Our MD fellowships offer

A Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) MD fellowship is initially granted for 10 to 12 months and may be extended once by a maximum of 6 months.

In addition, you receive travel allowances, e.g. for scientific conferences, and participate in tailor-made seminars for BIF fellows and alumni. As a BIF fellow, you also become part of a lively and worldwide network built on trust, helpfulness, and many personal encounters. No matter which challenges lie ahead, you will find an open ear and individual advice from like-minded peers or BIF's staff.

The monthly payment

The amount of your monthly stipend depends on where you pursue your project. The total amount also includes a fixed monthly sum to cover minor project-related costs. Together, they come to e.g. 1,400 euros in Germany, 1,700 euros in the UK, and 2,100 euros in the USA.

Depending on your personal situation, you may receive additional monthly benefits, e.g. a child care allowance of up to 500 euros and/or a spouse allowance of 200 euros. For further details, please see the MD fellowship conditions.

Travel allowances

In addition to the monthly stipend, you can receive funds to:

  • Present your data at international scientific conferences
  • Participate in methods courses useful for your research project
  • Perform research in cooperating laboratories. 

We are there for you

At BIF, we put people first. We meet our fellows face-to-face whenever possible. This enables us to support you individually. Whether you have questions concerning career choices, face hurdles during your project, or need advice on other topics, we will listen to you and offer our expertise. We operate as flexibly and unbureaucratically as possible, so that you can concentrate on your research project.

Our seminars

You can profit from tailor-made BIF seminars during and after your fellowship – for scientific exchange, communication training, and networking. We are present at all seminars and encourage an open, friendly, and constructive atmosphere. At our seminars, fellows and alumni have started scientific cooperations, discussed career options, and forged lifelong friendships.

Seminars, meetings, and events

We believe that inviting current fellows to present and discuss their projects in person is much more conducive to research and personal development than written interim reports. Depending on location and timing of your fellowship as well as capacity, you may be invited to our yearly progress seminar for current fellows in Hirschegg, Austria (yes, there is also some hiking), or to our biannual North America meeting of current fellows and alumni in Woods Hole near Boston, USA.

Presenting yourself and your results well can make the difference. We offer a five-day intensive communication seminar at which experts teach writing, rhetorical, and graphic design skills. Depending on location and timing of your fellowship as well as capacity, you may be invited to our communication training in the USA or in Germany.

Re-connect with other fellows, meet new people, learn about exciting new research and career options, and explore diverse topics, with titles like "Perception of reality", "Bodies of the future", or "Genetically modified organisms: hype, hope, hubris?". We invite all alumni working in Europe to our yearly seminar at Collegium Glashütten, near Frankfurt, Germany (formerly held at Gracht Castle).

Our meeting in the USA brings together alumni and current fellows working in North America to present and discuss their research. The programme is complemented by talks, e.g. on career opportunities, and leaves enough room for participants to get to know each other and to explore possible cooperations. This meeting takes place every two years at the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, near Boston, USA.

In a separate programme, the BIF organizes two International Titisee Conferences (ITCs) each year for internationally leading scientists. The BIF's Board of Trustees selects the ITC chairpersons who, in turn, select all speakers and other participants. Participation in these highly acclaimed conferences is, therefore, by invitation only. However, a few current BIF fellows whose projects are within the scope of a conference's topic may attend.

Several times a year, we organize informal BIF meetings and – if our travels take us close – visit our fellows and alumni in their laboratories. We also hold a yearly Christmas party in the BIF offices in Mainz, Germany, where all BIF fellows and alumni are welcome. Whenever you are in Mainz and would like to visit us at our offices, please let us know ahead of time. We would be happy to see you.

Conditions and extensions

Please carefully read the MD fellowship conditions and FAQs to learn more about benefits and obligations.

If you want to apply for an extension of your MD fellowship, please contact us for details. Please make sure to do this early enough, that you can submit your application at least two months before the end of your MD fellowship.