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Research and Training Abroad

Ecole Normale Supérieure-rue d’Ulm, Paris

Northwestern University has a long-standing interdisciplinary exchange protocol with the prestigious ENS-rue d’Ulm, Paris. One student is selected each year to spend the academic year at ENS working on his or her research. The successful applicant must demonstrate in the application how his/her research will be significantly enhanced by this experience. While at ENS, the student will attend relevant seminars, build connections with ENS faculty, and have the option of participating in seminars organized through Paris Program in Critical Theory. The applicant to this program must have successfully completed the departmental PhD exams. For information about the application process please see:

Paris Program in Critical Theory Call for Applications

Co-Tutelle de Thèse

The Department of French and Italian welcomes possibilities for co-tutelle de thèse with French colleagues and institutions. Several students have taken advantage of this collaborative opportunity, which has greatly enhanced their research as well as extended their scholarly network. While the French department has a long-standing informal agreement with Centre d’études feminines, Paris VIII, students have pursued their research with relevant scholars at other French institutions as well. The co-tutelle de thèse allows a student to conduct part of his/her dissertation research at a PhD granting institution in France under the guidance of a joint Northwestern-French dissertation committee and co-directors. The student who chooses this option must demonstrate its necessity for the successful completion of the research project and that the needed expertise on the topic is not available at Northwestern. The participating student must have successfully completed the departmental PhD exams and defended the dissertation prospectus.

Paris Program in Critical Theory

Professor Samuel Weber, Avalon Professor of Humanities at Northwestern, directs this unique program in Paris for an interdisciplinary cohort of advanced graduate students in the Humanities. Through a highly competitive process, students are selected to spend one year in Paris working with Professor Samuel Weber and a network of distinguished French scholars. Students will also be registered at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). Participation in the Paris Program by successful applicants is fully funded for the academic year, and is in addition to the student’s five-year package of support. A year of the five-year fellowship may also be used to extend participating students’ stays in Paris upon approval by the DGS in French should this prove to be useful for the advancement of their research projects. Students who participate in this program must have successfully completed their departmental PhD exams. For further information please see:

http://parisprogram.northwestern.edu/

Short Term Research Grants

The Graduate School, the Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, and the Department of French and Italian offer a number of short-term grants to support student projects. These grants maybe used to conduct short-term research or enhance language training. These sources also support travel and presentation at conferences. For further information, please refer to the Resources and Opportunities page.