Requirements & process

Formal requirements

Applicants to the PharMetrX Research+ Program must hold a university degree in natural sciences or medicine (e.g., should hold the 2. Staatsexamen of the Pharmacy curriculum, or a Master’s degree in Bioinformatics or Mathematics). Application with preliminary results is possible, however, applicants must hold their university degree before starting the PharMetrX PhD Program. All applicants have to demonstrate a profound knowledge in pharmacology, clinical pharmacy, systems biology OR mathematical modelling, and have to have obtained grades that are above average compared to their peers.

Applicants to the PharMetrX Training+ Program must also fulfill the above requirements. In addition, we require that applicants have not yet completed the first year of their PhD studies when entering the PharMetrX program by March, and that they can prove their financing.

Application documents

Both, for application to the PharMetrX Research+ Program, or the PharMetrX Training+ Program, we ask for the following information/documents (PDF files, in English only, unless stated otherwise)

• Personal statement: What is your motivation to apply for the PharMetrX PhD program? (max. one page)
• Curriculum vitae
• Academic records: in German or English, including a legend (definition of marks)
• Contact details of two researchers (professor/group leader): these will be contacted through the online application system to provide and upload a letter of recommendation each supporting your application. We do not accept letters that have been uploaded by the applicant. (signatures can also be electronically)
  

We would like to inform you that the Admission Board will take into account any special circumstances that may have affected your academic performance or academic career, incl. circumstances that caused your studies to take longer or led to an interruption, e.g.,  illness, disability, maternity/paternity leave, family responsibilities, financial issues, etc. Any such information you provide will not have a negative influence on your application. The aim is to help the Board members to assess your academic performance given the circumstances. Any information you provide is on a voluntary basis. Should you wish to do so, please provide it in your CV or upload it as a separate document.

Before applying, you should ensure that (i) you have the consent of the two researchers to provide a letter of recommendation and (ii) the two researchers have time to provide their letters in time (see Deadlines). During the application process, you will be asked to send an automated email request to the two reviews through our application system. It is your duty to ensure that the two researchers submit their letters of recommendation in time to complete your application. We recommend to kindly ask the two researchers to notify you (e.g., by e-mail) when they have uploaded their letters of recommendation.

For common questions regarding the application documents, please see the FAQs.

Application process

Admission to the PharMetrX PhD program is once yearly. The call for application starts in July and ends September 15th; the application process is online only. We only consider your application if both, your information/documents as well as the two letters of recommendation have been uploaded.

For common questions regarding the application process, please see the FAQs.

The application reviewing process differs depending on the program.

• Applications to the PharMetrX Research+ Program will be evaluated based on the uploaded information/documents/letters of recommendation. In a first step, a shortlist will be compiled by the Admission Board. In a second step, all shortlisted applicants will be jointly invited for two-day personal interviews (see Deadlines) at the Freie Universität Berlin.
• Applications to the PharMetrX Training+ Program will be evaluated solely based on the uploaded information/documents/letters of recommendation, i.e., without personal interviews.

Final decisions will be communicated to all applicants via email; for details see Deadlines.

Start of new PharMetrX PhD student year

There are two starting dates, one regarding the start of the Module Curriculum, and one regarding the start of individual PhD research projects:

• Students of both programs, the PharMetrX Research+ Program and the PharMetrX Training+ Program, jointly start the Module Curriculum in March each year.
• As a student of the PharMetrX Research+ Program, the start of your PhD research project is oftentimes also in March, but can be determined individually. For your university and research topic, please see FAQs (At which university will I be enrolled?).