General information on internships
The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences is happy to offer internships to students of disciplines relevant to the Institute's research. Core computer skills are essential, as preparation, conducting, and analysis of experiments are all computer based. A good command of English would also be of advantage - working language at the Institute is English, and most papers are published and presentations are held in English.
Internship offers
Please also visit the German-language offers for internships.
If you are interested in an internship, please apply directly to the research or method groups or the departments in which you would like to do your internship.
Please send your complete application documents (CV, letter of motivation, transcript of records, certificates and letters of recommendation /if available/ in English and in a pdf file) to the heads of the research groups or to the contact persons indicated on the department websites.
For orientation, you will find our current brochure in the margin.
| Departments | Contact |
|---|---|
| Department of Neuropsychology | greiner@cbs.mpg.de truemper@cbs.mpg.de |
| Department of Neurology | ketscher@cbs.mpg.de mutu@cbs.mpg.de |
| Department of Neurophysics | seknphy@cbs.mpg.de |
| Department of Psychology | doellerlab-internship@cbs.mpg.de |
| Methods & Developoment Groups | Contact |
|---|---|
| Nuclear Magnetic Resonance | moeller@cbs.mpg.de |
| Brain Networks | maess@cbs.mpg.de knoesche@cbs.mpg.de |
| Neural Data Science and Statistical Computing | nscherf@cbs.mpg.de |
| Computing and Databases Services | thenmarkus@cbs.mpg.de |
| Independent Research Groups | Contact |
|---|---|
| Research Group Learning in Early Childhood | skeide@cbs.mpg.de |
| Research Group Cognition and Plasticity | hartwigsen@cbs.mpg.de |
| Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics | valk@cbs.mpg.de |
| Minerva Fast Track Group Milestones of Early Cognmitive Development | bewerbungen-milestones@cbs.mpg.de |
| Minerva Fast Track Group Neural Codes of Intelligence | theves@cbs.mpg.de |
| Max Planck Research Group Language Cycles | lmeyer@cbs.mpg.de |
| Max Planck Research Group Pain Perception | eippert@cbs.mpg.de |
| Max Planck Research Group Vision and Computational Cognition | hebart@cbs.mpg.de |
Before applying, please read the FAQs:
You have to be enrolled in either a Bachelor’s or a Master’s program, that is, at the time of the internship.
You should be pursuing a degree in a field related to the institute’s work (most commonly Neuroscience, Psychology, Linguistics, Medicine, Biology, Physics). When specific interest in a project is declared, and upon conferring with potential advisors, interns pursuing related degrees in Math or IT are also considered.
Yes. Although most of the applicants already hold a bachelor degree, it is not a requirement for your application.
No. Due to new internship regulations, graduate students who already hold a Master´s degree are no longer eligible to do an internship at our institute.
International students are also welcome to apply for an internship. We are happy to provide support in the process of applying for the appropriate visa or finding accommodation here in Leipzig. Please note, if you are paid a stipend (e.g., Erasmus), internships will not be compensated by the MPI CBS.
The MPI CBS offers two types of internships:
- mandatory internships: are those required as part of your study curriculum
- voluntary internships: are not obligatory but are organized on your own initiative
Yes. We need a signed statement from your university that indicates the duration and conditions of the required internship. An extract or description, copied from a course description by you, is not sufficient.
We need the signed statement as soon as you are accepted as an intern in order to prepare your contract. Without this statement you cannot begin.
The minimum duration for a voluntary internship is 8 weeks and the maximum is 12 weeks. If you have already done an internship with the Max Planck Society, even at another Max Planck Institute, applying for a second voluntary internship is not possible.
Most interns do their internship during their semester breaks, i.e. between August and mid-October and between February and mid-April (German university vacation).
However, an internship period must not be split up.
Yes. If you are interested in applying for an internship at the Clinic of Cognitive Neurology please contact the clinic directly.
https://www.uniklinikum-leipzig.de/einrichtungen/tagesklinik-neurologie/
Yes. Interns receive compensation of 450 Euro per month for a full-time internship. Part-time interns are compensated accordingly (for example, 225 Euro per month for 50 % of full-time work hours). If you will be receiving a stipend from another source (e.g., Erasmus), the internship will not be compensated by the MPI CBS.
Please clarify content-related questions directly with the research groups or department in which you are interested. If you have any further formal questions about internships at the MPI CBS, please contact personal@cbs.mpg.de.