Funded PhD positions in Germany (TV-L contracts)

Fact sheet

Funding

Salary ≈ €2,500–3,800/month gross (TV-L E13, 50–100%)

Typical deadline window

Year-round — positions are job ads, not scholarship cycles

Application fee

None

Language test

Usually none for the job itself (most research groups work in English)

Where you study

Germany

What it covers

• ✓A real employment contract with social security and pension contributions
• ✓Health insurance through the employer
• ✓No tuition (only a small semester fee)
• ✓Paid vacation and German labour-law protections

1. 01Set keyword email alerts on EURAXESS and academics.de — good positions close in 2–4 weeks.
2. 02'65% TV-L E13' in an ad means 65% of the full salary scale — normal in life sciences; engineering and CS positions are often 100%.
3. 03Cold emails work when they cite the professor's recent papers and propose a concrete direction in 10 lines. Attach CV and transcript, nothing else.
4. 04Structured programmes (Max Planck IMPRS, Helmholtz and Leibniz graduate schools) bundle these positions with cohort training and recruit once or twice a year — they're the same salary with more support.