15 Fully Funded PhD and Postdoctoral Opportunities at the University of Tübingen Germany

The University of Tübingen, a renowned hub for interdisciplinary research, offers a range of fully-funded PhD and postdoctoral positions across diverse fields such as linguistics, psychology, physics, computer science, and religious studies.

These opportunities, primarily within Collaborative Research Centers (CRCs) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and other prestigious programs, provide an excellent platform for early-career researchers to advance their academic careers in a vibrant, international environment. You can also checkout NHR Graduate School PhD Scholarships 2025

How to Apply

To apply for these positions, carefully review the eligibility criteria and application requirements for each project. Most applications require a motivation letter, a detailed CV, academic transcripts, and contact details of two or three referees. Some may also request a writing sample, such as a Master’s thesis or publication.

Applications are typically submitted via email to the specified contact, with all documents combined into a single PDF file. Ensure you address the specific project leader and meet the stated deadlines. For detailed instructions, refer to the application links provided for each position.

PhD Researcher in Linguistics

This PhD position is part of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1718 “Common Ground: Cognition – Grammar – Communication” at the University of Tübingen. Project C5, “Multiple Common Grounds – Linguistic Mechanisms for Literary Meaning,” explores pragmatic mechanisms in interpreting literary texts, focusing on semantic and pragmatic analysis of utterances relative to Common Ground.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Linguistics or a related Language Science field by 01 October 2025.
• Strong familiarity with compositional semantics and formal pragmatics.
• Research interest in the semantics/pragmatics interface (e.g., speech acts, presupposition, implicature).
• Interest in analyzing literary texts as a data source.

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Linguistics
Deadline: 04 August 2025

PhD Positions in Linguistics (CRC 1718, Irony Project)

This opportunity includes two PhD positions within CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, focusing on the study of irony through experimental, developmental, and computational approaches. The project investigates how children acquire irony comprehension and models irony using probabilistic pragmatics (e.g., RSA). PhD project 1 examines irony acquisition in German-speaking children, while PhD project 2 develops a computational model of irony.

Eligibility

• M.A. or equivalent in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, or related disciplines.
• Solid background in formal linguistics (semantics and pragmatics).
• Lab experience with psycholinguistic or psychology experiments (for PhD project 1).
• Fluency in English (writing and speaking).
• Fluency in German (for PhD project 1).
• Interest in computational modeling of pragmatic reasoning.
• Familiarity with experimental design and analysis in R (preferred).
• Programming skills (JavaScript, CSS, HTML) or willingness to learn (preferred).

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Application

Apply for this project: PhD Positions in Linguistics
Deadline: 20 July 2025

PhD Position in Linguistics (CRC 1718, Project A3)

Part of CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, Project A3, “Common Ground Make-Up: Attitudes and Types of Propositional Information,” empirically investigates and models the effects of uncertain information on Common Ground. It focuses on epistemic and evidential marking and explores non-Stalnakerian models of Common Ground.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Linguistics or a related field by 01 October 2025.
• Fluency in German and English.
• Experience in experimental and/or corpus work (preferred).

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Position in Linguistics
Deadline: 20 July 2025

PhD Researcher in Psychology

This PhD position, part of CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, is within Project A6, “Developing Common Ground Across Age and Language Proficiency.” It investigates perspective-taking and linguistic abilities in child first language learners (aged 2–6), adult second language learners, and L1 adults, using memory and eye movement studies in collaboration with a linguistics doctoral student.

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Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Linguistics by 01 October 2025.
• Experience in empirical-experimental research in psychology or psycholinguistics.
• Near-native German proficiency and fluency in English.

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Psychology
Deadline: 20 July 2025

PhD Researcher in Computational Linguistics

This position, within CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, is part of Project C2, “Signaling and Interpreting Defectivity in Common Ground.” It examines cues (verbal, prosodic, gestural, textual) for signaling and interpreting irony across communication modalities, involving corpora development, machine learning for irony detection, and data correlation analysis.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Computational Linguistics, Computer Science, or related fields.
• Solid background in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing.
• Experience with corpus collection and annotation.
• Familiarity with experimental design and statistical analysis.
• Fluency in English.
• Familiarity with speech processing or multi-modal machine learning (preferred).
• Knowledge of formal linguistics (semantics and pragmatics) (preferred).

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Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Computational Linguistics
Deadline: 24 July 2025

PhD Positions in Linguistics (CRC 1718, Project B6)

This opportunity includes two PhD positions within CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, under Project B6, “Syntax Interacts with Common Ground: Non-Canonical Inversion Structures.” The project investigates exceptional inversion structures in English (e.g., “Into the room marched the bishop”) and their German counterparts, focusing on contextual factors, syntactic structure, and interpretive contributions.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Linguistics or a related field by 01 October 2025.
• Enthusiasm for empirical syntax and/or pragmatics research.
• Fluency in English; German proficiency is beneficial for comparative analysis.

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Positions in Linguistics
Deadline: 15 July 2025

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PhD Researcher in Semantics and Pragmatics

This PhD position, part of CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, is within Project B2, “Common Ground Management Interactions: Evidentials in Romance.” It focuses on the evidential uses of verbal morphology (future and conditional) in Spanish, Italian, and French, using corpus data and experimental methods to develop a formal compositional model of Common Ground updates.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Linguistics (not Translation, TEFL, or Applied Linguistics) by 01 October 2025.
• Strong familiarity with formal semantics and pragmatics.
• Excellent English skills.
• Fluency in Spanish, Italian, or preferably French.
• Familiarity with corpus and experimental methods (preferred).
• Ability to work independently and in a team.

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Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Semantics and Pragmatics
Deadline: 20 July 2025

PhD Researcher in Primate Communication

This PhD position, part of CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, is within the project “Modeling Great Ape Signaling Behavior.” It focuses on multimodal communication in great apes (gestures, vocalizations, facial expressions), analyzing contextual factors like social and physical context to explore the evolution of Common Ground.

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Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Biology, Psychology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Linguistics, Cognitive Science, or similar by 01 November 2025.
• Experience with collecting and analyzing behavioral data.
• Affinity for statistical modeling.
• Ability to work in a diverse, multi-national team.
• Experience with animal communication research and fieldwork (preferred).

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Primate Communication
Deadline: 13 August 2025

PhD Researcher in Language Evolution

This PhD position, part of CRC 1718 at the University of Tübingen, is within the project “Modeling Great Ape Signaling Behavior.” It develops and tests models of multimodal communication in great apes, emphasizing contextual factors to theorize the evolution of Common Ground using probabilistic or evolutionary modeling.

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Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Biology, Psychology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Philosophy, or similar by 01 November 2025.
• Robust conceptual and analytical skills.
• Background in animal communication, probabilistic modeling, or language evolution.
• Strong knowledge of mathematical, computational, or probabilistic modeling.
• Near-native English proficiency.
• Ability to work in a diverse, multi-national team.

Application

Apply for this project: PhD Researcher in Language Evolution
Deadline: 13 August 2025

PhD Student in Physics (Institute of Applied Physics)

This PhD position at the University of Tübingen’s Institute of Applied Physics, under the group “Physics of Molecular and Biological Materials,” focuses on molecular and biological materials using X-ray and neutron scattering. Research areas include perovskite films for photovoltaics, X-ray nano-diffraction, time-resolved X-ray diffraction, protein crystallization dynamics, or machine learning for scattering data analysis.

Eligibility

• Master’s degree in Physics, Chemistry, or equivalent by 31 August 2025.
• Interest in materials science.
• Good written and spoken English.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.
• Programming skills (Python) and lab experience (preferred).
• Knowledge of German (preferred).

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Application

Apply for this project: PhD Student in Physics
Deadline: 31 August 2025

Postdoctoral Researcher in Religious Studies (MANTRAMS Project)

This opportunity includes four postdoctoral positions at the University of Tübingen’s Institute for the Study of Religions, within the ERC-funded MANTRAMS project. Task Force 2 focuses on sonic efficacy in global Southern Asia, studying mantras in religious sound, healing, and place-making, and grassroots mantra practices among marginalized communities.

