Application Process
Primary Admission Process
In a multistep process the candidates most suitable for the program will be selected. The entire process is accompanied by the Institute's Equal Opportunities Officers (EQOs) to ensure a fair and unbiased procedure.
The 1st step – preselection – will be mainly carried out by the IMPRS Coordinator. Applications are checked for completeness and general match to the programme. In a second step, each pre-selected application is evaluated according to pre-defined criteria by three IMPRS faculty members. Based on the evaluations of the faculty, candidates are ranked. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited for the admission interviews (virtual). During this event, applicants will have the opportunity to get to know the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging and its participating institutions via presentations and virtual guided lab tours. In the evening of day 1, there will be a virtual social gathering, with IMPRS faculty of all participating institutions, current IMPRS students, and the applicants.
Candidates will be interviewed module-wise, usually by the panel to which their preferred supervisors belong. Applicants are asked to give a 12-minute presentation, which will be followed by 13 minutes of discussion with the panel. The candidate’s previous research training, experience, and research interests will be discussed. Each interview panel will rank and grade its candidates.
Following the interview days, an IMPRS Board meeting will take place. During the meeting, the evaluations of each panel will be presented to the IMPRS Board. The Board decides on which candidates will enter the next step of the admission procedure, i.e. the matchmaking phase. The respective candidates will be informed about this decision in due course after the interviews. Candidates who are invited for the matchmaking phase have then time until mid March to establish a match with a supervisor who will offer the candidate a position in their group/department. On this occasion, candidates will have the possibility to visit the lab of their preferred supervisor(s) and meet with members of the respective labs.
The Board will finally approve the established matches between candidates and supervisors and will admit those candidates to the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging.
Alternative, Secondary Route of Admission
In special cases where doctoral students from faculty members have been recruited with direct funding from the faculty or 3rd party funding outside the annual recruitment process, students have the opportunity to become a member of the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging by a secondary route of admission. The formal procedure is identical to the primary route of admission. Candidates are asked to submit their application through our online application portal and are interviewed by a panel consisting of at least three faculty members (including at least one Board member). The IMPRS Coordinator and one of the EQOs also attend such interviews. The IMPRS Board approves admission to the school. The IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging offers specific dates for flexible admissions three times per year to ensure that those students can join and benefit from the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging as soon as possible.
In total, the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging aims to recruite 20-25 doctoral researchers per year.