Doctoral fellowships

In an annual international competition, Munich Quantum Valley awards outstanding young researchers with (highly prestigious) doctoral fellowships. The Munich Quantum Valley doctoral fellows selected through this competition receive a three-year ad personam fellowship – they can join any research group working at any Bavarian university. They have to find mentors willing to supervise their PhD research themselves. Being fully funded for three years, they will be welcome in many groups. They then join the graduate program with which their host group is associated.

Fields of research covered by Munich Quantum Valley include a diverse array of topics as far as they are related towards the overarching goal of building and exploiting quantum computers: atomic physics and quantum optics, solid-state physics and material science, quantum information theory, applications of quantum computers, quantum many-body systems, as well as aspects of both electrical engineering and computer science (programming languages, software for quantum computing, execution environments, design automation, computer architecture).

The highly selective Munich Quantum Valley fellowship competition envisages awarding five fellowships per year. However, during the competition candidates will also be screened by individual Bavarian research groups seeking to fill PhD positions funded via other channels (e.g., Bavarian, federal or European funding schemes). Such groups will be able to screen the list of applicants themselves, attend their talks online, identify highly qualified candidates and recruit them to their own PhD positions. Thus, the number of applicants finding PhD positions is potentially much larger than the number of available MQV doctoral fellowships.

Munich Quantum Valley doctoral fellows and other doctoral students associated with groups related to Munich Quantum Valley will benefit from the existing graduate programs at their respective universities or research institutions. In addition, they will be able to participate in some of the QST summer schools and workshops organized by partners or Munich Quantum Valley, such as the two International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) associated with Munich Quantum Valley, on Quantum Science and Technology (IMPRS-QST) in Munich and on the Physics of Light (IMPRS-PL) in Erlangen.

The Munich Quantum Valley fellowship program is committed to recruiting extraordinary students from diverse backgrounds. We explicitly encourage female candidates to apply and welcome students from all countries!

Applicants must have completed a Master’s degree (or an equivalent degree) with very good grades by the end of September 2024.

The call for applications will be open from 1 November 2023 until 15 January 2024. Applicants selected for interviews will be informed around the middle of February 2024. Interviews will be conducted online at the beginning of March 2024. Candidates selected as Munich Quantum Valley fellows will be informed by the middle of April 2024. They have to find a research group and make a binding commitment within two months after the announcement of the results of the selection procedure. They can then start their doctoral studies at any time after completion of their Master's degree, but not later than 1 December 2024.

To get an impression of the research conducted within Munich Quantum Valley, consult our list of research groups.

Application form 

For questions about the application procedure, please contact mqvdfp(at)physik.uni-muenchen.de.