PhD Programmes in Germany 2025

The Graduate School Life Science Munich (LSM) offers an international doctoral program for motivated and academically qualified next-generation researchers at one of Europe’s top Universities – the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.

Organizations around the world in various domains like education, business, civil society, and government are challenged by unprecedented complexity. What is demanded of organizational leaders now is often far beyond their current capabilities. Meridian's EdD in Organizational Leadership has been developed to respond to this capability gap. The curriculum design enables students to cultivate an ecology of competencies in support of their own capabilities as leaders, as well as in coaching other leaders and consulting with teams and organizations. Students in this program work with faculty who are highly skilled practitioners and are deeply engaged in transformative projects.

The Doctorate in Business Administration has been designed in order to provide the necessary knowledge and expertise to managers and leaders of the business and industrial sector. The doctorate combines taught modules in advanced management theory and practice along with training in the necessary methodologies and techniques to carry out doctoral research in business and management.

The HFA doctoral students are given the opportunity to benefit from the wealth of experience and outstanding expertise of their supervisor while building up a research network. It is possible to pursue a Ph.D. in various STEM-related subjects according to your previous academic background, such as engineering, informatics, natural sciences/mathematics, and psychology/medicine. Ph.D. students of the Hector Fellow Academy are employed as research assistants for a period of three years. The salary corresponds to the internal regulations at the University of the respective Hector Fellow.

International Ph.D. in Economics. Université Côte d'Azur (UniCA) international Ph.D. in economics offers training in traditional economic disciplines - like microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, financial market analysis, industrial organization - and training in disciplines embedding a complexity-based perspective such as computational economics, experimental economics, the analysis of financial and economic networks.

The education and promotion of young researchers is a key aspect and ingredient for the successful operation of the Graduate School Cluster of Excellence‚ CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter. Substantial parts of the scientific work are performed by researchers at the early stages of their careers. In particular PhD students and postdocs represent the driving force and backbone of modern scientific developments due to their impartiality, fresh views, and enthusiasm.

The DIW Graduate Center (GC) at the German Institute for Economic Research welcomes applications from highly qualified post-graduate students from around the world to enroll in its structured doctoral program in Economics.

The Ph.D. in Psychology curriculum offers coursework in Psychology drawing on spiritual traditions, somatic practices, creative arts, mythology, indigenous wisdom, literary and poetic imagination, deep ecology, mystical philosophy, cultural history, and social critique. The Ph.D. program emphasize research, clinical, and cultural praxis skills as well as acquiring the knowledge base of psychology as a profession. The research coursework prepares students for the completion of an original research dissertation. The Ph.D. in Psychology is designed to meet the educational requirements for the state of California Psychologist license. The Ph.D. in Psychology also meets the educational requirements for the state of California MFT license (Board of Behavioral Sciences, Senate Bill 33, Section 4980.36, Business and Professions Code), and the state of California Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), (Senate Bill 788, Section 4999.33, Business and Professions Code), provided that fieldwork is done in accordance with BBS requirements.

The PsyD in Clinical Psychology curriculum offers innovative coursework in Psychology to prepare students for professional practice, including core, clinical, and research courses. The core curriculum provides a foundation for the clinical and research courses, supporting the student’s evolving relationship to clinical engagement.

DU - Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA). An Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) is a gold card to securing executive positions across a wide spectrum of global business domains. The program provides a platform for you to leverage your experience and management expertise to generate new knowledge and insights.

The Graduate School’s support concept for doctoral students is modelled on the well-established structure developed in the doctoral programme ‘Manuscript Cultures’, which started with the SFB 950 ‘Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe’ in 2011.

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) on Subcellular Architecture and Dynamics (IMPRS-CBP) is an international doctoral training program hosted by the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

The Max Planck School of Photonics (MPSP) is a top-tier interdisciplinary graduate school in Germany that provides a unique PhD program (as well as a combined MSc and PhD program) in Photonics for excellent graduates from all over the world. We are not a single university, but a network of 19 top universities and research institutions across Germany. Therefore, we combine the knowledge of the best researchers and offer our students a unique graduate school experience: • Full funding and no tuition fees • Excellent teaching and research facilities • Outstanding network of world-renowned Fellows • Additional curriculum bundling the knowledge of our Fellows and preparing you for your career • Very good connections to industry After completing our "study phase" or if you apply with a qualifying MSc degree you can start your PhD research project. In the 3-year "research phase" you conduct your doctoral project in photonics under the supervision of our MPSP Fellows at one of our 19 research institutions.

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neural Circuits was established in 2011 and offers around ten fully-funded doctoral fellowships every year for talented students holding a relevant Master´s or Bachelor´s degree as their highest degree. The program is taught in English.

Unique in the world and waiting for you! The EMBL International Ph.D. Programme, originally established in 1983, represents the flagship of EMBL's commitment to first class training and education. Internationality, dedicated mentoring and early independence in research characterize our programme. Considered to be one of the most competitive Ph.D. training schemes to enter, we are committed to providing EMBL Ph.D. students with the best starting platform for a successful career in science.