Important Information

Procedure

All applications have to be submitted via the online application system. Your application needs to be written in English. Fields indicated by a star (*) in the online application system are mandatory.

Within the online application system you will be asked to provide the following information:

  • Personal data
  • Education - Enter details of your Master's and Bachelor's studies, your (expected) grades and date of completion, as well as additional trainings.
  • Employment - Enter details of additional employment with details on your tasks. This section is not for your Master's research projects or internships, but they might have taken place during your Master studies.
  • Honours and Awards - Enter publications that are published or in review process, but please refrain from listing publications in preparation. Please list honours, awards, travel grants, scholarships and fellowships related to your research education together with a date and short explanation of the context.
  • Research Interest - Provide a motivation letter where you describe your research interest and future plans together with your motivation for these, as well as your interest in doing a PhD and the research school. Additionally, provide a description of a major accomplished scientific project, e.g. your Master's thesis. In case you are currently working on your thesis, please do not hesitate to describe your ongoing research.
  • Additional Research - Provide a description of additional relevant research projects, e.g. your Bachelor's thesis, internships, summer schools or lab rotations.
  • Study Subjects - Provide an overview of study subjects, university courses, coursework and practical trainings together with grades. Please do not list all your lectures or courses, but concentrate on the ones relevant to your application. You may also list your major fields of theoretical and practical knowledge.
  • Outside Interests - Provide information on social activities, memberships in associations, skills and interests.
  • First and Second Referee - Provide names and e-mails of two referees that agreed to provide letters of recommendations for you. As soon as you enter their details they will receive an automatic e-mail with a link, requesting that they provide us with a letter of recommendation online. Once your referees have submitted a letter of recommendation the background colour in this section will change to green. You are always able to go back and check the status of your recommendation letters even if you submitted your online application. Therefore, please do not wait with the submission of your application once you have completed the online application system. However, the deadline for the letters of recommendation is the same as the application deadline. It is your responsibility to enter the contact information of your referees in good time for them to be able to upload the letters of recommendation in time.
  • Projects - Select up to 3 projects that you are interested in working on. You may also list additional group leaders working at Helmholtz Diabetes Center Institutes that you are interested in working with. Please indicate if you are or have been affiliated with the Helmholtz Center Munich, including details of your group leader, institute and cooperation or publication partner. Also indicate if you have publications (under review) together with a researcher at Helmholtz Center Munich.
  • Proof of English Language - Indicate one of the following options: Native speaker (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, USA) or English certificate (TOEFL, IELTS, CAE)
  • Documents - The documents have to be in a PDF format with a file size of not more than 3 MB. For each qualification you have to use a merged PDF document. The following documents are required: MSc certifcate and transcript of records (In case you are still studying for your degree you may provide a provisional certificate or bona fide statement from your university, stating the examination marks already obtained. We require an official translation of your academic degree into English if it is not in English or German.), BSc certificate and transcript of records (German or English, and original language), official description of the grading system, proof of English language for non-native speakers, high school degree, and voluntarily a GRE certificate.
  • Submit and Preview - Do not forget to submit your application at the bottom of the page. Make sure that your application is complete and you have provided all the required documents. You will only be able to submit your application once the required information is complete. Mandatory information and categories are marked in red until you completed this section or uploaded the documents.

After successful submission the application will be reviewed within four weeks. Please be reminded that we may ask you to have an online video interview with us. 

Successful applicants are invited for an interview symposium which will take approximately 3 days. 

The symposium consists of a panel interview, a short oral presentation, and meetings with potential supervisors. Candidates will have the chance to arrange additional lab and group visits. On the last day of the symposium you may give a final list of 3 projects you would like to work on sorted by your priority.

Successful candidates will be offered a position by e-mail according to our application schedule. PhD students will get a work contract. There are no tuition fees, but PhD students have to register with the university to obtain a doctoral degree, where you are required to pay the university fee of approximately 130 Euros per semester. Successful applicants start their PhD projects no later than June 2022.

In case you are not accepted to the program you may contact supervisors from Helmholtz Zentrum München directly. Potential supervisors may receive further information about your application by contacting the coordinator.

If you are unable to find an answer to your question in our application section or FAQ, you need to correct your application AFTER submitting your online application, or received your final degree after the application deadline please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Good luck with your application to the International Helmholtz Research School for Diabetes!