Category: Study

Two fully funded PhD positions at the University of Kent

You can now apply for two fully-funded PhD studentships in Astronomy and Planetary Science at the Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CAPS), University of Kent, starting in September 2023!

The group consists of 8 academics and 20 postgraduate students with research interests covering Solar System and Space Science, the Interstellar Medium, Star Formation, Galactic Structure, Astrochemistry and Astrobiology. 

There are four projects that are being offered on a competitive application process:

More details can be found here. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact prospective supervisors to discuss the research project before they apply. 

📅 The application deadline is Sunday April 23rd 2023 📅

18th Heidelberg Summer School – Call for Applications

The “International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy &
Cosmic Physics at the University of Heidelberg” (IMPRS-HD)

announces the

>> 18th Heidelberg Summer School <<
“Unraveling Galaxy Evolution with JWST”

The school is organized for early-career scientists and will take place on September 4 – 8.

It will focus on the most relevant aspects of galaxy evolution addressed by JWST, from nearby to the most distant galaxies.
JWST revealed surprises from its first images and is already
revolutionizing many fields of astrophysics.

The school will give the participants an overview of what we have learned about galaxy evolution in the first year of JWST observations, the emerging challenges, and the opportunity to work with JWST data guided by world-renowned experts.

The topics include an overview of JWST, the physics of nearby galaxies, the role of AGN feedback, the cosmic noon, and the high-z Universe.
The lectures will be accompanied by hands-on sessions and talks highlighting recent scientific results.

Invited lecturers are:

Steve Finkelstein (Univ. Texas Austin)
Adam Leroy (Ohio State Univ.)
Nora Lützgendorf (ESA)
Alice Shapley (UCLA)
Andrey Vayner (Johns Hopkins Univ.)

Hands-on session tutors are:
James Davies (MPIA)
Oleg Egorov (ARI)


The school SOC is:
E.Banados (MPIA), L.Boogaard (MPIA), F.Davies (MPIA), A.de Graaff (MPIA),
I.Momcheva (MPIA), N.Neumayer (MPIA), D.Wylezalek (ZAH)

>> Deadline for applications is June 15, 2023 <<

New PhD opportunities

A few new exciting PhD positions have been added to our website!

From Origin of Life to Planetary Sciences, these projects are all around Europe – click here to check them out.

Upcoming info session for the new integrated Masters-PhD course in Earth-Life Sciences in Tokyo, Japan

Recently, the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) launched an integrated 5-year Masters-PhD course in Earth-Life Sciences. The course aims to train the next generation of students to contribute to astrobiology and related fields, and the next round of IGP(C) applications for international students to enter the program in September 2023 will open soon

Click here to go to the course’s website and learn more about it.

So that students can understand the application process and meet the ELSI faculty they may work with in the future, they will organize two webinars and Q&A sessions on January 26th (JST).

Registrations open for RED23 – Astrobiology Introductory Course

The 2023 session of the Rencontres Exobiologiques pour Doctorants  (RED’23 / Astrobiology Introductory Course) will take place, if sanitary conditions allow, from March 12 to 18, 2022 at the Reserve Ornithologique du Teich (France).

These meetings are organized for:

  • Any student preparing a thesis in Earth and Universe Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Bioinformatics or History / Philosophy of Sciences.
  • Students wishing to acquire an interdisciplinary training in astrobiology to complete their initial training and to be able to address questions related to the origins of life on Earth and beyond, its evolution and its distribution in the Universe.
  • The school is also open to any young researchers interested in astrobiology

The RED’23 / Astrobiology Introductory Course program is complementary to the RED’22 program, however it is not necessary to have attended in 2022 to participate in this new school.

Lectures will be held in English.

Registrations are open until January 31, 2023. Some grants to participate are available, more about it on the website.

Discover the program and the speakers of this session on the school website

Funded PhD opportunity in Astromycology

If you find fungi amazing and would like to do your PhD in astromycology, researching and exploiting fungi for space exploration, then join the Chinese State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences (SKLPlanets) at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), Macau SAR (China).

The applicant for this opportunity will look into how microgravity can affect fungal development and by-products. If you want to know more, please contact Marta Filipa Simões (📧).

📅 The application deadline is January 2023 📅

The EAI Academy

After the success of last year’s first edition, the European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) is back for the academic year 2022 – 2023 with the EAI Academy!

A series of 17 didactic talks and discussions by experts in the field, the seminars will once again be offered for free and will be streamed online via zoom every two weeks on Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00 PM CET.

The EAI Academy will provide a framework to meet online with the European astrobiology community and acquire interdisciplinary knowledge through a series of seminars given by experts in these fields.  Each session will include a 30-40 minute didactic talk followed by about 20 minutes of questions and answers.

The sessions will be hosted by the Center for Astrobiology (CAB), who will issue a certificate of participation to those who attend at least 10 seminars (remember to add your name and affiliation to the chat in order to be eligible for the certificate!).

>> Click here to learn more! <<