Scholarship Description: The Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (GSN) at LMU Munich invites applications for several PhD scholarships in Neurophilosophy. International students are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
The GSN is the teaching entity for the Munich Center for Neurosciences – Brain & Mind (MCN), offering an integrated program of study which takes students from their bachelor to a master or doctoral degree.
Degree Level: Scholarships are available to pursue Ph.D. programme.
Available Subject: Scholarships are awarded in Neurophilosophy. Projects in the research centre fall in the following areas:
- Philosophy of cognitive neuroscience (explanation, reduction)
- Philosophy and cognitive science of agency (mental causation, free will, moral psychology, abilities)
- Philosophy and cognitive science of reasoning (e.g. deductive and non-deductive reasoning, logic and neural networks, decision making)
- Ethics of neuroscience (research ethics, enhancement)
- Philosophy of perception
Scholarship benefits: Since the 2013 winter semester, students of Bavarian universities are no longer charged tuition fees.
In general, PhD students receive funding from their supervising research group. Additionally, the GSN currently supports a small number of PhD projects, specifically in neurophilosophy.
Students admitted to the PhD Fast-Track program receive during their first preparatory year a monthly stipend (€800) from the GSN. After successful completion of the preparatory year, fast-track students enter the PhD phase of the program and usually receive funding by their supervising research group.
Currently, MSc students do not receive funding. However, various scholarship programs can be accessed, such as those offered by DAAD. In addition, master students have the possibility to take on labour research assistant positions.
Eligible Nationalities: International students are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for this scholarship you must meet the following requirements:
- Have a genuine interest in neurosciences
- Seek interdisciplinary training in order to understand the brain as a whole
- Hold an appropriate degree (see program requirements below) in biology, medical sciences, engineering, physics, bioinformatics, computer sciences, psychology, philosophy or other related fields
- The program is highly competitive, therefore above average grades are of advantage
- Promising candidates holding a Bachelor degree may be recommended by the selection committee for direct admission to the PhD fast-track program, linking The Master and PhD programs with a preparatory year before the dissertation phase
- If you wish to learn more about the main objective and curriculum of the Master and the PhD program, including the fast-track option, please look over our teaching pages.
- Note: Applications are welcome even if the required degree has not been awarded by the time of application, BUT the degree must be conferred before courses start the following October.
PhD and Fast-track program eligibility requirements:
Applicants for the GSN PhD program must hold an MSc or equivalent degree in biology, psychology, medicine, physics or related fields. Exceptionally qualified students holding a Bachelor’s degree can apply for the PhD fast-track program.
If you have started a doctoral neuroscience research project within the last year, but would like to achieve a PhD degree according to the standards of the GSN regulations, you may also apply. In this case, you should have secured your own funding for the duration of your PhD project.
Master’s eligibility requirements: Applicants for the MSc Program “Neurosciences” must hold a Bachelor or equivalent degree in biology, psychology, medicine, physics, philosophy or related fields.
English Language Requirements: English is the Lingua franca of the program, and thus a good command of English is required for participation.
Non-native English speakers should demonstrate adequate knowledge of the English language during the interviews in Munich; however, the submission of English language proficiency test is not required.
Application Procedure: The application includes an outline of your proposed research project, a CV, an official transcript of your academic work (list of attended courses; grades), diplomas and two separate academic reference letters. Please also name two potential supervisors (including one non-philosopher) from the core or affiliated neurophilosophy faculty of the GSN.
- Completed online application form(only available during the application period). Your completed online application form must be submitted by 12 o’clock noon CET on February 15th at the latest. You may save changes to your application before submitting.
You will need to have the following documents prepared for upload as PDF / scanned documents:
- CV (max. 2 pages)
- Official transcripts/records of study: detailed documentation of your academic work (list of courses attended; grades if applicable)
- Diplomas: certificates of relevant examinations (e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, plus relevant intermediate exams)
- Motivation statement (check here the exact format)
- Research experience exposé (max. length 2,000 characters) – describing all research experience which you consider relevant for us to know – mandatory for allPh.D.D applicants, except those in Neurophilosophy: Extra document requirements for neurophilosophy applicants
Please note that the research experience exposé is NOT about listing the methods used in your research, as a special field for methods listing has been established in the online application tool.
- Two separate letters of recommendation (deadline: 12:00 (noon) CET on February 21st!)
Letters of recommendation need to be submitted by the referee him or herself.
On the online application form, you will have to fill in the referee contact tabs and follow the instructions to authorize the coordination office to invite the referee to submit his/her letter of recommendation electronically, on your behalf.
Your referees will need to fill in an evaluation form as well as a recommendation letter.
Please be aware that your application can only be processed after we have received both letters of recommendation. Therefore, please make sure that your referees have enough time to submit recommendations by the deadline (12:00 (noon) CET on February 21st).
Online Application
Deadline: February 15, 2018