The Doctoral Programme of Experimental Geosciences at the University of Bayreuth has been awarded a prestigious DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP). This programme offers up to two doctoral scholarships to start in 2026 for international candidates. Each DAAD scholarship covers a funding period of up to four years.

Scholarship recipients not only have the opportunity to complete a DAAD-funded doctorate at the University of Bayreuth but also become part of the Graduate School of Natural Sciences BayNAT. Doctoral students can expect an international and interdisciplinary research environment with individual support and supervision at the Bavarian Research Institute of Experimental Geochemistry and Geophysics (BGI).

We are delighted to welcome talented young scientists in Earth and Planetary Sciences from around the world and to provide them with the best possible conditions for their academic careers.

We seek motivated graduate students interested in the broad research areas of the BGI related to studying the formation, structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth and planetary interiors using:

• Experimental petrology and geochemistry
• Mineral physics
• Computational high-pressure physics and mineralogy
• Isotope cosmochemistry and geochronology of planetary materials

Potential academic supervisors at the BGI for DAAD doctoral projects starting in 2026 are:

Prof. Dr. Audrey Bouvier. Petrological and isotopic studies of meteorites and samples returned from space missions to understand the processes and timescales of formation of the Solar System and planets. Development of new geochemical tracers and mass spectrometry techniques with applications to planetary, geological and mineral resource research. Email: Audrey.Bouvier@uni-bayreuth.de

Prof. Dr. Johannes Buchen. Experimental measurements of the physical properties of geomaterials to constrain their role and behaviour in (deep-)earth processes. Experiments using diamond anvil cells to probe the physical properties of minerals at high pressures with the objective of understanding the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s interior. Email: Johannes.Buchen@uni-bayreuth.de

Prof. Dr. Tomoo Katsura. Investigation of the structure, dynamics, and evolution of the Earth's mantle through experimental studies of the physical and chemical properties of minerals and rocks. Research focuses on determining phase transitions, melting, electrical conductivity, and rheology of mantle constituents under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions using multi-anvil press techniques, particularly those relevant to the mid-mantle. Email: Tomoo.Katsura@unibayreuth.de

Dr. Yuan Li. Experimental geochemistry and early planetary sciences focusing on the chemistry of volatiles, carbon, sulfur, hydrogen and nitrogen. Siderophile and chalcophile elements partitioning in various magmatic systems. Email: Yuan.Li@uni-bayreuth.de

Dr. Gerd Steinle-Neumann. Atomistic simulations on physical properties of planetary materials with the goal of improving our understanding of the state and evolution of planetary interiors. Email: G.Steinle-Neumann@uni-bayreuth.de

Application requirements:

• At the time when the DAAD receives the nomination letter, applicants must not have been resident in Germany for more than 15 months prior to the nomination.
• At the time when the DAAD receives the nomination letter, applicants should not have graduated any longer than six years before the time of nomination.
• At the starting date of the scholarship/preparatory German course (optional), applicants must have completed their studies with a master's degree or equivalent.
• Applicants must hold an above-average Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Earth Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, or Material Sciences.
• Applicants must not have completed a doctorate previously.
• Applicants must have very good knowledge of written and spoken English, preferably documented by relevant language certificates.

Step-1: Application documents (until December 20^th 2025)

• A curriculum vitae, a motivation letter, a copy of diplomas and transcript of records (BSc. & MSc.), and 2 letters of recommendation;
• if possible, a copy of the MSc thesis (as a pdf file <5 MB size);
• a short project idea (~400 words) of the planned doctoral research based on a discussion with a potential academic supervisor of the BGI listed on page 1 of this document.
• English language certificates (if available)

Step-2: Candidate selection (January – February 2026)

• A selection committee of the Doctoral programme will review the applications and select six candidates for submitting an extended research proposal and for attending an online interview.

Step-3: Candidate nomination (March 2026)

• A shortlist of four applicants will be sent to the DAAD. Nominated applicants will further have to submit their application documents to the DAAD.

Step-4: Final decision (April – June 2026)

• The DAAD will handle the final selection of two doctoral students.
• The two applicants selected by the DAAD will be offered a full doctoral scholarship, funded by the GSSP programme.3
• Scholarships will start between July 1st and December 1st, 2026, pending on the DAAD procedure and successful visa application.

The scholarship includes:

• scholarship payments of currently € 1,400 per month;
• a travel allowance;
• payments towards health, accident, and personal liability insurance cover;
• a research allowance of currently € 460 per year (for scholarship holders from countries listed in the DAC List of ODA recipients), or € 260 per year (for scholarship holders from other countries).

Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may receive the following additional benefits:

• Monthly rent subsidy (calculated individually, usually about € 50 to 125 per month);
• monthly allowance for accompanying family members (about € 200 child allowance per child and about € 275 marriage allowance);
• in the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers;
• a preparatory German language course (if available, applicable, and feasible, taking into account the starting date of the scholarship).

Please submit your complete application via email (mentioning DAAD GSSP in the subject line) to ExpGeoDAAD@uni-bayreuth.de by December 20^th, 2025.

Two informative 1-hour sessions will be held on Zoom at dates to be determined. To receive the Zoom links and for other questions, please contact us at ExpGeoDAAD@uni-bayreuth.de.

Download flyer  : BGI_DAAD_CallOct2025.pdf