Support for PhD Student at the FHI

We are there to help you on your way to the doctorate.

• Getting Started at the FHI
• Enrole at a Berlin University
• Administrative Struggles
• What to do with your free time
• Mental Health
• The MPG PhDnet
• Useful Links

We are the local subgroup of the Max Planck PhD Network and consist of members of the five departments of the FHI.

Arriving in Berlin can be overwhelming. We collect information that makes your life easier and more fun.

Our missions are:

• Represent all PhD
• Help you to settle in
• Assist in overcoming challanges within your team or department
• Support the interdepartmental communication of the PhD students by organizing social and educational  events

If you have questions, problems, suggestions or like to participate in the events please contact us (phdnet@fhi-berlin.mpg.de)!

Getting Started at the FHI

Congratulations! You recently started your journy towards a PhD at the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. You will perform world-class research in one of the most respected and also beautiful research institutes in Berlin.

Arriving at a completely new place can be daunting and difficult. It is our task to make the transition and your life as PhD student as pleasant as possible. 

• When you arrive at the institute, find out who your responsible internal PhD representative is! They will able to help you with any questions you might have about life as a PhD student.
• Please also subscribe to our mailing list! All important information from the PhDnet is communicated through this channel.
• Check out the Website of the PhDnet, their social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), and their Offspring group's activities
• Consider getting involved as a PhD representative within the institute or the MPG! Talk to the external representative for more information.

Enrole at a Berlin University

If you want to get a german PhD-degree you need a professor from a german university.  We collected some guidelines to enrole at one of the three berlin universities (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin)

• Ask your supervisor or department director if he/she knows a professor, who is more or less familiar with your topic
• Write your recommended professor if he/she want to suporrt you
• Enrole at the univerty of your new professor: FU Berlin, HU Berlin or TU Berlin

You have also a lot of benifits as a student:

• student card serves as a ticket for public transport in and around Berlin
• reduced entrances to sport centers, cinema...
• cheap mensa food

Administrative Struggles

When you first arrive in Berlin, words like "Einwohnermeldeamt", "Krankenkasse" and "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung" seem daunting and finding an appartment close to impossible.

Our International Office will help you!

What to do with your free time

Work-life balance is a very important topic during your PhD. After a tiring day or week in the lab or at your desk, there are plenty of great things to do in Berlin. They will take your mind off work, refresh your brain and open up new horizons.

Berlin is also great to find your personal style and like-minded people.

We collected our favorite leisure activities in and around Berlin for you!

Mental Health

Doing your PhD is hard. Many students struggle with mental health issues during their graduate studies. The MPG Mental Health Collective (Twitter) collects information and organizes virtual gatherings to talk about solutions to mental health problems. They also have a mailing list!

The MPG PhDnet

Useful Links

Subscribe to the FHI PhD students mailing list
PhDnet of the MPG
Subscribe to the PhDnet (MPG) mailing list
Local hubs
Max Planck PhDnet Statutes
Constitution of the FHI PhDnet
Guidelines for PhD representatives