Application

Students of all disciplines are eligible to apply to the Fichtehaus. There are no schematic application requirements. New applications are normally processed for the summer semester in January and February and for the winter semester in June and July. The application is read by a four-person committee chosen each semester by the house.

Please enclose the following documents with your application (Numbers 1 and 2 can be written together in one document):

   1. a letter of motivation in which you explain why you would like to move into the Fichtehaus and how you could get involved.
   2. a formulated curriculum vitae (as a text).
   3. a photo of you would be nice, but is not mandatory (does not have to be a passport photo)

Send the application to bewerbung[at]fichtehaus.com or send a letter with the heading: "Bewerbungsgremium" to the Johann-Gottlieb-Fichtehaus. This will ensure that the letter is not mistaken for anything else other than an application.

For us it is important that your personal statement or résumé gives us an insight into your social, artistic or creative interests as well as other commitments and reasons for wanting to live in the Fichtehaus. In addition we would like to invite you to an interview as this allows us to get to know you more, ask questions and show you the house. Applications are welcomed throughout the year but most rooms only become available towards the beginning of a new semester.

English Version:
Application Form as a PDF-Document

Some more detailed information about the application process:

As mentioned, your application will be reviewed by a select group of residents. This group is not an official committee judging “excellence” in your studies or in your career; rather, we are normal people who are looking for applications that let us know who you are and why you want to live in the Fichte Haus. There is no formula for the perfect application; our accepted applications vary in language, tone and content, as much as the applicants themselves.

Your application documents consist of two parts (which may be combined into one document): the written CV and the motivation letter.

What do we mean with written CV? What are our expectations?

This is basically a narrative of your life journey. You can include the typical CV professional aspects you are proud of, but also other aspects of your life that define you as a person: e.g. the time you hitchhiked for a month. You don’t really need to explain your full CV, we are not as much interested in what knowledge you have, but rather on who you are.

Here is some advice on what we are looking for in your motivation letter:

• Tell us about yourself: We want to get to know you as a person, to figure out if you could be a good fit for living with us, so please include a few sentences about your personality, hobbies, interests, social engagement, anything that you feel is relevant for us to know. Note: cleanliness, while being a very welcome trait, is not the only thing we want to know about here.
• Why the Fichte Haus? It is helpful to include some information as to why you want to move in with us. How do you imagine your life in the Fichte Haus will be? How would you contribute to the residence?
• For us, interest in living together is crucial. We know you need a place to stay in Tübingen— 90% of the people applying to Fichte Haus need it as well. Unfortunately, our residence is not big enough to offer a place for everyone who needs it, so this alone is not enough to choose an applicant.
• Keep in mind this is not a job placement. When we think of the words CV or motivation letter, we usually think about work, formality, job skills. However, here, this could not be farther from the truth. We won’t judge you based on grammar mistakes, or if your life is 80% procrastinating university work, or if you have the best marks of your degree. Rather, tell us about your experience living with other people, or about what you usually like to do when you are with others.

Good luck with your application and let us know if you have any additional questions!