BIF: MD Fellowships

Eligibility Criteria

The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds awards MD fellowships to medical students studying in Germany who wish to pursue an experimentally demanding and hypothesis-driven research project in basic biomedical research in a leading laboratory. Applicants should not be older than 25 years and are eligible if they gained good or very good marks in the first section of the medical examination (Erster Abschnitt der Ärztlichen Prüfung) and during their subsequent studies. Applicants must interrupt their studies and change their working place (institution and city) for the entire duration of the MD fellowship, i.e. for a period of at least 10 months.

We do not support

• clinical studies;
• applied research, such as biotechnological and pharmaceutical (e.g. drug, diagnostic) development and studies on the course of diseases or the treatment of symptoms;
• botanical and prokaryotic investigations unless they are of general biological importance.

Furthermore, the MD fellowships cannot be used to supplement inadequate funding from other institutions or earned incomes, to bridge temporary financial difficulties or to complete investigations already sponsored by other sources or institutions.

Offered Benefits

• The monthly stipend including a flat-rate for project-related costs and a country-related premium amounts to 1150 - 1600 euros (please refer to conditions for further details).

• In addition, MD fellowship holders may receive travel allowances to participate in scientific meetings or practical courses. They can become part of a worldwide network of PhD and MD fellows.

The basic monthly stipend amounts to 1000 euros in countries of the European Monetary System. In Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA, a further 450 euros are added as a country-related premium. Depending on the cost of living, all other countries are grouped into one of these categories. In most countries, fellows are paid an additional flat-rate of 150 euros per month to cover minor project-related costs (books, travel expenses, etc.), and to cover premiums for personal insurance. The stipend is transferred to the fellow's personal bank account by the middle of each month.