The Graduate Program

Exchange Programs

PhD Exchange Program with Sciences Po

Apply to be nominated for academic-year exchange to conduct PhD research at Sciences Po in Paris.
February 1:  Deadline for PhD Students to email application materials to DGS.

Each year GSAS exchanges one PhD student with Sciences Po in Paris, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques et l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques. History, Political Science, and Sociology Departments participate in the exchange.

GSAS invites eligible PhD students from these three Departments to apply by February 1 to be nominated by their Department to spend the following academic year (October through June) at Sciences Po in Paris.
Students are eligible if they:

  • have completed all requirements for the MPhil
  • have a dissertation topic that would benefit from a year of research in Paris
  • have received departmental approval of the PhD dissertation proposal
  • are not beyond year 6 in the program
  • are a multi-year student who will be on a dissertation fellowship during the exchange year
  • have good written and oral French skills

Students must email the following documents to their DGS by the deadline to be considered for the nomination by the deadline:

  • a Curriculum Vitae in French or English
  • a statement of purpose in French or English explaining why the student wishes to pursue their PhD research at Sciences Po
  • a summary of their research project in French or in English
  • a letter of academic recommendation from their PhD Faculty Sponsor

The Director of Graduate Studies emails the nomination materials to GSAS Associate Dean Terrien by February 15.  GSAS chooses one applicant and forwards the nomination to Sciences Po.

Description of Exchange for GSAS Students

One Columbia PhD student on a dissertation fellowship travels to Sciences Po in Paris for the academic year (October through January). NOTE: This award is substitutional for the dissertation year fellowship the GSAS exchange student to Sciences Po would receive if they remained in New York.

Upon approval by GSAS and Sciences Po each spring, the Columbia PhD student is promised from Sciences Po free tuition and a stipend in Euros comparable to the amount that Columbia would have awarded for the academic year 2007-08.  Columbia will pay health insurance so that the student is covered in the U.S. (in case the student travels to the U.S. during the year) and the student is required to carry approximately $200 French health insurance in Paris.

In Paris, the GSAS exchange student is assigned a faculty adviser and invited to participate in a Sciences Po seminar designed specifically to socialize international students. In the seminar students share their doctoral research with faculty and students.  The student has access to all research services and other Sciences Po benefits and may be considered eligible to apply to teach a topic seminar on their dissertation topic in English for an adjunct salary in addition to the stipend.

Ph.D. Student Exchange at the London School of Economics

Objective

To offer Ph.D. students additional research resources (archival and advisory) and to introduce students to the academic culture, professional contacts and employment opportunities in the UK.

The exchange offers Columbia PhD students in year 3-6 an opportunityto work with LSE  faculty,conduct research in nearby archives and libraries, and attend conferences and workshops both within the School and elsewhere in the UK and Europe.

Duration of each exchange

Each exchange will be for a minimum of one 10-week LSE term or a maximum of one academic year.

Application procedures

The Columbia-LSE Joint Teaching Committee is responsible for administering the exchange, including accepting applications. The deadline for the fall semester, or the full academic year, is April 30. If you wish to spend the spring semester in London the deadline is August 31.

For Columbia students going to LSE

Columbia students should submit to the MA committee chair (see below) a dossier containing the following materials:

§  A one-page single-spaced statement of academic purpose explaining their research interests, why a visit to LSE would benefit them, and what they intend to do there, including which scholar/s at LSE they hope to work with. This statement should make clear the preferred length of the visit – a minimum of one ten-week term, or a maximum of one academic year.

  • A letter of support from a Columbia advisor.
  • A note from the prospective LSE academic advisor(s) confirming that they will be able to assume this role at the time of the student´s visit.
  • An up-to-date curriculum vitae.
  • Visa status, country of citizenship, place of and date of birth
  • A letter demonstrating that the student has sufficient funds to live on during the time on the exchange.
  • A completed LSE Graduate Application form (which can be downloaded from the LSE web site: https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Graduate/Prospective-students/How-to-Apply

MA Committee Chair:

Professor Marwa Elshakry, me2335@columbia.edu

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