What International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) PhD Fellowships actually covers.
The International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) offer fully funded PhD fellowships at the prestigious Max Planck Institutes in Germany, covering all scientific disciplines from biology and chemistry to physics, mathematics, computer science, social science, and the humanities. PhD students receive a monthly stipend of €1,365 (non-taxable grant) or employment at 65% of TvöD E13 (approximately €1,700+ net/month after deductions), along with full access to world-class research infrastructure, mentoring, and training. Max Planck Society is one of Germany's leading scientific organisations, operating 80+ institutes across Germany and internationally. IMPRS programmes are interdisciplinary and internationally oriented, drawing exceptional students from around the world. African students from all 54 countries are eligible to apply for IMPRS positions across any of the participating institutes and schools. Each IMPRS has its own application procedure and deadlines — prospective students should visit the specific IMPRS website for their research area of interest. The Max Planck PhD experience offers unparalleled access to frontier research and a path to leading academic and industry careers worldwide.
Who can apply.
Open to phd applicants seeking to study in Germany. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
Four steps to a complete application.
Scholar Africa is a discovery and tracking platform — the application itself is submitted directly through the official provider site. The steps below mirror our HowTo schema.
Check eligibility
Confirm your nationality, academic level, and field of study match the criteria above.
Eligibility checklist
Prepare documents
Transcripts, recommendation letters, personal statement, and a valid passport.
Document checklist
Submit the application
Submit before December 31, 2026 via the official portal.
Submission checklist
Track your application
Use your Scholar Africa dashboard to monitor status and deadline reminders.
Post-submission checklist
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live. Five additional checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, manual review) are on the roadmap. International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) PhD Fellowships currently scores 4.0/10.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.