Hessen-Wisconsin Student Exchange Opportunities

Hessen-Wisconsin: 15 Years of Academic Partnership

The Hessen-Wisconsin Student Exchange was initiated and inaugurated in 1998 to expand the long-established cooperation between the two sister-states by offering a Student Exchange for all Hessen and Wisconsin Institutions of Higher Education. The ultimate objective was to serve as an "umbrella agreement" for as many bilateral cooperations between Hessen and Wisconsin universities as possible. Beyond the student exchange, new international programs have been developed, and important initiatives have been taken to provide and increase the variety of disciplines/topics of the short-term summer programs in Hessen, the International Summer Universities to meet the US students' demands. This program is supported by the Hessen Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts and the University of Wisconsin System.Check out a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education on Hessen as an academic destination.The current administrative home of the program in Hessen is the Universität Gießen. The Hessen website provides information about specific offerings for Wisconsin students including year, semester, and month-long programs. Participation in the programs is restricted to US-citizens who, at a very minimum,

1. Are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at one of the participating Wisconsin universities
2. Have completed one year of full-time study (or 24 credits) at the time of participation
3. Are in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

General cost estimates can be found on the website of the UW-Oshkosh, which hosts the program on the Wisconsin side. The UW-Oshkosh also provide an outstanding guide about studying in Hessen and a student report about Marburg. Here is also a cost comparison of a semester and academic year at the UWW and Hessen: UWW vs. Hessen Costs.NOTE: The applications for all study abroad programs are processed by the UWW The Office of Global Experiences (McCutchan Hall, Room 204), which maintains the following deadlines:

October 15:

1. For spring semester programs 
   A. The German "summer" semester runs April -July
   B. IUSP runs mid-February through mid-June (specific dates)

March 15:

1. For summer ISU programs
   June, July, or August
2. For the fall semester programs
   A. The German "winter" semester runs October-February
   B. IUSP runs September through mid-December (specific dates)
3. Year-long programs 
   September-July

Please visit the out-bound advisor, Mikaela Auerbach, well ahead of these deadlines to give yourself adequate time to compile the application.FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIPS for study abroad are available on campus. In addition, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD) provides more than adequate funding for well-qualified undergraduate students. Application deadlines are typically in the fall for the following year.For more information about specific programs see the following links.The Study in Hessen website provides an overview of all study opportunities in Hessen, not just Wisconsin-specific offerings.A listing of ENGLISH-LANGUAGE COURSEWORK AND PROGRAMS can be found here as PDF and here as webpage .The International Undergraduate Study Program (IUSP) runs in the fall or spring semester in Marburg to correspond to the US semester dates. Coursework is primarily in English.The International Summer University (ISU) allows the student to earn 6 credits (3 in German plus 3 in numerous disciplines) during a month-long program. As a Wisconsin student, you are required to pay for only 6 UWW credits, your flight, a few administrative fees, and miscellaneous daily expenses: cost estimate. The accomodations and excursions are subsidized by the Hessen government. Below are the specific offerings.

Frankfurt
http://www.isu-frankfurt.de/
"European Studies / Finance"
mid-July through mid-August

European Studies:

• Intercultural Communication
• European History
• European Economic and Social Policy
• European Law
• European Central Banking

Finance:

• Money & Macroeconomics
• Negotiation in Debt Finance
• Corporate Finance
• Future & Options Markets Intercultural Communication

Gießen
http://www.uni-giessen.de/isu/
"Intellectual Property and Biotechnology - Linking Law, Business, and Science"
mid-July through mid-August

• Biotech Ethics
• Intellectual Property Rights - Law
• Intellectual Property Rights - Business
• Biotech Applications

Kassel 
http://www.uni-kassel.de/isu/
"New Perspectives for a Globalized World: Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Dimensions"
mid-June through mid-July

Engineering Module

• Environmental Engineering and Renewable Energies (in English) 
• Adaptation Strategies To Climate Change (in English) 
• Introduction to Earthquake Engineering (in English)
• Risk Management in Environmental Engineering (in English) 

Nano Module

• Nano Science (in English) 
• Intercultural Communication (in English) 

Culture Module

• German History and Politics of the 20th Century (in English)
• Deutsche Geschichte und Politik im 20. Jahrhundert (in German) 
• German Fairytales (in English and German) 
• Intercultural Communication (in English)

Marburg 
http://www.uni-marburg.de/isu
"Europe and the Middle East in Transition"
mid-July through mid-August

• Political Science
• Sociology
• History
• Cultural and Regional Studies

Fulda
http://www.isu-fulda.de/
"Advancing Sustainability - Economic and Social Dimensions from a European Perspective"
mid-July through mid-August

Culture & Society Module

• Intercultural Communication
• Was ist Deutschland?
• Migration

Health and Nutrition Module

• Music Therapy
• Stress Management

Social Work

• Social Work - Poverty

The Universität Kassel also offers the International Winter University(IWU) for engineering students during the winterim (end of December to just before spring semester).

• Environmental Engineering: Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change
• Cultural Studies: Reflections on German History, Literature and Art