The Oregon/Baden-Württemberg program is a statewide, cooperative exchange partnership that has facilitated 2,000 students to study abroad through a model that has been emulated by other states and provinces.
In 1968, the vision of Professor Fritz Leonhardt, then Rector of the University of Stuttgart, and Professor Gordon Gilkey, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University, gave rise to one of the most vibrant and successful academic exchange programs in Europe and the United States. The initial bilateral relationship between the University of Stuttgart and Oregon State University grew into a state-to-state exchange program that involves more than 20 institutions of higher education.
While this partnership is primarily a student exchange program, the breadth and depth of the partnership has provided opportunities for other types of collaboration and activities such as short-term student programs, faculty-focused seminars and research connections, and official visits from governmental officials.
The Oregon Study Center in Germany (OSCG) was established to coordinate the exchange program in Baden-Württemberg and provides support to Oregon and BW student participants. The center was located and hosted at Stuttgart University until 2002 and was then moved to the University of Tübingen where it is currently located. Faculty members from several Oregon institutions served as resident directors over the years. With the move to Tübingen, a permanent Resident Director position was established.
In 2002, the Oregon/Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program was awarded the Cooperation Prize from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The program was honored as a “flagship of state-to-state cooperation.”
Every five years, the two partner states take turns hosting a visiting delegation to celebrate the anniversary of the exchange program. In 2024, Oregon will host a group of representatives from Baden-Württemberg to celebrate the 55th year of the partnership.
For information about Oregon students interested in participating, please see our student exchange program page.
For more information about the partnership, please contact the Program Coordinator.