FAQs

I'm already working as a PhD student with an ELLIS Fellow/Scholar/Unit Faculty and want to become an ELLIS student. Can I apply to the program through the central recruiting process?

The central recruiting is the primary event for ELLIS faculty to recruit *new* students. Excellent students who are already doing a PhD with an advisor in the ELLIS network and would like to join the ELLIS program should first consider the light-weight application process via Nomination that is set up for students recruited locally, and is possible year-round (see ellis.eu/phd-postdoc, "How to join ELLIS as a PhD or postdoc", option "2. Nomination" for the requirements).

If requirements for nomination are not fulfilled yet, these students may apply to the ELLIS program centrally if they are still *within the first 6 months of their doctoral studies* (i.e. students who started on May 15 or later can apply in the next round with application deadline November 15). If they are no longer within the first 6 months, ELLIS only accepts nominations.

application requirements

The Fellow/Scholar/Unit Faculty I want to work with is not in the list of PhD Advisors in the application portal.

Only Fellows/Scholars/Unit Faculty who are recruiting in this year's round are listed. The list of ELLIS Fellows/Scholars who are recruiting in this year's round is available in the application portal.

advisors

An ELLIS PhD student in the Academic Track is supervised by two ELLIS advisors from different European countries. Is the research stay at the exchange institution mandatory?

Yes, it is. The secondary advisor must be based in a different European country.

application requirements exchange

Are professional references accepted or should they come from someone working in academia?

Professional references are fine, as long as the referee can comment on your academic/research abilities (e.g. referees from industrial research labs).

references

Do the English translations of the transcripts need to be certified?

No, we don't require certified translations at the stage of application. You may upload your own translation, but please add your signature to certify correctness.

certificates translation

Do I need to be a European citizen to apply?

No, the ELLIS PhD and Postdoc Program welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of nationality.

nationality international applicants

Will I get an ELLIS degree?

ELLIS is a non-profit organisation that cannot award official degrees. The ELLIS PhD Program is a meta program on top of existing graduate programs. The student will enrol as a student or be employed at a degree-granting institution (typically the university your main supervisor is affiliated to) and must comply with all the regulations and fulfil all the requirements of the host institution.

degree host institution

Do I need to apply to the university that the main advisor is affiliated to?

It depends on what the rules of the host institution are. In brief: ELLIS offers an EU-wide central application portal and coordinates the matching process, but the official hiring process is local, governed by the institution of your main advisor.

If you want to apply for a PhD as part of the ELLIS PhD Program, you would typically first apply through the ELLIS portal (but see below for important exceptions).

Each year, ELLIS Fellows, Scholars and Unit Faculty may sign up to recruit new PhD students through the centralized recruiting of the ELLIS PhD program. Students may select preferences for various advisors from the list of recruiting ELLIS advisors. The best students will be eligible for the ELLIS program and may be invited for interviews by individual advisors. If the student gets an offer, the student and two supervisors will sign a letter of intent which specifies the plans for funding, graduation and the exchange. However, ELLIS does not provide funding (except for smaller travel grants) nor does it award degrees. The ELLIS PhD Program is a meta program on top of existing graduate programs. I.e., you will be funded through your advisors' resources and the degree will come from a university. This means that all the official paperwork goes through the institution of your main advisor and you have to comply with all their rules. Consequently, new students must be accepted to the degree granting university in addition to being accepted as an ELLIS student (i.e., the acceptance to the ELLIS PhD program is a conditional accept).

After you accept the offer to become an ELLIS PhD student, you should ask your advisor which steps you have to take to become a student/an employee at the degree-granting institution (e.g. submitting documents, applying to the local doctoral school, etc.). Rules may vary depending on the institution.

*IMPORTANT* Some universities (e.g. University of Oxford) do not accept graduate students throughout the year, but have strict deadlines for applying to their graduate programs, which may be earlier than the ELLIS deadline. In this case, you should not wait until the ELLIS selection procedure has ended, but apply in parallel if you don't want to wait for the next deadline to enroll as a PhD should you get an ELLIS offer. If unsure, visit the website of the university or contact your preferred advisor. It's safest to apply to both programs in parallel to avoid any delays in the starting date of your contract. Advisors will also be able to indicate in the portal if a parallel application is required.

host institution

If I get an offer from an advisor within ELLIS, how exactly will my PhD be funded?

ELLIS does not employ or fund PhD students (except from providing smaller travel grants). If you get an offer, you will be funded through your advisors’ resources. After accepting the offer, the student and the two advisors will sign a letter of intent which specifies the funding plan (among other things). The ELLIS Team cannot give you any details about the amount of funding beforehand because it may differ from country to country and from advisor to advisor. You can ask for more details during the interview. Only ELLIS Fellows/Scholars/Unit Faculty who have open positions are listed in the application portal.

funding

Who will fund the exchange?

