Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

The Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) was founded in 2007 and is funded by the German Excellence Initiative. GGNB is a joint enterprise between the University of Göttingen, three Max Planck Institutes, and the Leibniz Institute German Primate Center.

Eleven international doctoral programs are united under the roof of GGNB, including three International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). The GGNB doctoral programs differ in their scientific focus within the broad field of neurosciences, biophysics, and molecular life sciences. With its 400 PhD candidates and 180 faculty members, GGNB is currently one of the largest graduate schools in the natural sciences in Germany, integrating top-level research and promoting close scientific collaboration on the Göttingen research campus and beyond.

While most of the GGNB doctoral programs require a Master's degree in the natural sciences as entry level, GGNB also includes two integrated MSc/PhD programs (IMPRS for Molecular Biology and Neurosciences), which accept outstanding Bachelor's graduates and offer a "fast track" option to continue with a PhD project after one year of intensive course work.

GGNB doctoral students are funded from one of a variety of sources, including GGNB excellence stipends, GGNB junior group fellowships, GGNB bridging funds, individual fellowships by other third-party grants, and institutional, or departmental funds.

The primary goals of GGNB are to provide an excellent research environment for PhD candidates and outstanding research-based training program that prepares for a career in academia, science management, or industry. Each PhD candidate is affiliated with one of the GGNB doctoral programs, which provides individual counseling and guidance by a thesis committee. Training includes lectures and seminars, advanced methods courses, courses and workshops in professional skills, and other activities such as student-organized scientific meetings, industry excursions, and cultural events. Participation in international meetings is encouraged and supported by travel grants. While the focus is clearly on the individual research project, PhD candidates can tailor their individual curriculum by choosing from more than 200 courses and events offered by the graduate school every year. All courses are in English.

It is a particular strength of the Göttingen research landscape that method development and top-level biological research are traditionally linked, which has produced internationally recognized discoveries. For instance, the Nobel-prize winning inventions of the temperature-jump techniques (pioneering the measuring of ultrafast kinetics) and of patch-clamping (which has revolutionized electrophysiology) have been complemented with discoveries such as the highly sensitive procedures for magnetic resonance imaging, siRNA as a tool to knock down protein expression, and sub-diffraction far-field microscopy (4PI- and STED microscopy). The contribution of physics to the life sciences is expanding beyond pure technology towards the development of new physical concepts and theories. Together, breakthrough technologies and new conceptual approaches constitute strong drivers for current research.

GGNB welcomes qualified students to join our vibrant international research community, structured along scientific interests and shared facilities, thus transcending traditional institutional boundaries in a manner that is quite unique in Germany.