ESO's studentship positions are open to students enrolled in a university Ph.D. programme in astronomy or related fields. Students accepted into the programme work on their doctoral project under the formal supervision of their home university but, for a period of between one and two years, they come to ESO to work and study under the co-supervision of an ESO staff astronomer.

Studentships may be hosted either at ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) or at ESO Offices in Santiago (Chile), where up to two positions per year are provided for students enrolled in South American universities. An article with more details about this scheme can be found in West et al. 2009 and a factsheet ESO Studentship Programme at a glance can be downloaded.

The studentship selection takes place on an annual basis. The closing date for applications this year is 01 May 2015.

More details are available here. For information about the application procedure and the required material, please see the ESO recruitment portal, with separate application forms for studentships in Europe and Chile.