Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025 in Germany

The Max Planck Summer Internship Program allows highly motivated undergraduate students to work in one of the labs at the Max Planck Institutes of Neurobiology (the future Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence) and Biochemistry. Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

Get latest opportunities in your email

About Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025

Opportunity Details

The program will introduce you to various scientific techniques and laboratory methodologies. The Max Planck internship program aims to give great students diverse research experiences and expertise to advance them early in their careers.

Benefits of Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025

You will benefit from the following items:

  • Monthly stipend of around 800 Euros.
  • Accommodation
  • The Max Planck internship grants will compensate for interns’ travel expenses.

Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025 Requirements

You must fulfill these requirements:

  • The application is open to excellent and enthusiastic students from all countries with top grades.
  • They must come from biology, chemistry, computational biology, biophysics, neuroscience, and related fields.
  • Applicants should have bachelor’s (second year and onwards) and master’s students with some research experience.
  • Must be enrolled at university during the internship or completed their degree in 2025.
  • Highly competitive (17 out of 4000 accepted last term).
  • Demonstrate English certificate (TOEFL: 80; IELTS: 6.5)

To assess your chances, answer “YES” to the following questions:

  1. Are you at least a second-year Bachelor’s student or enrolled in a Master’s program?
  2. Do you have research experience in a laboratory setting?
  3. Are you in the top 10% of your class or have a GPA of at least 3.7 (USA), distinction level (UK), or 1.6 (Germany)?
  4. Can you provide a meaningful letter of recommendation from a university professor or group leader?
  5. Do you study at an internationally recognized university (top 500 in World University Rankings 2022)?
  6. Was your academic training in English, or do you have an English certificate (TOEFL: 80; IELTS: 6.5)?
  7. Will you be enrolled in a university during the summer of 2025?

Required Documents

Below are the required documents:

  • CV (PDF, max. 1-2 pages)
  • Transcript
  • Provisional transcripts
  • Document qualifying for university studies (typically high school degree)
  • Recommendation Letter
  • Motivation Letter
  • If an applicant’s academic training was not in English or German, a language proficiency certificate (such as IELTS or TOEFL) is necessary.

Selection Criteria 

Below are the selection criteria for the 2025 internship program:

  • The program committee will evaluate and select students based on their grades, research experience, CV, motivation letter, and reference letter.
  • There are a limited number of internships available.
  • Host labs will conduct Skype, Zoom, or other methods of interviews with pre-selected students interested in working in their labs.

Application Date and Process

The application platform will probably open between January 1st and February 15th 2025 (24:00 CET). Registration would then close on February 10th. After your registration, you will be able to log in and to upload your application files at the application platform.

All information need to be submitted in English or German. Please provide a respective translation if original transcripts are in a different language. Upon submitting your complete application, you will receive an automatic confirmation email.

Letter of recommendation

Applicants need to name and invite one referee through the online application platform. We recommend that you personally contact your referee before triggering the email invitation. Please keep in mind that applications lacking the letter of reference after the deadline for submission are incomplete and cannot be processed any further. Please ensure that the referee submits the letter of recommendation before the deadline.

You will receive an automatic confirmation email, once your referee uploads the letter of recommendation.

Scholarship Application Portal

View details of Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025

Apply for Max Planck Summer Internship Program 2025

Get latest opportunities in your email