CWalker

Has anyone heard of them? I just recently started researching one of the institutes in my field and it seems that they're doing some pretty amazing things, but I was curious if they're more renowned than I previously thought. Since they are independent from the various universities that they are associated with, world rankings (for what they're worth) don't apply.

limnieng

One of the most well funded, prestigious and established research institutions in the world. They admit graduate students interested in pursuing research in the fields that they are interested in to work amongst them.

However, they do not per se grant degrees, they are, as mentioned, a pure research organization. The graduate degree you get is granted by a university in association with the Max Planck (I can't remember, it's either a german or dutch university, I think).

CWalker

The university that grants the degree varies between the institutes...most are in Germany. What I found so appealing is that they will (or at least the institute I was looking at will) accept and fully fund PhD students from any university in the world. Your home university grants the degree, but you have access to Max Planck $, researchers, and facilities. It seems almost too good to be true.

YOU

CWalker, are you going to do your PhD at Cambridge (with funding?)? Where did you do your undergrad?

Max Planck is popular.. producing many nobel prize winners.. one of them last year is from Max planck if I'm not mistaken

YOU

Do you need to know German to do research there?

CWalker

No you don't need to know German (at least not at the one I was looking into). You can take German courses, but that is optional. I was surprised to see that many of the researchers were American.

I am indeed going to Cambridge for my PhD. I start in October. I have secured partial funding already, but I'm still waiting to hear from the Cambridge Trusts. Everything seems to move VERY slowly so I'm not holding my breath. I was looking into Max Planck as another potential source of funding...and I went to UCSD for undergrad...

shreya.iitk

My father was doing research at the Max planck in Dresden, Germany a year ago: Everyone speaks english and they pay you pretty well.

CWalker

What field is your father in? And congrats on Carleton!

YOU

CWalker, good luck!!!

shreya.iitk

Thank you! and my father's a theoretical physicist.