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Milwaukee Exchange

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Exchange Program of the Department of Economics and Business Administration of the Justus-Liebig University Giessen and the Department of Economics of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


 

Since 1990, the Department of Economics and Business Administration of the Justus-Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and the Department of Economics of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have maintained a successful exchange program in the field of economics. The core of the program is the annual exchange of students and lecturers of both universities. This economics program (coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Meckl) is complementary to the exchange program in the field of business administration (coordinator: Prof. Dr. Alexander Haas).

For students, the program consists of three main elements:

  • The Summer School in Economics at the JLU Giessen (usually in May/June), where students and lecturers from both the UWM and the JLU participate,
  • The nine-month studies (two terms) of JLU students at the UWM with the possibility to earn the UWM's "Master of Arts in Economics (M.A.)" degree, as well as
  • The one-semester studies (summer semester) of UWM students in the JLU's Master Program in Economics.

The following two pages provide more detailed information about the exchange program and the application procedures for both JLU and UWM students:

 

Information for JLU students

Information for JLU Students

Exchange Program of the Department of Economics and Business Administration of the Justus-Liebig University Giessen and the Department of Economics of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

 

As part of the exchange program, a generally unlimited number of candidates has the opportunity to go to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) for nine months to complete the M.A. degree. The UWM is an independent part of the University of Wisconsin (UW), the state university system of the state of Wisconsin. From September to May the Gparticipants from JLU study two terms of economics at the Department of Economics in Milwaukee. Their academic achievements from Germany will be recognized. This allows all participants to graduate with a "Master of Arts in Economics" after taking courses worth of 30 "credits" and writing a master's thesis. The typically one-and-a-half-year course of study is therefore shortened to two terms. More detailed information about the M.A. program in Milwaukee can be found here.

All candidates are able to study in Milwaukee for two semesters based on the "in-state" tuition and earn the M.A. degree. This substantial benefit normally applies only to U.S. citizens of the State of Wisconsin; thereafter, the cost of study (tuition + semester fee) is currently about USD 6,600 (about USD 5,900 + about USD 700) per term (for comparison, the cost of study for non-residents is more than USD 13,000 per term!)*.


At least one candidate will be reimbursed for tuition for both terms by the Department of Economics. In return, they are expected to take a Teaching Assistant position in the Department. Moreover, the salary for the TA position allows for largely full coverage of living expenses in Milwaukee; only travel and insurance costs must be covered by the candidates themselves.
 
Please also note the possibility of receiving BAföG for studying aborad. The limits for this are slightly more generous, so it might be possible that students who do not receive BAföG in Germany are still able to receive BAfög for studying abroad. Information on BAföG funding for studying in the United States can be found here (Studierendenwerk Hamburg).

 

The academic credits from Milwaukee can be transferred to the study program in Giessen after the end of the stay abroad. In principle, the following two crediting procedures are possible, whereby both procedures are mutually exclusive:

  • En-bloc recognition: Graduates of the M.A. receive en-bloc recognition for one semester of study (30 CP) and one additional elective module. This corresponds to a recognition of 36 credit points.
  • Module-by-module recognition: The courses completed at the UWM are individually credited to the Master's program at JLU, provided they are creditable.
An overview of the crediting procedures in the Master's program can be found on the website of the examination office. 

Application procedure for the academic year 2024/2025
 

Students of the Department of Economics can apply for the exchange program with UWM in the academic year 2024/25 provided that at the time of arrival they have:

  • an admission to a master's program in economics,
  • very good English skills, and
  • good background knowledge in economics as well as math, and statistics/econometrics.

Please note that we can only offer this exchange program to students of the Faculty 02. The application deadline is November 30, 2023. Interested students should submit their application materials to the program coordinator:

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Meckl
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Professur VWL III
Licher Strasse 66
D-35394 Giessen
You are also welcome to send us your application documents as a PDF by e-mail to
. 

The application materials should include:

  • a cover letter in English stating the motives for the application,
  • a CV in tabular form
  • a copy of bachelor's degree certificate, high school diploma, and a recent transcript of records.

Please let us know in your application if you are interested in a Teaching Assistant position. After the application deadline, the most promising applicants will be invited to the chair for personal interviews. The dates for the interviews will be announced. They are mandatory for the applicants.

* Please note that tuition rates are subject to change over time. Information on tuition fees at UWM can be found here: http://uwm.edu/business-financial-services/bursar/tuition-rate-schedules/

Information for UWM students

Information for UWM Students

Economics Graduate students of the UWM have the opportunity to study at the JLU's Department of Economics. There are two basic options for UWM students that mainly differ in the studies' timeframe and the intensity. 

 

Summer School in Giessen
 

Students of the UWM are invited to participate in the six-week Summer School in Economics that usually takes place from end of May to late June / early July. This Summer School is usually jointly taught by one professor from the UWM and one professor from the JLU.

The six-week Summer School consists of two courses that usually cover a specific field of economics (e.g. monetary economics, game theory, econometrics, etc.). UWM students that successfully pass the Summer School courses, earn 3 CP for their Master Program at the UWM.

One-semester study in Giessen with the possibility of earning a Master degree in Economics of the JLU
 

In addition to the Summer School, UWM students have also the opportunity to stay for a whole (summer) semester in Giessen take classes of the JLU's "Master of Science" in Economics Program. The JLU offers various Master level courses that are / can be taught in English, as e.g. Economics of Regulation, Economics of Innovation, Trade Policy and International Factor Movements, Financial Markets and International Macroeconomics, etc. as well as numerous Master courses taught in German, which are in general also open to UWM students (in consultation with the coordinator of the Exchange Program). Within the one-semester studies in Giessen, UWM students have the opportunity to earn a Master degree in Economics from the JLU Giessen in addition to the Master of Arts in Economics earned at the UWM. A requirement for this degree is, among others, a thesis that is jointly supervised by both one professor from the JLU and one professor from the UWM.

 

UWM students can join the courses in Giessen immediately upon the end of the spring term at the UWM and stay until early August at the JLU. UWM students deciding to study a whole semester at the JLU's Economics Department can, of course, also participate in the Summer School.

 

Application Procedure
 

The application process for UWM students is coordinated by UWM’s Economics Department. For further information on the application procedure please contact Professor Kundan Kishor (UWM). 

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