IMPRS for Biological Intelligence PhD Programme, 2026/27 recruitment round
International Max Planck Research School for Biological Intelligence (IMPRS-BI), Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
Who can apply: You name up to five recruiting research groups in the application form and apply to the school, not to one supervisor. Applications go only through the online portal; postal and emailed applications are refused outright. Candidates with a three-year or four-year BSc from outside the European Bologna System are… What is funded: A structured doctoral programme at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Martinsried and Seewiesen, near Munich). Doctoral researchers are typically employed on regular work contracts equivalent to the German public-sector grade TVoeD E13, provided by their supervisors, with statutory health insurance… Deadline: 10 November 2026. Round: 2026/27 recruitment round.
Read the full call and apply on the official page: International Max Planck Research School for Biological Intelligence (IMPRS-BI), Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, official page.
Who can apply
- You name up to five recruiting research groups in the application form and apply to the school, not to one supervisor. Applications go only through the online portal; postal and emailed applications are refused outright. Candidates with a three-year or four-year BSc from outside the European Bologna System are normally not eligible to enter doctoral studies directly, BUT a three-year BSc holder aiming at a neuroscience group can apply to the fast-track route run with the LMU Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, which adds an intensive preparatory year, may carry a GSN stipend for that year, and starts thesis research in year two. That route is the reason this record is worth reading for a BSc student. Medical degrees such as MBBS and veterinary degrees are not eligible. Your university must be recognised by the German authorities; check it on the government's Anabin site. You need not hold the degree at application, only before you start.
Stage dates
The online application portal opens on 1 October 2026.1 October 2026
The binding deadline: submit through the portal by 10 November 2026. The school prints no cut-off time for this round; the previous round closed at 24:00 Central European Time, which is a midnight cut-off, so treat the date as the limit and submit a day early.10 November 2026
Two referees are invited from inside the portal and must upload letters of recommendation; the school confirms each one by email.See the official page
On the previous round's pattern the school emailed invitations or rejections by the end of December, held online panel interviews in mid-January and invited shortlisted candidates to Munich at the end of February. No 2027 dates are published yet.See the official page
Dates come from the funder's page for this round. When a round closes, the next round's dates replace these once the funder publishes them.