In this section you will find information about the ESO fellowship and studentship programmes.

You can first read the ESO Blog on ESO’s Training Programmes: Investing in the Future of Astronomy and then find more information on the respective programmes below.

Postdoctoral Fellowship at ESO

ESO has an active fellowship programme in Garching and in Chile, with yearly application deadline on 15 October.

** Have a look at the fellowship brochure and read what makes ESO's programme so special. **

Studentships at ESO

There are two main studentship programmes at ESO through which PhD students can do full or part of their PhD project at ESO in Garching or in Chile: The ESO studentship programme running in Garching and in Santiago, Chile, and the IMPRS studentships in Garching. The PhD students coming to ESO work on their PhD projects under a supervision of a faculty member.

ESO Studentships

Students enrolled in a PhD project in a University in ESO member countries interested in spending part (1-2 years) of their PhD research period in Garching or in Chile, are encouraged to apply for the ESO studentship programme. Yearly application deadlines have recently been changed to April 20 and October 20.

IMPRS Studentships in Garching

ESO is one of the partners in the IMPRS (International Max-Planck Research School) on Astrophysics and is offering in Garching two to four full (3 year) PhD positions every year. The yearly deadline for applications is on November 1st.

If interested, please consult the list of PhD topics offered by the ESO staff.

Other Postdoc/PhD positions

Occasionally postdoc or graduate student positions are opened for some specific projects. These are announced on the ESO recruitment page.

In addition, ESO is participating in "The Cluster of Excellence for Fundamental Physics: Origin and Structure of the Universe", located in the University campus of Garching, which occasionally has offers for postdoc and PhD positions.

Studentship/fellowship scheme Survey

This survey is addressed to those who have ever considered applying for an ESO Studentship or Fellowship, as well as to those who were or are ESO students or fellows.

https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/outreach/department/fellowship-studentship-survey/

If you have never heard of the ESO Studentship/fellowship scheme, please do not fill out this survey. Your opinion matters to us as well, but you are invited to take this survey instead:

https://www.eso.org/public/outreach/department/fellowship-studentship-survey-non-eso/

The results of the surveys will be used to improve the ESO Studentship or fellowship scheme.