Research Stays

The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition provides support for the research of visiting scholars and doctoral candidates by means of two programs: one with financial assistance and one without.

Each year, approximately 150 guests and aspiring researchers from around the globe take advantage of the opportunities the Institute offers through these programs. During their visit, researchers are provided with a workspace in the library or in an office and full access to the library, whose collection is unparalleled for international orientation and comprehensiveness.

The programs are available to doctoral candidates, post-docs, graduates and researchers at a later stage of their career.

The Welcome Center assists guests in planning their stay.


You would like to conduct research at the Institute:

Stays with financial support

The Institute supports research projects of German and international scholars and doctoral candidates for up to six months in the form of scholarships through its own guest program. Other types of assistance exist as well; a follow-up scholarship is possible.

 

Applications are prioritized as follows:

Priority 1 – Specific research proposals
The Institute defines its research areas for periods of several years, the legal department within three research axes and their respective main areas of research, the economics department within three fields of research. Wihtin this scope, individual research projects can be freely defined.

Priority 2 – Independent research proposals
Subject to availability of funds, other research projects may be supported as well, provided these have a close enough link to the Institute’s main research topics.



Application form and materials
An application is only possible via the electronic application form (please enable pop-ups). Instructions for using the electronic application form

The following materials are required for a complete application; they can be uploaded along with the electronic application form:

  • Curriculum vitae/résumé 
  • Diplomas (especially college/university level)
  • Two letters of recommendation (For doctoral candidates with supervisors outside the Institute, one of these letters must be from the doctoral supervisor.)
  • A detailed project description (5–10 pages, including outline, bibliography and time plan)
  • Photo


Should you have any problems opening or printing out the PDF application form, please send an e-mail to: Stipendienstelle(at)ip.mpg.de


Please send any documents not available in electronic form to the Institute by post:

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

Personnel Office

Marstallplatz 1

80539 Munich, Germany



General important information
Your stay at the Institute should yield at least one scholarly publication. Your application should be submitted in full at least three months before the beginning of your stay and funding. Only complete applications will be considered.


If despite a reminder your application is not complete after eight weeks it will be rejected.




Important information for doctoral candidates:
Detailed information for doctoral candidates can be found further down on this page.

Stays without financial support

If you are planning a visit as a guest for longer than two weeks, you must apply via the electronic application form. (Please allow pop-ups.) For a stay of up to two weeks, please contact bibliothek(at)ip.mpg.de directly.


Unfortunately, due to the limited space available in our library, we are forced to limit guest stays to six months. After four months of stay, an extension may be considered depending on the availability of space.


The following documents are required for the application and can be uploaded with the electronic application form:

  • Résumé/CV
  • A letter of recommendation, for doctoral students from the thesis advisor
  • A project description of approx. 2 pages
  • Photo


Due to the fact that admittance as a guest is dependent on whether a workplace is available during the desired time period, it is absolutely necessary to indicate the exact start and end dates of your planned visit. Processing of your application is not possible without this information.


Your application can only be processed once all of the required documents have been uploaded. Please expect a processing time of two to three weeks.


Important – please note!


During your stay, you will be supervised by a senior research fellow working in the field that interests you. Supervision by a director is generally not possible.


If you already know that you will need, in case of a positive decision, an invitation for your university, your scholarship provider in your home country and/or visa procurement, please also upload a document with all the information that must be included in the invitation. A suggested wording is not required; we use our own wording.


If you want to apply for financial support for your stay in Munich in your home country, please find out in time which documents you need from us for this purpose. Please upload a complete list of these documents with your application; we cannot consider later requests for additional documents.


If the institution to which you intend to apply for financial aid requires that you provide confirmation of sufficient English proficiency, you will receive this confirmation only upon presentation of either the TOEFL test with at least 76 points if taken online or the IELTS test with level B2.


For additional questions concerning a guest visit, please contact gaeste(at)ip.mpg.de. You must also write to this address if you want your supervisor to sign documents or send documents; direct requests to the supervisor will not be answered.


For all other questions concerning your visit such as accommodations in Munich, our Welcome Center will be of assistance.

Contact

For questions concerning the application process or the electronic application form please send an email to

Dr. Eva-Marina Bastian



You would like to use our library with a guest workstation:

Information about applying for a guest workstation

If you want to use the library as a day guest or plan a stay of up to two weeks, please contact bibliothek(at)ip.mpg.de directly.


If you are planning a longer stay, please use the  electronic application form for a stay without financial support.



You would like to do a doctorate:

Information for legal scholars on how to do a doctorate or to complete a doctoral degree

If you are not yet registered as a doctoral student, please note: The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition is a research institute and not a university institute. For this reason it cannot grant academic degrees and does not have the right to award a doctorate. You can only earn a doctorate in Munich at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) subject to strict admission requirements (e.g. a language test).

For more information please contact the office responsible for master/doctoral admissions at the LMU.

If you are already working on your doctoral degree, you must provide written proof of admission to doctoral studies from your home University when applying for a research stay with financial support at the Institute.

Portal for doctoral candidates in the Max Planck Society: PhDnet

Information about doctoral programs for economics and management students



You would like to plan your stay at the Institute:
The Welcome Center will be glad to assist you!

Accommodation

Please remember to make arrangements for accommodations well in advance of your arrival. Living quarters in Munich are in short supply and are comparatively expensive. It can be difficult to find furnished rooms for only a few months. We assist long-term guest scholars and scholarship holders in this matter within our means.

Travel Planning

Before coming to Germany, there are a few things you should prepare for. EURAXESS Germany, the information and advice point for internationally mobile researchers of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has put together on its website all relevant information and a checklist, which you should observe prior to your arrival in Germany.
Here you will find additional tips which will ease your orientation in Germany, as well as all important information regarding visa formalities and entry.

Please consider that for your stay in Germany you will require health insurance and if necessary personal liability insurance.

You can find a lot of useful information about your stay at the Institute in the brochure "Living and working in Germany" by the Max Planck Society.

Some tips on the cultural and personal characteristics of Germans can be found in the brochure "How do Germans tick?" by the Max Planck Society.

Useful Links

Contact

Kathrin Schumann

Phone: +49 89 24246-217
Fax: +49 89 24246-502
Email: kathrin.schumann(at)ip-tax.mpg.de