Doctoral Student Programme 2026-1

Employment Type: Full-time

Company Description
At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on home.cern.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization.

Take part in CERN’s Doctoral Student Programme!
This is a chance to work on your thesis while spending up to 36 months at the forefront of science. Whether you’ve already chosen a subject or are still making your decision, if your specialism is Applied Physics, Engineering or Computing, this is an invitation to further your knowledge in a truly unique organisation. In fact, it’s an invitation to get involved in world-famous experiments of unprecedented scale and scope. An invitation to join an environment like nowhere else on Earth.

You will have the opportunity to work in a diversity of fields at the cutting edge of technology: applied physics, IT, mathematics, electricity, electronics, mechanical or civil engineering, instrumentation for accelerators and particle physics experiments, materials science, radiation protection, safety and environmental protection, science communication, surveying, ultra-high vacuum are but a few of the examples of the many domains in which successful applicants will learn and contribute their knowledge.

The following link provides few examples of doctoral student projects currently available Doctoral Student Programme projects | Careers at CERN. If any of these are of specific interest for you, please mention when completing your application on the "note to hiring manager" text field. Please note this is not mandatory nor a guarantee that these projects will be the ones for which you are selected: you may be selected on another project that matches your profile.

Note: students specialising in theoretical or experimental particle physics are not eligible to apply for this programme.

Qualifications
In order to qualify for a place on the programme you will need to meet the following requirements:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have started or are about to start a doctoral programme in a university.
• Your work envisaged at CERN is all or part of the thesis work required to obtain your PhD. The award of the degree remains the responsibility of your university. Academic arrangements will be discussed between your university thesis supervisor and your CERN supervisor.
• You have a good knowledge of English OR French.

Additional Information
During your studies, CERN will provide you with:

• A contract of association for 12 months initially, renewable up to 3 years.
• The total period (up to 36 months) may be spread over a maximum duration of four consecutive years to allow you to spend time at your university (for periods of up to 12 months, granted as unpaid special leave).
• An allowance of 3891 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• A travel allowance.
• Depending on your personal circumstances, supplementary allowances could be granted if you are married or in a registered partnership and/or have children.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive Health Insurance scheme (the contribution will be automatically deducted from your allowance).
• 2,5 days of paid leave per month.

Please note that the 3-year maximum contract duration shouldn’t be interpreted as an imposition of the time limit in which students are expected to complete their PhD.

Please also note that CERN cannot contribute to any cost related to your University nor will CERN reimburse tuition fees.

This is how you can apply:
Required documentation:
You will need a CV in English or in French in PDF format to complete your application (other supplementary documents, such as academic transcripts or reference letters are recommended).

Check out our dedicated pages for more information.

"Your application should reach us no later than 16 November 2025 (at 23:59 CET).

Please note that your application may also be shared during the process with a panel of national experts for evaluation purposes. Ultimately, it will be reviewed by a panel of CERN experts between November 2025 and February 2026. During this period, you could be contacted for a phone/video interview or additional information. The outcome of the recruitment process will be given at the end of February 2026.
Please note that if a traineeship agreement is required by your institute (university), as an international organisation CERN will not sign external documents. You will therefore be required to use the CERN traineeship agreement provided upon request.