Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Universität Potsdam, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung
All mandatory courses and lectures are held in English. Candidates may choose to attend German language courses as well.
Application window is 24 October to 24 November (for a start in the following summer/autumn)
Please see the website for the exact timeline.
Science of Intelligence (SCIoI) is a joint Cluster of Excellence of Technische Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin that focuses on better understanding intelligence in all its facets, exploring which fundamental laws and principles underlie different forms of intelligence – whether it be artificial, individual, or collective intelligence.
SCIoI offers a unique, interdisciplinary, three-year structured doctoral programme in which promising early-career researchers have the opportunity to work on/develop their own projects. The participating scientists are thus creating a unique research and training environment that is highly attractive to highly qualified intelligence researchers.
At SCIoI, we try to identify the principles of intelligence, shared by all forms of intelligence, no matter whether artificial or biological, whether robot, computer programme, human, or animal, and how we can apply these principles to create intelligent technology.
To reveal the principles of intelligence is a long-term goal. Therefore, the cluster is devoted to the training of the next generation of intelligence researchers. This next generation of researchers will be “natives” in our Science of Intelligence and will ensure a deep and lasting integration of the discipline.
Doctoral candidates acquire a strong foundation for interdisciplinary work by attending classes across the participating disciplines and exploring research methods and topics to which they have not been previously exposed.
All doctoral researchers at SCIoI must complete the teaching programme. The curriculum consists of core courses (mandatory for all), elective courses and soft skills courses.
Credit distribution:
36 months (six semesters)
180 ECTS (150 doctoral thesis, 30 teaching programme)
The doctoral programme is planned over six semesters, or 36 months. It is recommended to complete the majority of the teaching requirements within the first four semesters.
The teaching programme includes courses from the following disciplinary areas:
Doctoral candidates also participate in the following:
The university fee for doctoral candidates currently amounts to approx. 100 EUR per semester (= six months) and includes an enrolment fee and a semester contribution for the student support service. The optional "Semester Ticket" (public transport travel pass for students, covering the whole of Berlin and Potsdam, valid for the entire semester = six months) costs around 200 EUR per semester. There are no additional fees for doctoral students.
All positions at SCIoI are salaried full-time positions (TVL-13, 100%).
All doctoral positions include enrolment in the cluster's doctoral programme as well as participation in research colloquia, lecture series and workshops, and active engagement in the Cluster's research activities.
General requirements for all applicants to the doctoral programme:
For each position, further specific requirements apply.
Applicants should demonstrate a very good command of written and spoken English:
Alternatively, applicants can provide proof of an equivalent qualification (e.g. a Master's degree from a programme conducted in English).
Application window is 24 October to 24 November (for a start in the following summer/autumn)
Please see the website for the exact timeline.
Please visit our website for open positions.
SCIoI is a joint project between Technische Universität Berlin (TU) (which hosts SCIoI's central offices) and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU). However, SCIoI also includes research groups located at Universität Potsdam, Freie Universität Berlin, the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
About the TU: With about 100 course offerings and 40 institutes, TU Berlin is an institution steeped in tradition and one of the largest, internationally renowned technical universities in Germany. Roughly 35,000 students study here — a university of excellence in the heart of Berlin. The university conducts interconnected research at the highest international level into fundamental principles and their applications. Using its entire breadth of subjects, TU Berlin is establishing innovative fields and promotes inter-faculty research activities with external key players. Six characteristic key application areas form the framework of these activities along with the Clusters of Excellence approved by the federal and state governments in the Excellence Strategy, one of which is our cluster, Science of Intelligence.
About the HU: The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is one of Germany's universities of excellence, and it ranks among the top ten German universities. Scientists at HU research socially relevant topics and challenges of the future and communicate these with the public. Every year, about 800 academics from abroad spend time at Berlin's oldest university. Additionally, researchers from HU are welcomed at various international universities, where they conduct projects or field studies and teach as guest lecturers. HU helps students prepare to study abroad, providing consultation to international students and academics regarding all questions relating to their stay in Berlin. Through the creation of international networks, HU plays an active role in furthering intercultural research and teaching.
The SCIoI headquarters are located in the Technische Universität Berlin building in Marchstr. 23, in Berlin Charlottenburg. But some of the research take place at other Berlin locations, which include the Humboldt University labs, Adlershof, the IGB in Müggelsee, and the Freie Universität as well as at Potsdam University.
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