Leipzig/Chicago Visiting Graduate Student Exchange Program

 
The Department of Philosophy at Leipzig University and the Departments of Philosophy, Germanic Studies, and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago have a cooperative agreement for regular visiting student exchange at the graduate level. The objectives of the graduate exchange program are the following:

1. To support innovative research and graduate education of the highest academic quality in Philosophy and Literary Studies. 

2. To provide international experience for German and US graduate students that will assist them in their future academic careers. 

3. To promote an intellectual dialogue and professional interaction between the German and the Anglo-American traditions in Philosophy and Literary Scholarship. 

4. To establish a framework for further collaborations such as joint conferences, workshops, summer schools, and short research visits for graduate students and faculty.

The time-frame for possible visits at each of the two universities is constrained by the structure of their respective academic years. The academic year at the University of Chicago has four quarters. The exact dates of these vary slightly from year to year. The following dates will give an idea of how they are distributed: Summer Quarter runs from roughly June 21st to August 28th, Autumn Quarter from September 27th to December 11th, Winter Quarter from January 3rd to March 12th, and Spring Quarter from March 21st to June 4th. (The precise dates given here are those of the 2021-2022 Academic Year.). Leipzig doctoral students may apply to be visiting graduate students at the University of Chicago for either one quarter (three months) or two quarters (six months), starting in Autumn, Winter, or Spring; they may spend the Summer Quarter only as a continuation of their stay. The academic year at Leipzig University has two semesters: Winter semester runs roughly from October 1st to March 31st and Summer semester roughly from April 1st to September 30th. Graduate students from the University of Chicago will spend one or two semesters at Leipzig University. Leipzig graduate students may participate in the program only with permission from their dissertation supervisor. Chicago graduate students may participate in the program only with permission from their dissertation committee. 

The University of Chicago will waive all tuition fees for visiting graduate students participating in this exchange. However, it will charge students from Leipzig University a Student Services Fee, which is USD $432 per quarter (as of the 2021-2022 Academic Year; subject to change in upcoming years). The Student Services Fee for each Leipzig student admitted into the program will be covered by the Chicago Center for German Philosophy. Leipzig University will not charge a foreign student tuition fee for visiting students coming from Chicago. However, it will charge students from the University of Chicago a “social contribution” (Sozialbeitrag) fee, which is currently €235 per semester. The funds to cover this expense for each University of Chicago graduate student participating in the exchange program will be drawn from the Center for German Philosophy’s discretionary budget for graduate student research, travel, and foreign stays.

Each student participating in the exchange must have a stipend either from his/her home institution or from other research funding institutions sufficient to cover the costs of accommodation, travel, and  health insurance. Students must purchase the medical insurance required by the host institution, or demonstrate to the satisfaction of the host institution that the medical insurance carried by them, or on their behalf, is sufficient for all purposes of the host institution. Any medical expenses not covered by such insurance shall be the personal responsibility of the exchange student. Liability and accident insurance are highly recommended.

Each side of exchange is administered by  a coordinator for the exchange program. The coordinator is appointment by each University independently and may be subject to change. Currently the two coordinators are: 
At Leipzig University:
Andrea Kern
Professor of the History of Philosophy 

At the University of Chicago:
James Conant
Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities
jconant@uchicago.edu

Members of the Leipzig or Chicago philosophical community who are interested in participating in this program should direct their questions and submit their applications to the e-mail address of the appropriate program coordinator.  

The host institutions commit to integrating the exchange students into their programs, supporting their dissertation projects and providing them with research facilities (e.g. access to libraries). The exchange program coordinators will assist the students in contacting faculty at the host institution who will give them advice during the exchange period. Exchange students will be allowed to enroll in graduate courses for credit or as auditors. Students will be encouraged to participate in workshops, colloquia, and other events occurring in their host departments. They may also be given an opportunity to present their own research in these contexts.  

Each exchange student will be responsible for obtaining a visa and other related documents required for study at the host university. It is also the exchange student’s responsibility to maintain their visa status, including full-time enrollment as determined by the host institution. Leipzig University will assist with the necessary paperwork for the visa application of graduate students from the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago will do the same for students from Leipzig University.
After consulting with their dissertation supervisor, Leipzig doctoral students must also complete a formal application process to become a visiting graduate student at the Division of Humanities of the University of Chicago; and it must be completed in a timely fashion. Every Leipzig applicant must complete this application process in addition to the Leipzig process. For information about the Chicago side of the process, please contact William Weaver (Administrative Director of the Departement of Philosophy at the University of Chicago): wweaver [at] uchicago.edu
Nominations of Leipzig students and all relevant application documents for their participation in the exchange program should be submitted to the University of Chicago for the Autumn Quarter by June 1st, for the Winter Quarter by October 1st, and for the Spring Quarter by January 1st of the same year. Nominations of Chicago students and all relevant application papers for their participation in the exchange program should be submitted to Leipzig University for Winter semester by June 15th, and for Summer semester by December 1st of the same year.