Positions

PhD Student Positions: currently no positions available

All applications should be sent to:

Additional information for self-funded applicants: We commonly receive about 10 applications per week, adding up to over 500 applicants per year. Clearly, we cannot admit all 500 applicants just because they have their own funding. Self-funded applicants commonly have funding for their own stipends but not for their research projects and we cannot fund 500 projects with the grants we receive. Therefore, only a very small selection of applicants can be interviewed and only if space and mentoring capacity allows. Self-funded applicants still need to undergo an interview process and an interview cannot be guaranteed. Prof. Merkel will not sign any host letters without a proper interview process and will not host mentees if space and mentoring capacity don't allow for it. Please also refrain from resending applications. All applications are screened in a fair and unbiased manner. If your application is not selected for an interview, resending the application will not make a difference but will only fill up the application inbox. We thank you for your understanding.