. 20% of all applicants) in 15-min interviews, and (3) evaluation of candidates who qualified for the final stage of the admission process (top 50) in 30-min interviews. We process all applications as soon as possible. Please refrain from inquiries regarding the status of your application. We will notify all applicants when the results become available.

Stage 1: Evaluation of online applications (mid-January)
Our admission board evaluates all applications considering the academic qualification and motivation. Shortlisted candidates will be notified within approx. one week after the application deadline that they have qualified for 15-min interviews (see below). At the same time, unsuccessful applicants will be informed about the status of their application.

Stage 2: 15-min interviews (February 05 - Feburary 09, 2024)
Approximately 25% of all applicants will qualify for the second round of the three-stage admission process and participate in 15-min interviews with members of our admission board. These interviews are held online via zoom.
The 15-min interviews focus on short questions to determine the background knowledge of the applicants. We are aware that our applicants come from different fields and we expect their background knowledge to vary considerably depending on the subject of the previous studies. However, we also encourage students with a non-biology background to apply. All applicants should have a basic knowledge in the fields of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Cognitive Sciences, and Molecular Biology though. To enable a comparable interview situation for all applicants, the applicants will be asked 1-2 questions related to the scientific interest and experience they indicated in their application. To cover a good spectrum of topics, short and concise answers are expected from the candidates. Further details will be included in the invitations sent by email.

Stage 3: 30-min interviews (February 19 - 23, 2024)
Approximately half of the applicants who passed the 15-min interviews qualify for the third and final stage of the admission process. They will be invited to two 30-min interviews with members of our admission board. These interviews will also be held online via zoom. Further details will be included in the invitations sent by email.

Notification on admission
Our admission board will reach its decisions based on the online application, the 15-min interviews, and the 30-min interviews. All applicants who participated in the interviews will be informed about the results immediately afterwards, latest by beginning of March.