Structure and Support

All IMPRS-ESM doctoral candidates participate in the Advisory Panel system. We oversee an early setup of individual Panels and supervise the routine throughout your doctorate. Experience shows that the Advisory Panel system ensures best possible support and academic supervision for our doctoral candidates. However, essential for the successful progress of the respective PhD study is an active use of the system inherent opportunities by each PhD candidate.

As IMPRS doctoral candidate you organize your courses, summer schools and retreats with help of the Office. The Office organizes the curriculum and the Office staff maintain the IMPRS-ESM academic calendar. PhD candidates may propose specific training opportunities to the Office or request filling gaps in the curriculum.

The Executive Committee approves proposed new academic training opportunities. The Office organizes the necessary steps to realize a training unit, including course evaluation and issuing certificates for successful participation.

IMPRS-ESM offers doctoral contracts to applicants who successfully pass the selection process. The amount of financial support is sufficient to make a basic living in Hamburg. Financial support is available for 3 years. The Executive Committee may grant a limited extension of an individual doctoral term, though exclusively based on accepted academic reasoning. The Office manages all issues related to financial support of doctoral candidates.

We help our international PhD candidates in finding a suitable, externally organized German language course. In-house English classes are available to all PhD candidates who wish to improve their English proficiency.

IMPRS-ESM recruited doctoral candidates are eligible to a small annual training and business travel budget (national and international). The use of these funds are depending on the agreement of the academic supervisors and the IMPRS-ESM.

The IMPRS-ESM Office serves as link between doctoral candidates and the academic staff of MPI-M and UHH. We serve as first address for PhD candidates' academic training questions, wishes and complaints.

Representatives are elected at regular intervals from among the doctoral candidates at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. The Office supports them to fulfil their role as spokespersons of the doctoral candidates and encourages external academic contacts for example to the Max Planck PhDnet, a network for all PhD candidates and PhD representatives within the Max Planck Society.

We also support PhD candidates as well as senior scientists who wish to offer a certain training unit to the IMPRS-ESM doctoral candidates, for example a special course, a seminar or other events. We also assist in case a PhD candidate – in agreement with the respective supervisor – is hosting a guest from an external research institute.

In Germany, a doctoral degree is awarded by a university exclusively. The IMPRS-ESM office offers support for the necessary administrative processes with the UHH administration. Attention: The implementation remains the responsibility of the PhD candidates.

The majority of IMPRS-ESM doctoral candidates earn their doctorate degree at the Universität Hamburg, either from the Department of Earth Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) or the Department of Economics (Dr. rer. pol.).

Please read and pay attention to the doctoral regulations that are specific to your degree awarding institution.

The IMPRS-ESM exclusively offers a structured program that serves as academic support of doctoral candidates as well as an opportunity for further advancement of individual skills by following individually selected additional training during the doctoral term. Successful PhD candidates earn a certificate (with transcript) from the IMPRS-ESM.