Studium

This exchange is available for all BA, MA and PhD students of sociology, social sciences, and political sciences (if applicable, also for students of other social sciences or humanities).

There are scholarships available within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme or within the framework of the exchange programme “Go East” by the Centre for German and European Studies (CGES/ZDES) of Bielefeld University for either studying 3 up to the 5 months at the State University St. Petersburg (Russia) or to autonomously conduct small research projects. The students will be supervised and supported during their stay at the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University.

Knowledge of Russian is not necessarily required because the courses will be offered in English language within the framework of the MA study programme "Studies in European Societies".

The application period is two times a year. Applications can be made until the 15th of April for the upcoming winter semester (start: 1st September) and until the 30th of September for the upcoming summer semester (start: 1st February). The application for the exchange will be independent of the two programmes listed above and the programme will be assigned after the application submission, depending on the application’s profile.

Successful applicants are granted:

• A monthly paid scholarship (if applicable “Auslands-Bafög”)
• A travel allowance of 425€
• An optional grant of 500€ for intensive Russian language courses
• Exemption from enrollment fees

Your application should contain the following:

1. Application letter (one page in German or English language)

   • Personal data: Add first name, surname, address, phone number, e-mail address and your bank details.

   • Motivation: Explain why you want to spend your exchange at the partner university in St. Petersburg. You should thereby link your studies with the offered courses at the partner university. Through doing so you should note the interests and focuses of your previous studies and how the offered courses at the partner university correlate with these. You should additionally show that you are well informed about the partner university, especially about the courses and focuses. Furthermore, illustrate why a stay is important for your academic education and what you expect from staying at the partner university.

   • Knowledge of foreign languages: Describe your knowledge of foreign languages such as English or Russian

2. Curriculum vitae
3. Additional documents depending on the focus (see below)

Procedure and Focus of the Stay Abroad

There are two possible alternatives for organizing the studies during the stay abroad:

1st alternative: Research based

The stay can be used for autonomously conducting your own small research project. Professors counsel and supervise the students during the researching process in St. Petersburg. By doing a research based stay abroad, the students commit themselves to offering a lecture course in German on a topic of their choice. The application for a research based focused exchange must contain:

• Description of a research project (5 pages)
• Proposal for a lecture course in German at the State University St. Petersburg

2nd alternative: Study based

The stay can be used towards the studies of the MA programme “Studies in European Societies” at the Faculty of Sociology of State University St. Petersburg. The MA programme is held in English and offers an interdisciplinary examination of the Russian-European area, including and a comparative perspective on the social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of  Russian and other European societies. In the case of sufficient knowledge of Russian, it is possible to attend the regular courses offered in Russian at the Faculty of Sociology. The application for a study based focused exchange must contain

• Sample of an essay (about 5 pages), which especially highlights previous knowledge (about societal developments in Europe and the Russian society) as well as expertise and political interests.

Further Information and Contact Persons

For further information about the study or research exchange in St. Petersburg visit the website of the Centre for German and European Studies (CGES/ZDES) and the website of the MA programme “Studies in European Societies” (MA SES). You can additionally visit the contact persons of the programme during their office hours and ask for their counsel.