PhD Program
ISTA has one intake to its PhD program per year. The application portal is typically available from the second half of October onwards.
The application portal for the 2026 intake of PhD students is now CLOSED.
The application portal for the 2027 intake of PhD students will open in late October
Deadline for applicants: January 8, 2027 (3:00 PM CET)
Deadline for referees: January 12, 2027 (11:59 PM CET)
Program start: 15 September 2027
Learn more on what the PhD program at ISTA has to offer here, for more details on the curricular set up consult this page.
You can find more information about the application process on our application page and in the FAQs.
If you have further questions that are NOT answered in the resources above feel free to contact us.
Scientific internships and research projects
Students who are either pursuing or have obtained a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree in the natural or computer sciences, mathematics or any related discipline are eligible to apply for a scientific intern position at ISTA.
Students who are enrolled in a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree program which requires the completion of a research project or internship as a part of the curriculum can also apply for an intern position at ISTA.
You should review the list of research groups to identify the topic that can be a good fit to your intended research projects. You should then contact the respective group leader directly.
ISTernship – ISTA Summer Fellowship
Program Update: The ISTernship program has been paused for the 2026 and 2027 application cycles, and will not be taking place this coming year.
Updates about the program’s future and other opportunities at ISTA will continue to be posted on our website. https://phd.ista.ac.at/
Students interested in internships can explore our year-round internship opportunities which remain available – see https://phd.ista.ac.at/scientific-internships/
Bachelor’s and Master’s students are eligible to apply for our PhD program. More details can be found here: https://phd.ista.ac.at/phd-program-overview/
All short-term mobility programs between ISTA and Russia have been suspended. As a result, any applicants currently enrolled in universities located in Russia are ineligible to apply for the ISTernship call.