We want to give doctoral candidates the opportunity to conduct research together with renowned scientists in an attractive and international environment. They should have the opportunity to work on an innovative local research infrastructure and participate in global large-scale experiments within a large international research community.
The MPA Fellowships for doctoral candidates are awarded exclusively on the basis of the scientific excellence of the applicants. The selected fellows receive a research contract as well as individual travel and research funding.
Applicants must demonstrate outstanding performance in their studies and are expected to hold or obtain a Masters’ degree in physics, preferably in the areas of particle, low-energy, hadron and nuclear physics. The selected candidates will get a funding contract as well as individual travel and research funds. They can participate in all MPA activities, including lecture courses, seminars, retreats, summer schools, workshops and social events.
Interviews are expected to take place the week of March 9, 2026.
We offer the following PhD topics:
- Analytic calculation of two-loop high-multiplicity scattering amplitudes in QCD (Dr. Vasily Sotnikov)*
- Beyond the Standard Model Theory and Effective Field Theories (Dr. Felix Yu)*
- DarkMESA experiment: Construction of a Phase-B detector for the beam-dump experiment in the search for light dark matter (Possible PIs: Achenbach, Denig, Doria)
- DUNE experiment: Design and Studies for Neutrino Physics (Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber)
- Feynman Integrals (Prof. Dr. Stefan Weinzierl)*
- Flavour Physics as a Precision Probe of the Standard Model and Beyond (Prof Dr. Marzia Bordone)
- MAGIX experiment: Commissioning of a Trigger Veto Detector for a Magnetic Electron Spectrometer and Investigations of Few-Body Systems in Electron Scattering (Possible PIs: Denig, Merkel)
- MAGIX experiment: Development and Calibration of a GEM-TPC System for a Magnetic Electron Spectrometer and Nucleon Form Factor Measurements (Possible PIs: Denig, Merkel)
- Mu3e experiment: Fast online event reconstruction (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- Mu3e experiment: Readout and data transmission electronics for phase II (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- Nuclear Astrophysics (Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti)
- NuDoubt++ Experiment: Mechanical design of the inner detector (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Dr. Schoppmann, Prof. Weber, Prof. Wurm)□
- NuDoubt++ Experiment: Background and sensitivity studies (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Dr. Schoppmann, Prof. Weber, Prof. Wurm)□
- P2 experiment: Commissioning of the Pixel tracking detector (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- P2 experiment: First measurements (Prof. Dr. Frank Maas)
- Project 8 experiment: Accommodation of atomic hydrogen/tritium on cold surfaces for future neutrino mass experiments (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Prof. Fertl)
- Theory of muonic atoms (Prof. Dr. Sonia Bacca)°
- tSPECT experiment: Data analysis and development of a highly segmented radial escape detector surrounding the UCN trap (Prof. Dr. Martin Fertl)
*Positions marked with * start in autumn 2026
□Starting between April and October 2026
°Deadline for applications for “Theory of muonic atoms”: February 8, 2026
After submitting the application form below, please send your complete application documents as a single pdf file (only the documents listed under “application documents”) to mpa@uni-mainz.de.
Please arrange to referees to send the complete referee form to mpa@uni-mainz.de. The referee forms have to be sent directly by the senior scientists.
- Detailed curriculum vitae
- Cover letter including a short motivation statement
- Scans of university degrees including transcripts of records (lists of courses and grades) in German or English
- Candidates who have obtained their degrees from a university where English is not one of the teaching languages must prove their language proficiency (B2 level or higher) by a certificate not older than three years.
