Application

Applicants must hold a master’s degree or diploma in Economics or Business Studies in order to apply for the economic training program. An application during the course of studies is possible, provided that the degree is successfully completed before the program starts. Degrees from other related fields (such as civil engineering, statistics or quantitative social sciences) may also fulfill requirements for the program if the applicant has a sufficient background in Economics. 

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency unless they hold a degree from a university in an English-speaking country or can document at least one year of studies in an English-speaking degree program. A high score on the TOEFL or IELTS test is considered sufficient evidence of English proficiency. Knowledge of German is not required for a successful application, but students are encouraged to learn German and improve their language skills over the course of the program.

There are no tuition fees. PhD students will receive funding for the expected length of the program - five years. For the course phase (Year 1), a stipend of 1,650 Euro per month is provided; funding during the research phase (Year 2-5) is normally provided through employment at one of the DIW Berlin's research departments (TVöD, EG 13, 75%). Funding for the research phase is conditional on having fulfilled the set performance criteria, communicated at the start of the program.
We recommend to enroll at one of Berlin's universities, as this allows access to public transportation at no additional cost and ensures student health insurance. Note that the universities charge a semester fee of approximately 380 Euro per semester.

In light of recent allegations of misconduct in economic academia, the DIW Graduate Center underscores its commitment to an inclusive research and teaching environment in which discrimination, sexual harassment, and abuse of power are not tolerated. We appeal to all doctoral students, supervisors, and members of the Graduate Center not to tolerate such behavior and, if necessary, to take action to protect themselves and others. DIW Graduate Center offers contact persons for those affected and supports the immediate change of supervisors if cases of abuse occur.

Applicants should have a Master’s in Economics or Business Studies and have performed exceptionally well in their studies. Applicants from related fields (such as Industrial Engineering, Statistics, or quantitative social sciences) may also fulfill the admission requirements if they have a sufficient background in Economics or Business Studies.

An application during the course of studies is possible, provided that the Master's degree is successfully completed before the program starts.

Our graduates have outstanding qualifications in scientific analysis of economic and social policy issues: they possess excellent methodological skills, in-depth experience in handling empirical data, as well as detailed institutional knowledge of the economic and societal structure of Germany and other countries. In addition, they are able to present their results effectively at international congresses, publish their scientific contributions in internationally renowned journals, and successfully manage large-scale research projects. As a result, many graduates have found attractive careers in academia, international organizations, and government institutions.

DIW Graduate Center offers a five-year program of in-depth training in economics. You will go through a high-level coursework curriculum and receive on-the-job training in DIW Berlin’s research departments. Once completing the program, you will obtain a PhD from one of Berlin’s universities. Please find the detailed GC program structure here. 

Your research interest should fit into one of the following DIW Berlin's research departments.:
Macroeconomics
Forecasting and Economic Policy
Energy, Transportation, Environment
Climate Policy
Firms and Markets
Public Economics
The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP)
Entrepreneurship Research Group
Gender Studies Research Group

In the first semester, you have to attend Econometrics I, Microeconomics I and Macroeconomics I. In the second semester, you have to attend Econometrics II and you can choose between Microecomics II and Macroeconomics II. 

Yes, PhD students will receive funding for the expected length of the program, i.e. for five years. For the course phase (Year 1), a stipend of 1,650 Euro per month is provided; funding during the research phase (Year 2-5) is normally provided through employment at one of the DIW Berlin's research departments (TVöD, EG 13, 75%). Funding for the research phase is conditional on having fulfilled the Performance Criteria.

No, however, to enroll at one of the Berlin universities, there is a semester fee of approximately 380€ per semester. This provides access to public transport in Berlin at no additional cost. However, university enrollment is not required during the first year of the program.

It usually takes about four to five years (full-time study) to complete the program.

No. The GC program is a full time program that requires your full time participation in the courses.

No. The GC program is a full time program in Berlin and requires you to attend the courses in person. 

Yes.

No, although it will be beneficial for living in Berlin.

No, acceptance in our program is of general nature and not based on an existing supervision agreement. You will have time to choose a supervisor during the first year of the program.

Your potential supervisor will voice their interest in you during the interviews. Please do not contact DIW Berlin researchers for possible supervision. Those requests will not be considered and do not increase your chances of being admitted to the program. 

Our program participants enroll at the university where their supervisor holds a professorship. Typically this is one of Berlin’s participating universities: Humboldt Universität, Freie Universität, Technische Universität or the University of Potsdam. That university will award your doctoral degree.

If you already have an external scholarship, we ask you to apply online like all other applicants. You can mention the granted stipend in your motivation letter so that we are aware of it during the application process. However, an external stipend will be no advantage over the other applicants.

No general assessment can be made whether previous courses can be accredited. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. In general, only credits can be transferred/approved, but not grades.

