Visiting students and scholars, Berlin School of Mind and Brain

Application deadline: 1st May 2010.
The Berlin School of Mind and Brain is an international research school, located in the vibrant heart of Berlin. Founded in 2006 as part of Germany’s Excellence Initiative, it offers a unique three-year interdisciplinary doctoral program in English in the mind/brain sciences.

Research within the School focuses on the interface between the humanities and the neurosciences. Of particular interest are research areas that fall on the borders between the mind sciences (e.g., philosophy, linguistics, behavioral and cognitive science, economics), and the brain sciences (e.g., neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, neurology, and neurobiology). Major topics of research within the program include: ‘conscious and unconscious perception’, ‘decision-making’, ‘language’, ‘brain plasticity and lifespan ontogeny’, ‘mental disorders and brain dysfunction’, and the ‘philosophy of mind’. However, research is not limited to these areas, and students are strongly encouraged to develop and work at their own initiative on any projects that are relevant to interdisciplinary questions relating to mind and brain.
Types of visitors
Visiting scholars
Visiting scholars should have obtained a doctoral degree, and be working in an area of research relevant to the School.
At any one time the Berlin School of Mind and Brain can accept two visiting scholars.
Visiting students
Visiting student status is available to qualified doctoral students currently enrolled in programs not affiliated with the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. At any one time the Berlin School of Mind and Brain can accept two visiting students.
Timing
The standard length of visits to the School is between three to six months.
The timing of visits is tied to the German academic semester system. Visits can occur either during our Fall semester period (1 September – 31 March) or Spring semester period (1 April – 30 September).
In rare circumstances, a visit may fall across two semester periods. In this case, the application deadline is the one associated with the first semester of the visit.
Application
Deadlines
Application deadlines are approximately four months prior to the start of the semester period during which you wish to visit: 1 November for those wishing to visit during the Spring semester, and 1 May for those visiting during the Fall semester.
Application requirements
* A prior agreement with one of the School’s faculty members to act as academic host during your visit.
* A letter, up to five pages in length, stating both the purpose and rationale for your visit, as well as containing a statement regarding how you feel your visit would contribute to the intellectual life of the School. In your letter, please state whom you intend to work with, and give the exact dates of your visit.
* Your academic CV.
* Two to three letters of reference.
Further details can be found: http://www.mind-and-brain.de/overview/visitors