Princeton in Leipzig

Program

Town of Leipzig in foreground with portrait of Bach on background

J.S. Bach / Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall)

Set in Leipzig, renowned for its ties to J.S. Bach and Felix Mendelssohn, the Princeton in Leipzig summer program draws on the extraordinary musical offerings of the international Bach Festival (Bachfest Leipzig) held there every year in June. Seminars by Princeton’s Prof. Wendy Heller explore the music performed at the festival. Dr. Ruth Ochs, conductor of the Princeton Sinfonia, provides coaching on students’ performance of relevant repertoire, culminating in a public recital. Language classes at each student’s level are provided by interDaF, supplemented by weekly one-on-one tutorials with Dr. Jamie Rankin of the German Department. And all of this takes place in Leipzig, considered by many to be one of the most exciting cities in Germany.

This new collaborative program runs from June 2 to June 27, 2025, inclusive of arrival and departure dates.

Enrollment through the Global Program System (GPS) begins on November 15, 2024 and ends on January 19, 2025. The billable charges for the program in the summer of 2025 are $5,120.

Funding assistance for tuition is available through the Dean’s Fund to students who receive financial aid. To apply for this funding, you must submit an application in Student Activity Funding Engine (SAFE) before January 19, 2025.

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Course Description

Street view with closed businesses and two people walking further ahead

City center (Leipzig)

GER 233G / MUS 233G The Music and Culture of J.S. Bach in Context

Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least one course in Princeton’s German language sequence (at the 100-level).

Two Music Department faculty members oversee this component of the course. One faculty member will provide two afternoon seminars weekly on musical background and context during the first three weeks of the month, and another faculty member will offer coaching and mentoring for the student musicians during weeks 2–4 of the program, culminating in a student performance in the historic Alte Börse, Leipzig’s oldest Baroque building.

Integrated into the musical program are guided visits to sites at the heart of Leipzig’s musical and political culture, including the Bach Museum, the Bach Archive, and the Mendelssohn house; and various sites throughout the city connected with the 1989 “peaceful revolution” that brought down the wall between West and East Germany, during which Leipzig played a central role.

The language component of the program takes place at the interDaF language school, the pedagogical arm of the Herder Institute at the University of Leipzig, with additional one-on-one tutoring for conversation and pronunciation.

Grading will be based on the InterDaF assessments, overall participation, and a final reflection paper that integrates the experiences of studying, hearing and performing music over the course of the month.

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Costs

Columns down an exterior walkway with people near end

Arcade (Leipzig: Altes Rathaus / Old City Hall)

The program’s direct costs, which are billed by the University, cover all instructional costs, course books, housing, selected activities, and other cultural excursions. These charges do not include airfare, board/meals, nor day-to-day personal expenses.

For general planning and financial aid purposes, here is an estimated breakdown of the costs involved:

  • Tuition (this includes a $500 non-refundable deposit): $3,660
  • Program Fee: $1,460
  • Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment: $0
  • Housing: $0
  • Food: $600
  • Transportation: $1,500
  • Miscellaneous personal expenses: $500
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Applying to the Program

Fountain in foreground with people standing out front awaiting train

Gewandhaus (Home of the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra)

The online application opens on November 15, 2024.
The application deadline is January 19, 2025.

To apply, please complete the online application in Global Programs System (GPS) before midnight of the deadline.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out on January 31, 2025, and the deadline to accept an offer is February 7, 2025.

For more information, contact @email.

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Applying for Funding

University of Leipzig courtyard surrounded by modern architecture

University of Leipzig

To request funding for your participation, you must also submit an application in SAFE before January 19, 2025.

Apply to all of the SAFE funding opportunities for which you are eligible, even though you do not yet know if you are going to be accepted into Princeton in Leipzig. If necessary, you can withdraw your funding application later.

Download the Budget Information PDF to enter into your SAFE application.

Please also note that for summer courses taken for credit, the Office of Financial Aid offers aid recipients student loans to help meet the costs of summer courses. Princeton in Leipzig satisfies these criteria.

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