The joint Oxford-Max Planck graduate training programme in quantum materials provides candidates with the opportunity to pursue an Oxford Doctorate in Philosophy (DPhil) in Condensed Matter Physics (CMP) in the field of quantum materials, while working on a joint research programme with Oxford and Max Planck supervisors. By joining this highly-competitive programme, students will have access to cutting-edge instrumentation and facilities available in Oxford and at the relevant Max Planck Institute, and will pursue some of the most exciting research projects available in this field worldwide – see list of projects on the quantum materials page. Students will be jointly admitted to the programme by the CMP subdepartment of Oxford's Department of Physics and by the Max Planck Graduate Centre for Quantum Materials (MPGC-QM).
Programmes of study will usually be four years; students will spend approximately two years of their project at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University and two years at a Max Planck Research Institute. Specific dates and time periods for individual students will be set out in an offer letter, but please note that this programme has residency requirements both in Oxford and in Germany. Each student will be supervised by a University of Oxford supervisor and a Max Planck supervisor as set out in the offer letter – potential supervisors can be found on the quantum materials page. The following Max Planck Research Institutes currently admit students on this programme:
(i) the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden;
(ii) the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden;
(iii) the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart;
(iv) the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg;
(v) the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Saale;
(vi) the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max -Planck - Gesellschaft in Berlin.
In Oxford, students will have the initial status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). All University of Oxford rules and regulations concerning academic support, progress monitoring and examinations will apply. In particular, academic progress through the Transfer to DPhil Status (usually at the end of the first year) and Confirmation of Status (usually at the end of the third year) is the same as for any DPhil student in CMP. Students will also benefit from the monitoring and support structures of the MPGC-QM and continuation of their status and funding will be contingent upon remaining in good academic standing with Max Planck.
Upon successful completion of the programme, students will receive a DPhil award from the University of Oxford. The award will be documented in a certificate issued by the University of Oxford which contains details of the programme under which the student had enrolled and the Max Planck logo to evidence the collaboration.
Applications and selection process
Candidates must apply separately to the DPhil in Condensed Matter Physics and to the MPGC-QM programme by the relevant deadlines (Max Planck has a 21 December deadline next year). Students must meet the highly competitive entry requirements to be admitted separately at Oxford for a Doctorate of Philosophy as well as at Max Planck. Should a student be selected by one party but not by the other, their application will continue to be considered alongside those of other applicants to the same programme. A joint University-Max Planck committee will select a small number of students (up to 5 per year), pre-selected by both parties, for admission to the joint programme. Most decisions are usually made by the beginning of February each year and offer letters are sent shortly thereafter. Once the offer is accepted, students will enter into separate contractual arrangements with each of the parties (see below).
Contractual status
Students will be registered for their DPhil degree at the University of Oxford and will be employed as PhD students by Max Planck through a Max Planck funding contract for PhD students (Max Planck Fördervertrag) according to the Max Planck rules. Each student will be enrolled in a DPhil at Oxford for up to four years.
Funding
Max Planck will pay the student a salary in accordance with the terms of their employment contract with Max Planck. Before an offer is made, appropriate funding must be sourced for University of Oxford tuition fees and the maintenance bursary while in Oxford. Oxford and Max Planck will only make an offer when a full funding package has been secured. Students may be required to write separate applications, depending on eligibility criteria for different funding sources. All students will be automatically considered for a range of Oxford scholarships. Students should indicate in their application to Oxford whether they are in the position to part-fund their own studies or to make their own applications for any relevant scholarship or bursary outside the University of Oxford.
Further information
Before considering applying to this programme, please consult the quantum materials page. You are encouraged to get in touch with potential supervisors and get acquainted with the research projects on offer. It may be possible to arrange visits to the Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford and to the relevant Max Planck institutes, though students are usually expected to fund their own travel.