Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds PhD Fellowships 2027

Who can apply

European citizens (may work in Europe or overseas) or non-European citizens pursuing the PhD in Europe
The project must be experimental basic biomedical research, including in silico work, aimed at elucidating basic biological phenomena of human life
First university entrance qualification (secondary/high school leaving certificate or equivalent) completed no more than 8 years (96 months) before the deadline
Natural scientists should already hold their final degree (BSc, diploma, MSc or equivalent) before starting the PhD, though the certificate can follow up to 4 months after the deadline if the degree itself was completed on time; physicians, veterinary surgeons and pharmacists should have passed their state examinations
Apply when about to start, or having just started, the PhD project; not eligible if the project began more than 6 months before the deadline
If two candidates from the same laboratory apply at the same time, only one may receive a fellowship; applying at different deadlines is recommended
Must notify BIF if applying to any other research-sponsoring institution; taking up another institution's award before BIF's decision withdraws the BIF application, except for awards covering only tuition fees
Cannot hold a regular personal income from an employer while funded, though one working contract of up to 5 hours a week for marginal income is acceptable

A stipend that scales with where you actually do the PhD

The stipend is not one flat figure across every fellow. It scales with the host country and usually bundles in a fixed amount for minor project costs, running from EUR 2,200 a month in Spain up to EUR 3,800 a month in the USA. Applicants heading to Austria, Denmark, Norway or Switzerland specifically should read BIF’s own fellowship conditions document before applying, since those countries treat the stipend under stricter legal or tax rules than the rest. The base stipend can also grow with a childcare allowance of up to EUR 500 a month or a spouse allowance of EUR 200 a month, depending on personal circumstances, neither of which is automatic.

Three deadlines a year, and a strict six-month application window

Unlike a single annual round, BIF runs three deadlines every year: 1 February, 1 June and 1 October. That gives more flexibility than most PhD funders, but it comes with a strict timing rule in the other direction: you can only apply when you are about to start, or have just started, your PhD project, and you are no longer eligible if the project began more than six months before the deadline. There is no route to apply for funding partway through an established PhD.

The project has to be experimental basic research, not applied science

Read BIF’s own “what we do and do not fund” list closely before you build an application around this. Applied research is explicitly excluded, biotechnological and pharmaceutical development, drug-screening or drug-delivery work, clinical studies, and studies on the course of a disease or the treatment of symptoms all fall outside what BIF supports. What it does fund is experimental basic biomedical research, including in silico projects, aimed at understanding basic biological phenomena rather than turning that understanding into a product or treatment.

Two colleagues from the same lab, one fellowship

If two candidates from the same laboratory apply for a PhD fellowship in the same round, only one of them can actually receive it. BIF’s own guidance is to apply at different deadlines rather than the same one if you know a lab-mate is applying too, since submitting together does not improve either candidate’s odds and only guarantees one of you is competing against the other for nothing.

Two specific referees, not just any two

The two required letters of recommendation are not interchangeable. One has to come from the supervisor of your PhD thesis and the other from the supervisor of your Master’s (or equivalent) thesis; if the same person supervised both, or you never completed a final experimental thesis, the second letter instead comes from the supervisor of your most relevant laboratory internship. Both letters go directly from the supervisors themselves, by email, as a specifically named PDF, not bundled into your own application materials, so line up both referees well before the deadline rather than after you submit.