Outgoing Students

Before deciding to complete a study semester in another institution, it is important for all students to ask themselves a series of important questions:

• Does the partner university I have chosen offer courses which tally with my chosen academic career path?
• Am I capable of adapting to a different cultural context?
• Are my language skills sufficient; some agreements call for language certificates for non-Anglophone students?
• Do I have the necessary financial means?

Any decision to complete a semester in a foreign university must be well-thought out in advance; all potential applicants must weigh up the pros and the cons. Potential applicants are therefore strongly advised to gather all the necessary information and contact Dr. Laurent Neury, the academic adviser in charge of exchange programmes, at the start of the second semester.

• For Master’s students, the duration of the exchange is one study semester – the autumn semester of the second academic year.
• For PhD students, the duration of the exchange is one or two semesters and must take place after the preliminary thesis has been completed and approved and before the beginning of the last statutory semester; that is, before the end of the seventh semester.

In order to be considered, completed candidate applications [doc] must include:

• A duly completed application form
• A letter of motivation
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae
• TOEFL results (if applicable)
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty members of the Institute

The application file should be submitted to the Exchanges Secretariat [exchanges (at) graduateinstitute.ch]. Incomplete files will not be considered.
The deadline for applications for the next two semesters is 1 March.

An internal interdisciplinary commission composed of professors from the Institute and the Head of the relevant study programme will examine each candidate application on the basis of the information provided. The commission will consider applications on the basis of the candidate’s academic performance to date and how the exchange corresponds to their chosen academic career path.

In keeping with the conditions agreed with the partner institutions, the final decision to admit students remains with the host universities.

Master students nominated to participate in an exchange programme must fulfil the following conditions:

• Complete their extra-institution study during the third semester;
• Submit to the exchange programmes secretariat a study project listing details of all the courses they have selected in the partner institution by July 15th;
• Complete all the mandatory courses;
• Obtain a minimum of 60 teaching credits, by the end of the second semester;
• Obtain the agreement of member of the faculty to supervise their dissertation.

PhD students nominated to participate in an exchange programme must fulfil the following conditions:

• Draft, defend and secure approval for their preliminary thesis;
• Obtain the agreement of their thesis supervisor;
• Complete their extra-institution semester before the start of the final statutory semester; that is, before the end of the seventh semester.

Master’s and PhD students who wish to participate in an exchange programme must also meet the conditions of admission set by the host university.

All students from the Graduate Institute who participate in an exchange programme continue to pay their fees to the Institute, including during their stay in another institution.

All costs incurred by the exchange (travel, accommodation, living expenses, study material, transport, insurances, medical fees, passport and visa fees) are the sole responsibility of the students. At present, the Institute does not provide any grants for exchange programmes; however, it can provide information about potential sources of external funding.

In order to ensure that the credits obtained during the exchange semester are transferred and validated as part of the students’ programme of study, students must:

• Have obtained approval from the head of the relevant department/interdisciplinary programmes for all courses they will follow, within 30 days of registration at their host institution.

Upon their return, all students are required to submit to the Student Services Office a copy of the transcript of all the grades obtained during their stay in the host universities.

Each student returning from a period of study in another institution is required to submit to the exchange programmes secretariat a report of their time in the host institution including a description of the courses followed, a report of how they were received in the host institution, practical advice, etc. In order to ensure that these reports are available for consultation by students contemplating participating in an exchange programme in the future, these reports must be submitted to the exchange programmes secretariat no later than one month after the student’s return to the Institute.

All students participating in an exchange programme are bound by the rules and regulations of the host university, as well as by the laws of the host country.