Who Are We?
In 2006, the TU Dresden successfully applied to the German Excellence Initiative, facilitating the foundation of the Graduate School DIGS-BB, now DIGS-ILS. Since then, the DIGS-ILS has become one of the most renowned international PhD programs in the field of Biomedicine and Bioengineering (the BB in the original name!) – and beyond. In almost 20 years, the research fields covered by our groups have broadened to include many more life sciences. The name change to DIGS-ILS in 2024 reflects this diversification.
- about 100 PhD students at all times
75–80% international - 82 research groups
30% international - 15 research institutes and faculties
The DIGS-ILS admits about 25 new PhD students each year in its spring and fall selections. The maximum duration of the thesis is four years and our working language is English.
- 254 awarded degrees
- 95% success rate
- on average: 1.2 first-author publications
- average impact factor: 8.4
The People Behind the DIGS-ILS
What Do We Look For?
The DIGS-ILS is looking for outstanding, highly committed, ambitious and creative graduates who can think outside the box and work on challenging projects at the frontiers of science.
Becoming a DIGS-ILS PhD student means opening a way to cooperate and communicate with a large scientific community, to contribute to cutting-edge science in real time and to work hard towards your PhD degree. If you are enthusiastic, passionate about science, and have an excellent master degree (a first-class or upper second-class BSc (Hons)) in life sciences, natural sciences, computer science, medicine, physics or engineering, the DIGS-ILS is waiting for you.
Make your mark in science. Join us!
DIGS-ILS/DIPP
The DIGS-ILS is part of the DIPP
The DIGS-ILS is part of a well-established research structure: the Dresden International PhD Program (DIPP). Under the umbrella of the DIPP there are two powerful partners dedicated to first-class research and doctoral training: the DIGS-ILS and the International Max Planck Research School for Cell, Developmental and Systems Biology (IMPRS-CellDevoSys). Both are highly competitive and demanding PhD programs.
