The MPA has positions available for students and postdoctoral researchers, visiting researchers, and permanent staff. Please visit the links above to read about open positions and funding sources.

Diploma and Doctoral Theses at MPA

Diploma theses at MPA
MPA staff are affiliated with the physics faculties of both the Munich universities. Students at the LMU or the TU who are interested in completing a Diplomarbeit in theoretical astrophysics are encouraged to visit the institute and to talk to staff scientists about possible projects.
The MPA also encourages physics students with good grades from other German universities who wish to carry out their astrophysics Diploma work in Garching. In such cases the thesis must be formally supervised by a scientist in the home institution who then maintains contact with the de facto supervisor on the MPA staff in order to monitor the student's progress.
Interested students from any institution are encouraged to explore the MPA web-site to locate fields of interest and then to contact the scientists working in these areas.


Doctoral theses at MPA
The MPA has research funds available to support the PhD work of students at the institute. These stipends are normally allocated for two years, renewable for one further year. Students are expected to complete their degree within three years. Funds are available both for German and for non-German students and are allocated competitively. Applications from students with external sources of funding are also welcomed. From September 2001 the MPA will be recruiting students through the International Max-Planck Research School in Astrophysics (IMPRS) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, a joint initiative of the MPA, the MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, the European Southern Observatory, and the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the LMU. Participation in this school will offer a number of advantages: for details and instructions for application see the IMPRS-website.

The MPA will also continue to admit students independently of the International Max-Planck Research School. Such students will normally be registered for the degree at one of the two Munich universities and are required to have good grades in the German 5-year physics degree, or its foreign equivalent. In some cases it may be possible for students to remain registered in another university, for example in their home country, but to carry out their research at MPA.

Prospective students are invited to explore the MPA web-site to find subject areas of interest. They should then contact the scientists responsible for these areas directly to find out about the availability of projects and about the detailed application procedure. Applications can be received at any time.

PhD studentship for the Study of the Cosmological evolution of Supermassive Black Holes with the LOFAR telescope