Central European University Summer University

Venue: Budapest
Period: Jul. 4 - 29, 2011
Application deadline: Feb. 15, 2011 for most courses.
 
Late submissions will be reviewed on an case by case basis.

Established in 1996, CEU's Summer University program hosts high-level, research-oriented, interdisciplinary and innovative academic courses as well as workshops on policy issues for professional development in the social sciences and the humanities. Courses involve distinguished international faculty (including CEU professors), and excellent advanced doctoral students, junior or post-doctoral researchers, teachers and professionals as participants. While application from all over the world is encouraged, continued priority is given to applicants from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and countries experiencing emerging democracies worldwide. Applicants from these countries, when admitted on merit, will be eligible for scholarship, while those from developed countries will usually be expected to pay fees.

Course offerings cater for the various needs of academic and professional development across a wide spectrum of disciplines. These include anthropology, cultural studies, environmental sciences, comparative religion, political science, public policy, sociology, international relations, legal studies, etc. The program encourages topics in newly emerging fields and transdisciplinary approaches.

The program is unique in its diversity of faculty and student body as well as its academic offerings. It brings together groups of interested individuals to study together intensively for two or three weeks in Budapest coming from an enormously varied geographical, cultural and academic background. Participants have been accepted into the program from 120 different countries ranging from East and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union to countries of Asia, Africa, North America and South America. The courses are taught by a team of teachers who also represent a wide range of countries in an effort to match the diversity of the student body. Professors have come from approximately 67 different countries from the region as well as mostly from Western Europe and America. This exciting multi-cultural composition of the courses provides a stimulating environment for engaging participants and faculty in an inspiring and enriching dialogue during the summer school.

The program encourages applications from graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, researchers and professionals.
 
The language of instruction is English; thus all applicants have to demonstrate a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in discussions at seminars and workshops. (In some instances shortlisted applicants may be contacted for a telephone interview.)
 
Undergraduates without a university degree will not be considered with the exception of the course entitled the "Advanced European Union Legal Practice" course, which accepts applications from those near completion of their law degree as well.

Tuition cost range from Euro 300 to 1.200 depending on the courses selected.
 
In addition, participants should budget about Euro 250 per week in living costs, including meals and transportation within Budapest.

Tuition Waiver
Financial aid: tuition fee waived
Participant's contribution: health insurance, travel, accommodation and living expenses

Partial SUN Scholarship
Financial aid: tuition fee waived and free accommodation in a double room
Participant's contribution: health insurance, travel and living expenses

Full SUN Scholarship
Financial aid: tuition fee waived; free accommodation in a double room and a full or partial travel grant.
Participant's contribution: health insurance and living expenses.

The Full SUN Scholarship includes a full or partial travel grant which can be applied for on a competitive basis and will be available in a limited number. Visa costs and short domestic trips are not reimbursed. The citizens of the following countries are not eligible to apply for a travel grant: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the western part of Ukraine and qualify therefore for a Partial SUN Scholarship.

1. Online Application Form

SUN's online application form enables the online submission of the application form itself as well as all other relevant documentation, including CV's and resumes, letter of recommendation, statements of purpose and application essays (such as research proposal, case study, paper proposal, writing samples, academic records, etc.), eliminating all paper mailing to the SUN Office.

In addition, applicants will be able to use this system to track their progress and learn the outcome of their admissions evaluation online. Admissions decisions will be available to applicants as soon as they are entered into the system, in most cases some time in April (please check Important Course Dates on the course web sites for the expected date of decision).

Applicants may apply to maximum two courses. Please note that if you are going to apply to two courses, you must submit a separate application for each. In such cases you should upload a separate set of attachments customized, if necessary, to the differing needs and requirements of the two courses. You will be required to rank them in order of preference, starting with the one you are most interested in. Please make sure your ranking is consistent in both of your applications - if it is not, your applications may not be considered.

Applicants can only be accepted to two courses if the two courses are run consecutively. (Financial aid is only available for attending one course.) In such cases please mark both courses as "Preferred Course" and inform the Summer University office at summeru@ceu.hu about your special preference.

2. Letter of Recommendation

Applicants must have one letter of recommendation submitted (except for the Media and Development course, which requests two letters of recommendation and the Advanced European Union Legal Practice course, which does not require a letter of recommendation). Please arrange for a letter of recommendation to be written by a referee (faculty member, job supervisor, etc.) who can attest to your abilities, qualifications and academic/professional performance. Please advise the referee about the title and content of the course you are applying to. The letter must be completed in English and submitted by the referees online via the online application facility.


3. A full curriculum vitae or resume

Please include a list of publications, if any.

4. Statement of Purpose

In the Statement of Purpose please describe how the course is relevant to your teaching, research or professional work, and in what way you expect to benefit from it. Please list relevant courses in the field you have taken previously during your studies. You are advised to consult the detailed course description on the course web page so that the statement of purpose is in accordance with the main objectives of the course.


5. Course-specific requirements

These may include a research proposal, case study, paper proposal, writing samples, academic records, etc. Each course has different requirements, which are listed in the relevant section on the course websites.

Academic records are only requested by the Advanced European Union Legal Practice course, for which applicants must submit with the online application form a scanned image of the diploma and/or transcript (see more on the course web site).


Optional attachments

1. A copy of an article in English published recently
If you have an article published in English, please upload it in the online system.

2. A copy of an English language certificate (if available)
As proof of your English language proficiency, if you have passed a language exam, please upload a scanned copy of your English language exam result in the online system. All application materials must be submitted on-line with the online application form. CEU does not accept application documents by electronic mail or fax. Candidates who may experience difficulties with the on-line submission of their documents should contact the SUN Office.

CEU does not accept application documents by electronic mail or fax. Candidates who may experience difficulties with the on-line submission of their documents should contact the SUN Office.

CEU does not return application documents, or copies thereof under any circumstances. Applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis