Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and  Universität Leipzig have pledged their institutional support for the Max Planck School of Cognition. The newly founded school will be a joint research and training network across Germany and beyond. Currently 35 outstanding scientists are involved, 19 of them from nine Max Planck Institutes and the others from 12 universities, two institutions from the Helmholtz Association, and one Fraunhofer Institute.

The Max Planck Schools are an initiative from the science community as a form of graduate education spanning institutions. So far members of 21 universities and 31 non-university research institutes are working together in three Max Planck Schools.