Springe direkt zu Inhalt

Center of Infection Biology and Immunity

How to Apply

Welcome to our instructions on how to apply to our program. Please take your time to read them carefully in order to make sure you submit a complete application that we can consider.

All applications will have to be submitted through our online application platform linked to this website (see below) that will open on  22nd November 2021 and close 2nd of January 2022 midnight CET. Please do not send any other type of application by regular mail or by e-mail. They will be discarded! For your online application please prepare:

  • a formal CV
  • your certificates & transcripts
  • Language certificates (in case English is not your native language)
  • the contacts (including email & phone) of two referees
  • your research interests and motivation
  • further supporting documents
  • which project (host group) you would like to apply to (you can choose up to 3 projects in order of preference)
  • a user account (registration) on our application platform

You can ONLY apply by using the online application platform. Before being able to apply, you first need to register and verify your user account. Once this is done, you can start your application.

IMPORTANT: You do not have to submit your application in one go. However, please make sure you always save the filled in data before changing to the next page or before logging-out. All saved information will be still available to continue the application process at a later time. Be sure to submit your application before midnight CET on 02/01/2022. Registered but not submitted applications will be disregarded.

Online application form

  • The online application form must be completed in ENGLISH only.
  • Please make sure that all your personal details including your email address and postal mail address are up to date and valid as we will be using them to communicate with you throughout the whole application process.
  • In the "References" section you will have to provide us with the contact details of two referees that support your application. This is an important part of your application! Our system will automatically inform your referees to submit a reference as soon as their data has been saved - even before submission! We strongly advise you to pick your referees carefully and inform them about their role BEFORE you apply. Please consider that your referees will only have time to submit their references until January 3rd, 2022. Please make sure there are no typos in the referee contact details! Otherwise, our system will be unable to contact them. IMPORTANT: Applications without 2 submitted references will be disregarded.
  • You can choose your research group preferences (up to 3) according to the project descriptions. The order in which you make your picks is usually interpreted as a tentative ranking. This influences who of the faculty members will evaluate your application. However, it does not limit your choice at a later stage by any means! Once you are invited to our online assessment week, you will have the opportunity to meet every faculty member that offers a project und can still change your mind.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you review and submit the complete application before the deadline on 2nd of January, 2022. Once the application has been submitted, no further changes or additional uploads of documents are possible. Successful submission will be confirmed by email to you shortly after submission.

Please keep in mind: The application period is also a busy time for us as coordinators. Therefore, we will not be able to reply to you promptly. We will also not answer any requests on the status of your application! We will regularly inform on the progress of the application process.

The application platform is live from Monday, 22nd of November 2021 until 2nd of January 2022 midnight CET.

Click here to see project descriptions

APPLY NOW - The application platform is closed


Selection procedure

Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, this year, the selection process will be fully online.

Pre-selection:

Deadline for submitting your application is January 2. Referees can submit their response until January 3. Applications will be reviewed by the IMPRS-IDI and ZIBI offices, followed by faculty review. A first short listing will take place by the end of January. Candidates will be informed latest by 31st of January 2022 whether they have been selected to continue in the selection process.

Online Selection Week:

After an online assessment, candidates passing will be invited to the final assessment step, the Selection Week from February 21st to 25th, 2022. We regret not to be able to meet applicants in person, but will try our best to make the selection week as “personal” as possible. During the week, candidates will present their previous or ongoing research and go through different forms of panel and individual interviews. We will also organize some social activities to give candidates the opportunity to chat to PIs outside the interview setting and ask other PhD students about their live in Berlin and in their labs.

Decisions:

After the final decision by the board of the IMPRS-IDI and ZIBI graduate school, offers will be sent out the week starting March 7, 2022. Deadline for accepting an offer is March 31, 2022. Start dates of the projects are individual and to be discussed with the recruiting project leaders. Earliest start dates will be in May 2022.