The details of the funding arrangement will be specified in the letter of intent, which the student and the two advisors sign. It’s up to the advisors to decide the split and determine who will fund the student for which period of time.

funding exchange

I haven’t finished my BSc/MSc degree yet. Can I apply?

Final-year students can apply.

application requirements degree

Can I apply if I don’t have a MSc degree?

Rules in Europe vary. Some participating universities require a MSc, others accept BSc students as well (sometimes under specific conditions). You will find this information in the portal if you click on the list of this year's recruiting advisors.

application requirements degree

Are publications mandatory?

Publications are not mandatory, but may strengthen your application.

application requirements publications

Can I ask a postdoc to submit a reference letter?

The referees should know you well, both academically and personally. At least two of the referees should be professionally established at the level of independent investigator, principal scientist, group leader, lecturer or above. A maximum of one reference may come from a postdoc. References from PhD students or class mates are not accepted.

application requirements references

Can I ask a PhD student or classmate to submit a reference letter?

No, references from PhD students or classmates are not accepted.

application requirements references

Do I have to pay an application fee?

The ELLIS Society does not incur a handling fee for processing your application to the central application portal.

application fee

I want to apply to the ELLIS PhD Program via the central application portal. Should I contact a potential advisor beforehand to enquire about possibilities?

It's not advisable to contact advisors beforehand as this would only create more overhead for the advisors. The list of recruiting advisors can be found in the portal. In the portal, you can indicate your preferences for specific advisors. You can select up to 10 advisors from the list.

advisors

Admission: Does signing the Letter of Intent mean I am accepted to the ELLIS PhD Program?

It means you are *conditionally* accepted to become an ELLIS PhD student. As a meta PhD program, the ELLIS PhD program does not employ students nor grant degrees. Consequently, new students must be accepted to the degree-granting university in addition to being accepted as ELLIS students. In other words: the acceptance to the ELLIS PhD program (via the Letter of Intent) is a conditional accept, and can only be finalized once you are officially accepted at the degree-granting institution (this can of course be *after* the conditional acceptance to the ELLIS program). If the student is not accepted at the university, the offer to become an ‘ELLIS PhD Student’ is cancelled.

admission requirements letter of intent degree-granting institution

Co-supervision: Can the co-supervisor be based outside of Europe?

Both the Academic Track and Industry Track require that the home and host institution or industry partner are based in Europe (or associated countries). There is one exception: if the student is in the Academic Track and the co-supervisor is an ELLIS fellow/scholar, the co-supervisor can be based outside of Europe.

co-supervision host institution

Portal (application form): In the application form, “Track” selection is locked and grayed out. Is it not possible to select a track? Will this cause my application to be incomplete?

This field is locked because it should not be filled out. It is irrelevant at the stage of application. It will not cause your application form to be incomplete. You can safely submit the application form. If any required field is missing, the form cannot be submitted.

application form track

Do I need to provide proof of English language proficiency?

Proficiency in English is crucial during your doctoral studies. Test results (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS) may strengthen your application, but they are not required as part of your ELLIS application. Note that individual institutions may require such tests before starting a PhD degree.

language skills

Central Recruiting 21/22: When will I get a notification about whether I've been shortlisted?

All candidates who completed their application by the specified deadline have received a notification whether they have been shortlisted. This notification was sent out on December 27, 2021, by phd@ellis.eu. Please check your spam folder in case you've missed it.

Shortlisted candidates can be considered for the next step in the selection procedure (interviews). Please note:
- Interviews are not scheduled by the ELLIS administration, but by the advisors themselves. That is, advisors will contact you personally if they are interested in your profile and want to invite you for an interview. The interview stage ends on February 10, 2022.
- Being shortlisted does not mean that you will automatically be invited for one or multiple interviews. Participating faculty eventually decide whom and how many candidates they will invite for interviews.
- Participating ELLIS PIs have access to all the applications. Advisors you did not list as "preferred" advisor may therefore contact you if they think you could be a good fit. You're free to decline interview invitations if there are too many or if you're not interested in working with this advisor. This will not affect your chances of being admitted to the PhD program under the supervision of another advisor.

shortlisting decisions

Central Recruiting 21/22: Why have I not been shortlisted for the ELLIS PhD program?

On this occasion, ELLIS received over 1,700 applications and has shortlisted about 20% of the candidates that most closely matched the program's selection criteria, based on the review of application materials by multiple experts in the ELLIS network. Please consider that this has been a highly competitive selection, and that unfortunately we cannot provide individual feedback at this stage.

Candidates who received a notification that they are not shortlisted will not be able to join the 'ELLIS PhD program' at this point in time. Should they be successful in securing a PhD position with an advisor in the ELLIS network via another route or in the future, they may still be considered to join the program at a later time through nomination (see https://ellis.eu/nomination-phd-postdoc).

shortlisting decisions