DIGS-BB – Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering / About

PhD Spring Selection 2025

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Our Mission

“We foster critical thinking and early independence. Our mission is to promote excellence in science by inspiring our talented PhD students to become innovative research leaders. Our curriculum goes beyond traditional scientific training to support both scientific and personal development.”

Who Are We?

In 2006, the TU Dresden successfully applied to the German Excellence Initiative, facilitating the foundation of the Graduate School DIGS-BB. Since then, the DIGS-BB has become one of the most renowned international PhD programs in the field of Biomedicine and Bioengineering.

about 100 PhD students at all times
75–80% international
82 research groups
30% international
15 research institutes and faculties

The DIGS-BB admits about 25 new PhD students each year in its spring and fall selections. The maximum duration of the thesis is four years and our working language is English.

254 awarded degrees
95% success rate
on average: 1.2 first-author publications
average impact factor: 8.4

The People Behind the DIGS-BB

Setting the Standard for Modern PhD Training

Read an extended article about the DIGS-BB, published in Scientia magazine issue 110:
Download PDF file (605 KB)

The first page of the article about the DIGS-BB in Scientia issue #110 — The first page of the article about the DIGS-BB, featured in issue #110 of the Scientia mag

What Do We Offer?

The DIGS-BB offers PhD positions for up to 4 years in 4 multidisciplinary scientific fields:

We provide innovative training, guidance and mentoring in an international “open door” environment with exciting and challenging world-class projects, state-of-the-art institutes, and a unique infrastructure. Further highlights of the DIGS-BB are:

A vibrant multidisciplinary research community
Dedicated services and facilities
Expert thesis supervision for PhD students
Innovative training in technical/methodological know-how and in communication skills
Ambitious student-driven activities
Competitive awards
4 doctoral degrees
Excellent support for international students (visa, insurance, house hunting, …)

As a DIGS-BB PhD student you won’t only gain expertise and know-how but also independence, critical thinking and a unique set of complementary skills which you will profit from throughout life.

PhD students at the Technische Universität Dresden are not required to pay any tuition fees.

What Do We Look For?

The DIGS-BB is looking for outstanding, highly committed, ambitious and creative graduates who can think outside the box and work on challenging projects at the frontiers of science.

Becoming a DIGS-BB PhD student means opening a way to cooperate and communicate with a large scientific community, to contribute to cutting-edge science in real time and to work hard towards your PhD degree. If you are enthusiastic, passionate about science, and have an excellent master degree (a first-class or upper second-class BSc (Hons)) in life sciences, natural sciences, computer science, medicine, physics or engineering, the DIGS-BB is waiting for you.

Make your mark in science. Join us!

DIGS-BB/DIPP

The DIGS-BB is part of the DIPP

The DIGS-BB is part of a well-established research structure: the Dresden International PhD Program (DIPP). Under the umbrella of the DIPP there are two powerful partners dedicated to first-class research and doctoral training: the DIGS-BB and the International Max Planck Research School for Cell, Developmental and Systems Biology (IMPRS-CellDevoSys). Both are highly competitive and demanding PhD programs.

Participating Institutes

The DIGS-BB is integrated in an open door campus – Biopolis Dresden – a unique ensemble of research institutes of TU Dresden and its non-university partner institutions, situated east of the city center. Together they have established Dresden as an internationally respected center for Biomedicine, Bioengineering and Biophysics in the last 15 years.

But Life Sciences in Dresden are not restricted to Biopolis. There are more institutes within and around the TU Dresden main campus (in the south of Dresden) and one even a little outside the city limits. Some of their group leaders are also part of the DIGS-BB community.

Use this interactive map to see the institutes participating in the DIGS-BB and our partner institutes of the IMPRS-CellDevoSys: