Application

Dear student,
if you are interested in applying for admission to the Ph.D. or Qualification program of the Bonn International Graduate School of Mathematics we kindly ask you to read carefully the following information about the required documents. Applications have to be submitted electronically through our online application platform. Click here to apply.

The application page will open 1 October. The deadline is 30 November 2023 for admission in April or October of 2024.

The next deadline after that will be 15 April 2024 for admission in October of 2024.

Funding

If you hold a M.Sc. degree (or equivalent) or are expected to complete your degree prior to the beginning of your prospective Ph.D. studies, you may be awarded a Hausdorff  doctoral position. These positions are awarded for a period of three years. They amount to over 1800 EUR/month (TV/L 13 75%) and include health and social insurance.

If you hold an M.Sc. degree, but do not feel prepared to start research for a thesis immediately, you may apply for a Qualifying scholarship for the duration of one year. The Qualifying Year is not a one-year MSc program nor is it a preparatory year for the PhD without an MSc degree. We do not offer an integrated MSc/PhD program.

This award carries a monthly stipend of 861,00 EUR. During this period you may follow advanced courses in our English language Master Programme. After successful completion of the preparatory phase a transfer to the regular Ph.D. programme is intended. The deadlines for the one-year scholarship is the same as for the Ph.D. program: 30 November or 15 April, respectively.

To advance opportunities for female researchers in mathematics, it is intended to award at least 40 percent of the available scholarships to women, and preference will be given to suitably qualified female candidates, all other considerations being equal. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Materials required for the application to BIGS:

Please note that you cannot upload attachments larger than 2 MB!
Your documents must be in English or German!
Use short English or German file-names without special characters (&, umlaut, tilde, etc.)

1. Funding

   1. Indicate your funding situation.

      Are you applying for one of the Hausdorff PhD positions or a qualifying grants? If you indicate that you need funding by ticking the box, you will be considered for one, or alternatively for third party research funding. Currently we have, for example, funding for foreign applicants through the  DAAD.

      When evaluating your application BIGS will screen the local funding possibilities. Are you interested in other funding possibilities and have you contacted faculty members or one of our department institutes?

   2. Indicate your housing needs.

      University dormitories are almost entirely reserved for undergraduate students. Only Qualifiying PhD students may be accepted. For these BIGS can reserve a room for up to two terms.

   3. Check if you meet the visa requirements.

      Students from most countries outside the European Union will have to apply for a visa to study in Germany. Please inquire about the details from the German Embassy or a German Consulate in your home country. We are not asking you to get a visa before applying, we are asking you to check the information before you send the application, so that you know how long it will take to get a visa when you need one.

2. Curriculum Vitae

   Please, include in tabular form a description of your high school education and your undergraduate/graduate education, as well as your academic and non-academic occupations.

3. Statement of purpose

   Please, write a statement of up to two pages giving the reasons for your wish to do research and why you are applying at our university. State in which field of mathematics your main interest lies, and describe your background in this field. State if you know or are in contact with someone of our faculty and who might therefore be a possible advisor.

4. Degrees and Academic Records

   Include the diplomas of your academic degrees (bachelor, master, or diplom) and the transcripts of the courses, including marks or grades. If there is no transcript provided by the institution you received your degree from, make a detailed list of all courses and seminars you have attended.

5. Proficiency in English

   Please include evidence of your proficiency in English. Please submit one of the following:

   -- results of a test (TOEFL, IELTS or similar)

   -- a note showing previous instruction in English. If you studied in an English language program and this is obvious from the transcript, then upload a note stating that your instruction was in English.

   -- the record of English courses taken.

   -- if you are an English native speaker, upload a note stating this.

    

   Your ability to speak English should be on the level of the TOEFL with results of 550 points (written test) or 80 points (internet-based test). If you wish to have TOEFL results sent to us directly, our institution code is 5177.

   NATIVE ENGLISH OR GERMAN SPEAKERS and those with a degree earned in a program conducted in English are exempt from providing the results of a language test. Please add a note to this effect to the appropriate field, or else you will not be able to send the application.

   The language of instruction is English, the thesis can be written and examinations can be taken in English. We recommend you learn some German while you are here, to make it easier for you to get around.

6. Letters-of-Recommendation

   We need at least two letters from tenured faculty who can provide information about your academic performance. Please, forward the Questions for Letters-of-Recommendation to the person writing about you. Please, make sure that we receive the recommendation letters from your referee, preferably by e-mail to bigs@math.uni-bonn.de or by post to:

   Bonn International Graduate School in Mathematics
   University of Bonn
   Endenicher Allee 62
   53115 Bonn
   GERMANY

   These letters MUST arrive before the deadline.

7. Examples of academic work

   If available, please send us a copy of your MSc thesis or the draft of your thesis, or a chapter of your thesis or a substantial example of your written academic work in English (or German) or a substantial English /or German) abstract of your bachelor, master or diplom theses, or published work. The academic work should reflect your mathematical development and should therefore be of substance. Just make sure the sample is no larger than 2 MB and in English.

8. Interviews

   Interviews for applicants in November will take place December and January, for applicants in May they will take place May and June. Invitations will be sent to those candidates selected to be interviewed.

   Note that the schedule for our Welcome Program for new PhD students will be announced here in the spring/summer respectively. We are looking forward to receiving your application!