Applying for the Ph.D. in Medical Research

Your requirements for a successful application

To apply for the Ph.D. “Medical Research”, you must fulfill at least the following requirements:

1. A qualifying degree, i.e. a Master's degree or equivalent in medicine, veterinary medicine, a natural science, pharmacy, health sciences or a related subject amounting to at least 240 ECTS. The equivalence of the degrees is checked by the program coordinator or the MMRS.
2. APS certificate (only required for degrees from China, India and Vietnam)
3. Proof of English language proficiency at a minimum level, either:
   • EU Level B2, or
   • IELTS between 5.0 and 6.5 (where 5 is the borderline between B1 and B2), or
   • TOEFL between 87 and 109
   • The certificate must be submitted at the latest before the end of the 2nd semester of the Ph.D. program if it is not yet available at the time of application. However, the programs have the option of making the certificate an application criterion. Applicants with “native speaker” skills or who have a degree from an English-speaking university do not have to provide proof.
4. In many programs, you must submit a project proposal developed together with your future 1st TAC member at the time of application. For the individual Ph.D. Medical Research program, the 1st TAC member must also be a member of the LMU Medical Faculty.
5. Plan a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years of continued full-time research for your doctoral project. It is not possible to shorten the minimum of 3 years, divide it into different blocks or complement it with part-time research in phases. MDs should be able to demonstrate a minimum of 3 years release from their clinical duties.
6. Make sure you apply BEFORE your doctoral project begins. Research periods can only be recognized retroactively to a very limited extent.

Further specific requirements and application criteria can be found on the pages of our core areas and associated programs!

Your application to a Ph.D. core area or associated program:

• The various core areas and associated programs set their own application deadlines and select their doctoral candidates for the Ph.D. independently.
• Please refer to the respective pages of the core areas and associated programs to find out which documents are required from you in detail.

Application deadlines at a glance: