Bright Future for Solar System School

Nr. 28.1 - 01.10.2025

International Max Planck Research School for Solar System Science becomes a permanent institution in Göttingen and Braunschweig

The Solar System School, the joint graduate school of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the University of Göttingen, and the Technical University of Braunschweig, is now a permanent fixture in doctoral training in Göttingen and Braunschweig. The Max Planck Society will continue the International Max Planck Research School for Solar System Science at the University of Göttingen and at TU Braunschweig, as it is officially known, for an indefinite period. The doctoral program offers students from all over the world the opportunity to obtain a doctorate in the field of solar system research as part of a structured graduate program.

Affectionately known as the “Solar System School,” the graduate school is one of the oldest of its kind, having begun its work 24 years ago today. Just one year earlier, the Max Planck Society had launched the International Max Planck Research Schools, breaking new ground in the process. Joint, structured doctoral programs between individual Max Planck Institutes and universities were a novelty at the time. Today, there are 66 such Max Planck Research Schools throughout Germany. Like the Solar System School, they are initially established for a few years, extended if successful, and only become permanent institutions after careful review.

“The Solar System School has evolved into a uniquely successful graduate school. Worldwide there is no comparable doctoral program in the field of solar system research,” says Prof. Dr. Thorsten Kleine, Director at MPS. As of today, Kleine takes over the position of spokesperson for the Solar System School from his predecessor, Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki, also director at MPS, who headed the graduate school since its beginnings. Every year, around 200 students from all over the world apply for one of the coveted places at the Solar System School. Over the past 24 years, 245 of them have earned their doctorates within the framework of the graduate school.

While the basic concept of the Solar System School has remained unchanged during this time, the diversity of topics and methods has evolved considerably. In addition to the bodies of the solar system such as the Sun, planets, asteroids, and comets, the focus is now also on distant stars and their exoplanets. The individual doctoral projects can take very different approaches: the doctoral researchers contribute to the development and construction of space instruments, analyze observational data from space probes, simulate processes in the solar system on computers, and examine extraterrestrial rock samples in the laboratory.

“A key feature of the Solar System School is its enormous range and diversity of subjects,” says Prof. Dr. Andreas Pack from the Geoscience Center at the University of Göttingen. “Our doctoral students not only gain a uniquely comprehensive overview of all aspects and areas of solar system research, but can also specialize in almost any field,” he adds. Three institutes from the University of Göttingen and three from the Technical University of Braunschweig are involved in the graduate school.

“With the continuation of the Solar System School, the decades-long cooperation in solar system physics and space instrument engineering between the TU Braunschweig and the MPS in Göttingen will intensify significantly once again. The partner institutions complement each other perfectly,” says Prof. Ferdinand Plaschke from the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics at the Technical University of Braunschweig.

In addition to research projects and lectures in the field of solar system research, the Solar System School also offers courses on scientific ethics, scientific writing, and other key skills. “This provides doctoral students with excellent preparation for their future careers,” says IMPRS coordinator Dr. Sonja Schuh from MPS. Around two-thirds of graduates remain in science after completing their doctorates; just under a quarter hold a professorship after five years.

The International Max Planck Research School on Solar System Physics at the University of Göttingen and at TU Braunschweig is an association of the following institutions: