- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
or
Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr rer nat)
- Course location
- Göttingen
- In cooperation with
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Göttingen)
- Teaching language
- • English
- Languages
- All mandatory courses in the curriculum are offered in English, and all examinations required can be performed in English. Additional optional courses are held in English (90%) or German (10%). The teaching module can be done in English or German. The PhD thesis should normally be written in English, but can also be written in German upon request.
- Programme duration
- 6 semesters
- Beginning
- Only for doctoral programmes: any time
- Additional information on beginning, duration and mode of study
- Review of complete applications begins after the deadline for the most recent call. Applications will by default be for a starting date in September of the following academic year, but a different individual starting date may be negotiable.
- Application deadline
- Several calls per year
Please plan ahead for any admission tests that you may be required to take, e.g. English language test or a GRE subject test in physics or chemistry (no GRE for geosciences). Please also plan ahead to inform and get consent from two academic referees who agree to submit reference letters on your behalf.
Applications for the PhD programme in Solar System Science (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/application) may be submitted in response to an IMPRS call for applications (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/applynow), issued at various times per year (please see current schedule (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/application)).
Applications in response to an IMPRS call for applications must be submitted through the online application portal (https://www.application.mps.mpg.de/public/). You may create an account for your online application for an upcoming call at any time. You will be able to save, edit and preview your application data without restrictions before submission.
Upon submission of the application, requests will be sent out to the two referees that you have named, with a deadline to submit reference letters no later than two weeks after the deadline for the call. Your submitted application will only be complete once two letters of recommendation have been uploaded and submitted by your referees.
- Tuition fees per semester in EUR
- None
- Combined Master's degree / PhD programme
- No
- Joint degree / double degree programme
- No
- Description/content
- The PhD programme is research-oriented and covers the full range of solar system science from geophysics and planetary science to solar and stellar physics including helioseismology and asteroseismology, as well as the underlying fundamental physics. Click here (https://www.mps.mpg.de/solar-system-school)to read more.
The science programme (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/research) is complemented by a training programme (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/curriculum) in computational physics, data analysis techniques, space technology, project management, scientific writing, and presentation and other skills. Space missions and ground-based instruments, data analysis as well as theoretical and numerical modelling provide excellent research opportunities for PhD students. Solar system science research subjects (https://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/open-projects) include cosmochemistry, small bodies in the solar system such as comets and asteroids, the interiors, surfaces, atmospheres and magnetospheres of the various planets, the interior of the sun and sun-like stars through helio- and asteroseismology, the sun's atmosphere from the photosphere to the corona, and solar wind and the heliosphere. Sun-Earth relations, extrasolar planetary systems and sun-like stars are also studied. Methods of research include instrumentation, observation, data analysis and theoretical modelling.