Writing Retreats for Ph.D. Students

Are you finding it challenging to carve out uninterrupted time for your dissertation? Join a Writing Retreat for groups of 3–5 PhD students, funded by the Academic Career Development. Connect with peers to reflect on your writing practice—from goal setting and routines to the use of AI tools—and dedicate real time to making substantial progress on your dissertation.

Funding
You can apply for up to 5’000 CHF. Funds may be used for

• Rental costs/accommodation
• Meals and groceries
• Travel expenses (2nd class train travel)

Requirements

• You apply as a group of three to five PhD students
• Every member of your group has successfully defended the research proposal
• You organize travel, accommodation and daily arrangements yourself
• You dedicate the time exclusively to writing your dissertation
• You meet as a group with a writing coach (organized by the Academic Career Development) before and/or during your retreat
• The retreat takes place between October 2026 and February 2027.

Application

• Please submit your application in one single PDF file:
• An application letter that contains: 
  • Your names and the Ph.D. programmes you are enrolled in
  • Short statement of interest indicating the current progress of your dissertations (publication output) and target output during your stay (scope of paper(s)/chapter, etc.)
  • duration of stay (minimum three, maximum seven nights)
  • destination and accommodation plans
  • a rough description of how you will organize the retreat
• CVs of each member of the group

Applications will be assessed on the basis of the composition of the group, with preference given to groups comprising PhD students from different programs and/or with different supervisors; the coher-ence and feasibility of the proposed retreat; and the appropriateness of the planned use of funds.

Please submit your application no later than September 27, 2026 to susanne.toensmann@unisg.ch. 

Expenses will be refunded upon completion of your writing retreat and submission of a summary of all expenses and supporting receipts. Participants are expected to hand in a short report no later than three weeks after completion of the retreat.