Applications for PhD positions now live on university website

You can now apply officialy through the university website for a PhD project in my group! The deadline is 31 March 2022. I am so excited to see many motivated and talented applicants, and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to make a selection. I hope to be able to invite as many of you as possible for an interview, to give everyone a fair chance.

How can you make your application stand out? Be sure to include all the relevant documents: Cover letter, CV, and research summary of your previous projects. Each of these documents is equally important: the letter is the first impression I will get from your application, and is where you should outline your motivation to join this research field in general, and my group in particular. You can also mention any topic that doesn’t fit well in the other documents, e.g. details about other job experiences/volunteering work, common interests and connections, etc. But most importantly: show me your enthusiasm! Be sure that after reading your cover letter, it is clear that you really want to do this project, and that you didn’t just copy/paste a standard text. In the CV, mention everything that is relevant to your education and career. Where did you study what and how successful were you? Who did you work with and what was the topic and most important methods you used? Do you need ideas for layout or content? Check out my very own CV. Finally, your research statement is meant to showcase two things: one, that you have experience in doing research, ideally in a field that is related to the projects in my group, and two, that you are able to properly explain your research, which is not only an important skill as a scientist, but also shows that you were really involved with that project and know what you are talking about. Don’t forget to include the contact details of two referees that you worked with in the past, and make sure your application mentions all your published output, which includes of course papers and book chapters, etc., but may also be theses, posters, art, and (most importantly for applicants for a computational project) code (e.g. your github page). Nothing published yet? That’s no show-stopper! Just be extra careful to demonstrate in your application that you have relevant experience and are really motivated.

Good luck with your applications, and talk to you soon!

PS: I heard from a few applicants that the website does not send a confirmation email after submitting the documents. If that happens to you - don’t worry, it is normal; your application has been received.