IMPRS Motivation Letter for a Max Planck PhD

IMPRS Motivation Letter for a Max Planck PhD

There is no single IMPRS letter. IMPRS-IS asks for two pages by 15 November 2026, the Max Planck School of Cognition for one page by 1 December 2026, and IMPRS-ML for a short form answer per group. Each is read by people matching you to named groups.

So the letter is a matching document, not a life story. Name two or three groups, give each one a research question and the method you would bring, and follow the school's rule on contacting supervisors, which at two of these programmes is "don't". That reverses the supervisor-first route of an individual German doctorate.

Every Max Planck page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. Each school runs its own call, so check the live page for your school before you write.

What the programmes ask

Sources: IMPRS-IS application; Max Planck School of Cognition application page, FAQ: applying online, FAQ: considering applying and FAQ: documentation; IMPRS-ML how to apply, requirements and FAQs; IMPRS LIFE admission.

Check the weekday and the time zone: 15 November 2026 is a Sunday and 1 December 2026 is a Tuesday. IMPRS-IS uses Anywhere on Earth time; the Cognition FAQ writes "24:00 CEST" for a December deadline, when German clocks are on CET, so treat the evening of 1 December in Germany as the cut-off and submit a day early.

Is it a motivation letter or a personal statement?

The schools use different names for the same job. IMPRS-IS says "motivational letter". The Max Planck School of Cognition lists a "Personal statement" but calls the same document a "motivation letter" when describing its Applicant Support Program. IMPRS-ML has no letter at all: "in the application form you can list up to five group leaders that you are interested in. You will also be asked to explain briefly why you find their work interesting."

What each school wants inside it is specific. IMPRS-IS: a letter that "1) explains why you want to earn a doctorate with IMPRS-IS and 2) describes research areas and/or particular projects that interest you." Cognition: "Please clearly discuss why you chose to apply to the school and include up to three potentiallly [sic] supervising fellows when discussing your academic interests." Cognition's own template lists the topics a statement "typically covers", including "Which research questions are you interested in?" and "Which previous practical experiences and skills have you already acquired that will set you up for a successful PhD?"

Structure for two pages, or one

Our view: spend most of the space on the groups, not on why you like science.

The basis: IMPRS-IS says "Our faculty and staff will carefully review the materials you submit", and you list faculty in the portal; Cognition pre-matches candidates with a faculty member before the programme starts. Cognition's FAQ 3.9 says the supervisors you suggest "should be thoughtfully considered as they will be leading to the pre-match". A reader who has to match you to a group needs your question and your method, per group.

A working structure for IMPRS-IS's two pages:

1. Why a structured doctorate at this school (one short paragraph). Name what the school offers that a single lab does not, from its own page.
2. Group one, group two, optionally group three (most of the letter). For each: the question you want to work on, the paper or project of theirs it builds on, and the method or result from your own work that you would bring.
3. Evidence (one paragraph). Your thesis, a paper, code or a dataset, in a form a reader can check against your CV. IMPRS-IS asks for a CV with "full citations for any publications you may have".
4. Fit and close (two or three sentences). Why these groups together make sense for you.

For Cognition's single page, keep steps 2 and 3 and cut the rest to a sentence each. The FAQ also matters if your degree is outside its listed fields: "In some cases, an unrelated subject is also possible if well justified in the motivation letter." Spend a short paragraph on that justification.

The countercase: if you already have a supervisor's agreement for an individual doctorate, or you are applying to one advertised project, this structure is wrong. That is a PhD motivation or cover letter for a defined position, and the letter should answer the vacancy text.

Constructed example: two groups, a question and a method each

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): a master's graduate in mechanical engineering applying to IMPRS-IS, whose listed areas include Haptics, Robotics and Machine Learning. The groups are described, not named, so nothing here is a claim about real faculty.

Weak: "I am deeply interested in robotics, haptics and machine learning, and IMPRS-IS is a world-leading institution where I can work with the best researchers in these fields."

Revised: "In my master's thesis I built a fingertip sensor from a camera and a silicone skin and trained a small network to estimate contact force from the images. Group 1 on my list works on tactile sensing for robot hands; I want to test whether the same image-based estimate holds when the skin is curved and the contact slides, which my flat test rig could not show. Group 2 studies learning-based control for manipulation; there, I would ask whether a force estimate with known error bars makes grasp control more robust than a binary contact signal. Both questions start from data I can already collect."

The revised version is 105 words (our count). Each group gets a question it could answer and a link back to the applicant's own work, which is what IMPRS-IS's second point asks for. Put the real group names from the faculty list in the letter and in the portal list, and make them match.

Supervisor contact: follow the programme

Cognition's FAQ adds two facts that change how you name people. "You do not need to have contacted the persons to include them on your list." And "The programme allows each fellow to supervise one candidate per cohort", so naming three is protection, not padding. At IMPRS-IS, mind the faculty type: "Applicants interested in working with a member of our associated faculty must also have a member of our full faculty as a co-supervisor." At IMPRS-ML, "you can only choose research groups that are actively recruiting in the current round of application."

Our view: where the school says do not contact, the letter is your only channel, so it has to do the work an email would have done. Where it says nothing, as at IMPRS-IS, a short question to a group about a specific paper is allowed by the page, but it is not required. Our guide to contacting a PhD supervisor covers that email when it is appropriate.

Referees on the same clock

Your referees' deadline is your deadline at all three open-call schools:

• IMPRS-IS asks for "three individuals who can provide reference letters; we are particularly eager to hear from your past and current research advisors. Please ask your referees to submit their reference letters within the application deadline."
• Cognition: "the deadline of the application call also applies to the referees." Its FAQ 3.7 says that if a reference is missing, "Your application will be considered incomplete and therefore not qualify for the application phase." It says a good reference should come from a referee "who has supervised the candidate for at least 6 months".
• IMPRS-ML: "your application can only be submitted once both letters of recommendation have been submitted before the application deadline."

Our recommendation: send referees the portal link at least three weeks before the call closes, with your list of groups and one line on what each letter could speak to. For what a European PhD reference should contain, see the sibling guide to references for PhD positions in Europe.

The IMPRS-IS rule on AI tools

IMPRS-IS publishes this under "Use of AI in Applications", quoted in full: "AI tools can be used to improve the clarity, grammar, style, and overall quality of written language. However, they must not be used to generate ideas, develop concepts, or produce original intellectual content. All ideas, analyses, and substantive contributions must originate from the applicant." The Cognition and IMPRS-ML pages checked here publish no AI rule; the declaration in the application portal is what you sign, so read it there.

Before you submit

1. Confirm the call is open: IMPRS-ML's 2026 round has closed and IMPRS LIFE takes no applications in 2026.
2. Match the letter's length to the school: two pages for IMPRS-IS, one page for Cognition.
3. Name groups that appear in the portal list, and at IMPRS-ML only recruiting ones.
4. Give each group a question and your method; cut any paragraph that names no group.
5. Check the contact rule before emailing anyone.
6. Send referees the link early; their letters close with the call.
7. Put publications in the CV with full citations so the letter can point to them.

Questions about IMPRS letters

How long is an IMPRS motivation letter?

It depends on the school. IMPRS-IS asks for two pages; the Max Planck School of Cognition's personal statement is "typed with a maximum of one page"; IMPRS-ML asks for a brief reason per group in its form instead of a letter.

Should I email a Max Planck supervisor before applying to an IMPRS?

Not where the school says no. The Max Planck School of Cognition asks applicants not to contact potential supervisors before admission, and IMPRS-ML says contact "is not advised". IMPRS-IS's application page sets no rule.

How many supervisors or groups should I name?

Cognition: three potential supervisors (its FAQ says "up to three"). IMPRS-ML: up to five recruiting group leaders. IMPRS-IS: a list of faculty you are interested in, with no number stated; two or three is our recommendation for a two-page letter.

Is there an interview?

IMPRS-IS invites a selected group to "personal interviews that will take place in Stuttgart and Tübingen" and pays travel. Cognition's interviews "will take place virtually on February 23rd and 24th 2027".

Get a free review of your motivation letter

Get a free Quick Review of your motivation letter against GradPilot's PhD adviser-fit rubric. It reads for a research direction specific enough to match to a group, why each named group, claims a reader could check, and what your own work would bring. If you are applying to one advertised project instead, the PhD position cover letter rubric fits better, and the PhD SOP review page covers US-style statements.

More guides for German PhD applications:

• German PhD: contract, scholarship or offer?: what to confirm about funding.
• Cover letter for a PhD position, with a sample: the advertised-project letter.
• PhD application essay guides: every PhD document we cover.

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.

• IMPRS for Intelligent Systems, Application (2027 hiring round; deadline 15 November 2026): letter, faculty list, referees, interviews, associated faculty rule, AI rule.
• Max Planck School of Cognition, Application (intake 2027): personal statement, three supervisors, do-not-contact rule, two referees, interview dates, Applicant Support Program.
• Max Planck School of Cognition, FAQ: applying online, FAQ: considering applying and FAQ: documentation (no year stated): one-page limit, up to three fellows, 1 December deadline, referee rules, pre-match, one candidate per fellow.
• Max Planck School of Cognition, Example motivation letter template (no year stated): topics a statement typically covers.
• IMPRS for Molecules of Life, How to apply (2026/2027 timeline), Requirements and FAQs (no year stated): form instead of letter, up to five group leaders, contact not advised, two letters before submission.
• IMPRS on the Life Course, Admission: no applications in 2026; next round expected October/November 2027.