The next application phase (for 2027 intake) will start in mid-October 2026. Until then, no applications will be considered. 

Application is done online via our application portal (the link to the portal will be made available only during application period). Please complete and submit your application as quickly as possible, as referees must also submit their letter of recommendation before the deadline! Incomplete applications as well as applications sent via email will not be considered.

As part of the online application procedure, you will be asked to upload the following documents:

• Motivation letter (max. 2 pages) explaining your reasons for applying and briefly outlining your major research interests
• Detailed curriculum vitae (without photograph)
• Two academic letters of recommendation, to be submitted directly by senior academics (e.g. professors, postdoctoral researchers).
  Note that reference providers are requested to upload their letters in the "Recommendation letter portal for senior academic staff " on top of this website
• Copies of academic transcripts and other certificates
• Completed application form PDF (PDF, 266.25 KB)
• IELTS or TOEFL scores, if applicable
• GRE General Test – Test Taker Score Report (PDF), if applicable. Please also attach your GRE Test if you have already submitted it to the Institutional Account.

The application is to be completed in English. 

The motivation letter serves to indicate why you are interested in applying to the program as well as to give us an idea of your previous experiences and your future research interests. In your letter, you can describe what research topics you are interested in and name possible research questions/ideas. This helps us judge where your ideas fit within the GC areas of research. Please do not exceed the maximum length of two pages.

No, we do not require a fully-fledged research proposal. The motivation letter is sufficiently informative. If you have a research proposal at hand, you may attach it to your application. It will help us to assess your research ideas, but it will not provide an advantage over applications without a research proposal.

Yes, provided you have a sufficient background in Economics or Business Studies.

After the application deadline, the selection committee will make a first selection based on the received electronic applications. If you are selected, you will then receive an invitation for a personal interview. Final decisions will be made shortly after the interviews. Please refrain from any inquiries about the status of your application until at least six weeks after the application deadline.

No, we conduct our interviews via video conferencing. 

After submitting your application, we will send you an automatic confirmation via email. This means that your application is officially registered. The actual evaluation will take place after the submission deadline. Therefore, we kindly ask you to refrain from any inquiries about the status of your application until at least six weeks after the application deadline.

We only accept the GRE General Test. We accept the GRE General Test at Home. We do not accept the GRE Subject Test.

The minimum scores in the GRE General Test above which applicants are admitted to the program depend on the score level of all applicants in the respective year. Therefore, we do not specify a minimum score that must be achieved.

Please upload your GRE General Test Taker Score Report in a pdf format in the application portal. We do not require you to use the DIW Berlin's institutional code to send us your test scores via the offical GRE/ETS platform. Please also attach your GRE Test even if you have already submitted it to the institutional account (institutional code 0096).

Your application will be considered without GRE test results, but your chances of being admitted are much higher, if you submit them. We therefore highly recommend submitting GRE test results.

GRE scores are reportable for five years after the test date.

No. We only accept the GRE test.

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency unless they hold a degree from a university in an English-speaking country or can document at least one year of studies in an English-speaking degree program. Sufficient evidence of a good command of English can be demonstrated with a high score in the “Test of English as a Foreign Language” (TOEFL) or the “International English Language Testing System” (IELTS). Providing TOEFL or IELTS scores is highly recommended but not mandatory.

We accept the TOEFL iBT in its three versions:

• TOEFL iBT Test
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition
• TOEFL iBT Paper Edition

We accept the IELTS Academic Test: 

• IELTS Academic Test done at a test center
• IELTS Academic Test done remotely at home. 

Please upload your Test Taker Score Report in a pdf format in the application portal.

TOEFL/IELTS results are valid for two years after the test date.

Minimum scores that have to be achieved are not specified.

No. You can add documents to your application before the deadline. After the deadline has passed, you can not upload anything else. 

Your two referees must come from academic institutions and be senior academic staff, e.g. postdoctoral researchers or professors. 

No. Your referees must come from academic institutions and be senior academic staff, e.g. postdoctoral researchers or professors. 

After you named your referees for contact in your application, you cannot change your referee. 

Referees must upload their recommendation letter via the recommendation letter portal on the GC Application website. Recommendation letters received by email will not be considered. 

No. Referees must upload their recommendation letter via the recommendation letter portal on the GC Application website. Recommendation letters received by email will not be considered. 

No. Referees must upload their recommendation letter via the recommendation letter portal on the GC Application website before the deadline. 

No. The recommendation letter can only be uploaded by your referee. 

You can find the application portal on the top of this website. 

You can only upload your application within the application period. Start and end of the application period are stated at the top of this website. 

The application is to be completed in English. Please make sure all documents are in English. Applications in other languages will not be considered. 

Scanned copies of original documents will suffice for now. Please make sure they are in a good quality. We will ask you to provide the original documents after admission.

No. Please upload all necessary documents in the application portal on top of this website.