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Eligibility

• PhD in Anthropology, Sound Studies, Religious Studies, Asian Studies, Indology, Ethnomusicology, or related fields.
• Expertise in sacred sound, oral literature, traditional music, ritual, healing, or subaltern communities in Asian contexts.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Experience in ethnographic fieldwork.
• Proficiency in one or more modern Asian languages.
• Familiarity with digital humanities methods (preferred).

Application

Apply for this project: Postdoctoral Researcher in Religious Studies
Deadline: 01 September 2025

Postdoctoral Researcher in NeuroAI (CRC Robust Vision)

This postdoctoral position, part of the DFG-funded CRC “Robust Vision” at the University of Tübingen, focuses on developing statistical methods and computational tools to evaluate biological and artificial vision models, contributing to benchmarks and metrics for comparing neural, behavioral, and computational data.

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Eligibility

• PhD in Computer Science, Neuroscience, Machine Learning, or related fields.
• Strong programming skills in Python and modern ML tools.
• Experience in computational neuroscience, vision science, or model evaluation.
• Strong communication skills and enthusiasm for collaborative, open science.

Application

Apply for this project: Postdoctoral Researcher in NeuroAI
Deadline: 15 August 2025

Post-Doctoral Researcher in Theoretical or Experimental Pragmatics

This postdoctoral position, part of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1718 “Common Ground” at the University of Tübingen, is within the project “Probabilistic Reasoning about Common Ground.” It investigates cognitively plausible models of pragmatic reasoning using probabilistic pragmatics (Rational Speech Act models), cognitive psychology (dual-process models), and formal epistemology (inattentiveness and unawareness), combining philosophical/linguistic analysis, human experiments, and mathematical/statistical modeling.

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Eligibility

• PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Philosophy, or related fields by 01 November 2025.
• Near-native English proficiency (spoken and written).
• Robust conceptual and analytical skills, demonstrated through prior research publications.
• Familiarity with experimental research (preferred).
• Knowledge of probabilistic pragmatics, cognitive psychology, or formal epistemology (preferred).
• Ability to work in a diverse, multi-disciplinary team.

Application

Apply for this project: Post-Doctoral Researcher in Pragmatics
Deadline: 14 July 2025

PhD and Post-Doc Positions in AI for Physics (Department of Computer Science)

This opportunity includes multiple PhD and postdoctoral positions at the University of Tübingen’s Department of Computer Science, focusing on AI-driven scientific discovery in physics. Projects include developing physics simulators (JAX-based), AI-driven discovery of quantum technologies, optimization algorithms, interpretable AI, formal mathematics (Lean’s mathlib), and agentic frameworks (LLMs) for physics idea generation.

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Eligibility

• For PhD: Master’s or Bachelor’s in Physics, Computer Science, or related fields.
• For Post-Doc: PhD in Physics, Computer Science, or related fields.
• Interest in AI for scientific discovery in physics.
• Strong analytical and programming skills (preferred).
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Application

Apply for this project: PhD and Post-Doc Positions in AI for Physics
Deadline: 15 July 2025

Postdoctoral Researcher in Physics (Institute of Applied Physics)

This postdoctoral position at the University of Tübingen’s Institute of Applied Physics, within the group “Physics of Molecular and Biological Materials,” focuses on molecular and biological materials using X-ray and neutron scattering. Research areas include novel photovoltaic materials, proteins in solutions, complex nano-structured materials, and advanced scattering methods with machine learning for data analysis.

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Eligibility

• PhD in Physics, Chemistry, or equivalent by 31 July 2025.
• Interest in materials science.
• Good written and spoken English.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.
• Experience with X-ray/neutron techniques (preferred).
• Programming skills (Python) and lab experience (preferred).

Application

Apply for this project: Postdoctoral Researcher in Physics
Deadline: 31 July 2025