Facts about the School
The Berlin School of Mind and Brain (M&B) is an international and interdisciplinary graduate research school. It was established in 2006 and receives its funding through the Excellence Initiative (an ongoing German Federal and State Governments initiative since 2006 to promote excellent science and research at German universities), the Einstein Foundation Berlin, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The school is a founding member of the Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin (ECN) and a first-prize winner of the Einstein Doctoral Programme 2017 to 2019 prize for the best doctoral programs at Berlin universities. From 2018 to 2023, DFG Research Training Group 2386 on "Extrospection" will be part of the school.
Information in print
M&B Alumni Careers
76 pages, published in January 2019
Read about the astounding variety of post-M&B careers in interviews, statements, and other entertaining formats.
Read this book or free download (pdf 2.2 MB)
M&B Alumni Careers
29 pages, published in September 2014
Read about post-M&B careers in interviews.
Read this brochure or free download (pdf 0.5 MB)
Booklet “The First Ten Years”
Our researchers, from Master’s students to faculty members, present their projects and interests
Published in 2016. Download pdf 3,300 kb, 104 pages
The First Ten Years
Themed brochures on the six main Mind and Brain research topics
Read about researchers, their projects and interests
Internal link to our “Newsletters”
Neuroschools Germany
Brochure on Master's and doctoral programs in the neurosciences in Germany
Neuroschools in Germany (pdf brochure 2023)
Mind & Brain mailing list
Announcements of scientific events and jobs
Subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to: mind.brain.verteiler-subscribe@lists.hu-berlin.de
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Facts & Figures
1 The Berlin School of Mind and Brain was founded in 2006. Since 2007, the School runs a highly successful interdisciplinary three-year doctoral program in English.
2 In 2017, the Berlin School of Mind and Brain’s doctoral program won the first prize in the Einstein Doctoral Programme 2017–2019 competition for the best structured doctoral programs at Berlin universities. Read more ...
3 The Berlin School of Mind and Brain is a founding member (since 2016) of the Einstein Center for Neurosciences (ECN) Berlin.
4 For the funding period 2018–2023, DFG Research Training Group 2386 "Extrospection" will be part of the school. An extension application until 2027 is under way.
5 Since 2013, the Berlin School of Mind and Brain runs a very much sought-after research-based Master’s program “Mind and Brain” (two tracks, M.Sc. and M.A.) in English. Applications are usually invited 1–31 May of each year (please check for dates, eligibility and requirements via internal link to Admission).
6 The focus of research at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain is on the interface between the humanities and behavioral sciences with the neurosciences. Main topics of research are: ‘perception, attention, consciousness’, ‘decision-making’, ‘language’, ‘brain plasticity and lifespan ontogeny’, ‘mental disorders and brain dysfunction’, and ‘human sociality and the brain (social cognition)’.
7 What do ‘mind’ or ‘brain’ in education and research stand for?
Mind: humanities and behavioral sciences such as philosophy, linguistics, behavioral and cognitive psychology, neuroeconomics, neurology and psychiatry (though depending on research question and methods).
Brain: neurosciences such as neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry (though depending on research question and methods).
8 Interdisciplinary research: it is our mission to train outstanding young scientists to become experts in one of the relevant fields, to provide them with knowledge over the gamut of mind and brain research, and to give them the ability, and the opportunity, to cooperate with researchers from other disciplines.
9 The Master’s and doctoral training programs cover all fields relevant to mind/brain-related research. Doctoral candidates engage in a teaching program which lays the foundations for interdisciplinary work. Courses are held mainly during the first half of the doctoral program. Master’s students have their own study program.
10 The school has an interdisciplinary faculty of supervisors, lecturers, and members of its various committees. They are based at different universitites and institutions within the Berlin metropolitan area (three universities in Berlin, Potsdam, Leipzig, Magdeburg). Through funding awarded by the Excellence Initiative the Berlin School of Mind and Brain was able to establish and fund several especially established teaching and research posts: a full professorship in philosophy of mind, a full professorship in social cognition, an adjunct professorship in lifespan ontogeny, an adjunct professorship in decison making, a junior professorship and an assistant professorship in medical psychology, two assistant professorships in philosophy of mind, one junior professorship in neurology and two assistant professorships in psychiatry. Read more: People
11 Each year the Berlin School of Mind and Brain accepts a new cohort of approx. 40 Master’s students and approx. 10-15 doctoral candidates into its programs. The school currently currently hosts 65 doctoral candidates and 150 Master’s students. Read more: People
12 Doctoral supervision: doctoral candidates will be supervised by (at least) two professors. Usually, one is from the ‘mind sciences’ and one from the ‘brain sciences’.
13 There are no tuition fees payable for our programs. For the university's administrative fees for each semester (6 months), consisting of the administrative fee, contributions to the student union and student facilities, and to the public transport travel pass for Berlin and Potsdam (the latter is obligatory for Bachelor’s and Master's students) - see Fees. Doctoral candidates pay the same administrative fees, but the travel pass is optional for them. Master’s students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers on stipends will have to pay for their health insurance and personal liabilty insurance.
14 Funding: Each year, both the Berlin School of Mind and Brain and the Einstein Center for Neurosciences (of which the School is a founding member) can offer a number of doctoral scholarships to the best applicants. Students who were accepted but not successful in winning one of the scholarships will receive support in obtaining alternative sources of funding (e.g. an externally-funded scholarship, or a research post with one of the research groups).
15 Doctoral candidates will be offered academic soft-skill courses (e.g. scientific writing, grant-application writing, high-performance presentation), mentoring, and career counseling. Candidates are also obliged to take part in journal and methods clubs and to attend the Berlin School of Mind and Brain’s weekly lecture series.
16 The Berlin School of Mind and Brain is a founding member of Humboldt Graduate School (HGS) which was also established in 2006. HGS is an umbrella support organization for doctoral and postdoctoral education at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. HGS offers services to doctoral candidates including academic soft-skill courses. The Berlin School of Mind and Brain is also a member of Dahlem Research School, the equivalent umbrella institution at Freie Universität Berlin.
17 The Berlin School of Mind and Brain closely collaborates with neuroscience graduate schools in Berlin, especially with the four doctoral programs Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Medical Neurosciences, Computational Neuroscience, and the Max Planck School of Cognition. It is a member of the Network Neuroschools Germany and of the Network of European Neuroscience Schools (NENS).