Fellowships within the research training group
Admission and formal requirements for the doctorate
The program of the Research Training Group aims at promoting the scientific independence of the students and at qualifying them for their future careers in leading positions in academia (both basic science and clinical/ translational medicine), and industry. To create synergy and exchange between disciplines, the program will be open to both, biologists and medical doctors (MD degree). In accord with the European Bologna Process, biologists will be required to have a Master of Science (MSc) degree in order to be eligible for the PhD training program. Both biologists and medical doctors may receive the PhD title upon successful completion of the three year structured training program and the public defence of a thesis written in English. As a key legislative requirement for a PhD program in English, the Faculty of Biology and the School of Medicine at the University of Mainz have recently created a joint PhD order under the law of Rhineland-Palatinate that has been approved in June 2006 by The Senate of the University of Mainz. Therefore, as a truly innovative feature for Mainz, the program will be able to award a PhD title instead of the title “Dr. rer. nat.” that is usually awarded to PhD students in Mainz.
Potentially excellent candidates for the Research Training Group will be identified as follows:
- Formal invitations to apply for the program will be published in Nature, Immunity, Die Zeit and Science and in the internet (homepage of the graduate school; ScienceJobs.de). All projects of principal investigators will be described on the homepage of the program.
- Applicants will be asked to submit their CV, a proof of their skills in English, copies of all final grade certificates and a letter of recommendation from a professor of their home university. Furthermore, potential candidates will have to identify potential projects of interest for their PhD thesis and explain the reasons for their choices.
- The steering committee will select potentially suitable applicants and get in contact with the corresponding principal investigators. If they are interested in the candidate, formal interviews preferentially by inviting candidates to Mainz (or in case of unacceptably high travel costs by telephone) will take place. The program aims at recruiting the top 5% of students in biology or medicine from foreign universities. Suitable candidates will finally be offered a position in the program after interviews with members of the PhD committee.
Both biologists and medical doctors will have a salary that is highly attractive and will facilitate recruitment of excellent students from abroad. In addition to their base salary, medical doctors will be allowed to participate in clinical rounds at weekends to compensate for financial losses and to promote their clinical career.
