ESO Summer Research Programme
7th ESO Summer Research Programme
Garching, Germany
30 June - 8 August 2025
For six weeks in the summer of 2025, ESO will host the seventh Summer Research Programme. This fully-funded programme is an opportunity for university students interested in astronomy/astrophysics, who are not yet enrolled in a PhD programme, to obtain research experience alongside astronomers based at ESO Headquarters (HQ) in Garching, Germany.
We accept applications from promising university students from any country, although priority will be given to students from ESO Member States, Strategic Partners (Australia) and the Host State (Chile).
The Summer Research Programme will be hosted in Garching.
Important Dates
Applications open: 12 December 2024
Application deadline: 30 January 2025
Announcement of results, request for interview: late March 2025
Deadline for accepting offers: mid April 2025
The Summer Research Programme 2025: 30 June - 08 August 2025
The Summer Research Program at ESO is an exceptional opportunity for students to work at an institute that is both the headquarters of the most productive observatory in the world and a top-class research organisation. People at ESO's HQ maintain a very active research community and are also designing and operating cutting-edge telescopes and their instruments including the VLT, ALMA, and the forthcoming ELT, which will be the world's biggest optical-near infrared telescope!
The applicants can choose between a wide range of research projects, covering many areas of astronomy from planets to galaxies. The ESO Summer Research Programme will also provide opportunities beyond research, including a series of lectures, a mini-workshop, a planetarium visit, an ELT instrumentation visit, and many social activities. You should expect six weeks packed with new experiences, new networks and new friendships!
Travel costs to/from Garching will be covered for participants of the programme. Accommodation will be provided in a shared apartment in Garching (with electricity, heating and internet all included). Students will also be provided with a modest stipend to cover living costs during the programme. Successful students have the responsibility to acquire any required visas to spend six weeks working in Germany under these conditions.
ESO Blog articles on the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 editions of the Summer Research Programme can be found here, here, here, and here.
Previous editions of the ESO Summer Research Programme:
For inquiries about the programme, please email summerresearch@eso.org.