International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology

The IMPRS for Organismal Biology ended in February 2023. Take a look at our successor programs - IMPRS for Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution and IMPRS - Biological Intelligence.

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Organismal Biology, established in 2009, was a collaborative doctoral program between the former Max Planck Institute for Ornithology with sites in Seewiesen and Radolfzell, and the Department of Biology at the Universität Konstanz, in Konstanz southern Germany, where the majority of students graduated from. Re-structuring of the MPI for Ornithology began in 2019, when the MPI site of Radolfzell, now known as the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior became independent. In 2023, the institute site in Seewiesen merged with the former MPI of Neurobiology in Martinsried and founded the new Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. The school officially ended in 2023.

Providing first-class training and education to doctoral students from all over the world in a stimulating research environment was the major aim of the IMPRS for Organismal Biology. This competitive doctoral program provided its fellows with an excellent starting platform for a successful career in the fields of animal behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology and neurobiology.

The faculty was comprised of over forty leading researchers from the former Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Department of Biology at the Universität Konstanz. In 2009, the first thirty doctoral students began their studies within IMPRS for Organismal Biology and up to the year 2023, more than one hundred doctoral students successfully graduated. Amongst our fellows were forty different nationalities, to name but a few: Brazil, Colombia, China, Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Portugal, Sudan, UK and USA.

In addition to their own research, the IMPRS fellows attended laboratory courses and workshops in relevant transferable skills such as scientific writing and project management. Talks by invited speakers during annual IMPRS symposia, student retreats, and conference participations completed the individually tailored curriculum.