International Graduate School of Neuroscience

Requirements

For the PhD program, applicants must hold a Master’s, Diploma or equivalent degree in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, electrical engineering, mathematics, psychology, or other related fields and should have completed an experimental thesis. Medical students must hold the equivalent of an MD. The degree should be obtained by August 2025, at the latest.

Competition for the available positions is strong. To be considered for the program, the final grade of the obtained degree must be equivalent or better than the grade “good” (Note 1.7- Gut) in the German educational system. The following information for selected countries and regions gives an indication of grade levels.

The minimum level of country specific requirements for applicants who wish to apply for the international program at the IGSN is:

• Eastern Europe: minimum grade of 5.0/6.0
• India: minimum grade 75% or GPA 7.5/10 with NET/CSIR; applications from IITs and the IIS are especially welcome
• Pakistan: minimum 75% or GPA 3.8/5.0
• China: minimum 80% or GPA 3.2/4.0 (applicants from China will require official certificate from the Akademische Prüfstelle at the German embassy in Beijing)

In addition applicants should fulfill the following prerequisites:

• We only accept applications from foreign (i.e. non-German) nationals. Please understand that applications from German citizens may not be considered for the DAAD scholarships. (All other applicants are welcome to apply for our PhD program. For more information please see here, or contact us on igsn@rub.de )
• Applicants should not have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months by the end of March 2025 (time of application).
• At the time of the application, the last final exam (e.g. MSc, Diploma…) should have taken place no longer than six years ago.
• Applicants have to apply using our online application.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered!
• Fluency in English is a prerequisite; knowledge of German is not essential, but welcome.

All courses, lectures and seminars at the IGSN are held in English. Thus, selected candidates must be fluent in written and spoken English and will be required to document their proficiency in English. Therefore, prior completion of a “Test of English as a Foreign Language” (TOEFL) or a test by the “International English Language Testing System” (IELTS) is strongly advised. A test is not needed if:

• you are a native English speaker, or
• your entire education has been in English, or
• you have studied at least six months at an English-speaking school or university, or
• you can prove your proficiency in another way.