Study Abroad - Autumn Paris Program -Human Evolution

Primates and Human Evolution

Please note: Study abroad programs sponsored by the undergraduate College of the University of Chicago are open to University of Chicago students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

General Description:

Excursion to la Vallée des Singes
Photo contributed by Xin Miao

Students participating in the College-sponsored autumn-quarter program on Primates and Human Evolution will take an intensive, three-course Biological Sciences sequence taught by Chicago faculty at the University of Chicago’s Center in Paris. This sequence is unique in that the courses may be used both by Biological Sciences majors (as upper-level BIOS courses within the major) and by non-science majors (to meet the BIOS general education requirement). All three courses have been approved for use in the Anthropology and Comparative Human Development majors. Therefore, while the program is open to students of all majors, it will be particularly attractive to those interested in primate behavior, ecology, morphology, genetics, and the evolution of human behavior. Classroom work will be complemented by excursions to Parisian sites of evolutionary and zoological importance. In addition to the BIOS sequence, all participants will take a “practical” French language course running at a normal pace through the ten weeks. Visit http://paris.arounder.com/ to explore the marvels of this beautiful city.

Center in Paris:
Headquarters for all of the College's programs in Paris is the University of Chicago’s Center in Paris. The Center in Paris builds upon the University's long association with various Parisian institutions, as well as its eminence, recognized by the French government, in interdisciplinary scholarship related to France. It acts as a gathering place for undergraduates, graduate researchers, and alumni as well as a site for lectures, conferences, and receptions. For participants in the various programs sponsored by the College in Paris, the Center, with its classrooms, offices, computers, language lab, and (modest) library, provides an administrative and instructional home as well as a supportive environment. Its location, in a "new," academically-oriented neighborhood in the thirteenth arrondissement, places it within easy walking distance of the relocated Bibliothèque Nationale de France, François Mitterand and just across the street from the new home of the Université Denis Diderot.

Gorilla on the Palais de la découverte
Ingrid Gonclaves '08

Housing:
Participants in the Primates and Human Evolution program will live in a residence hall in the Cité Internationale Universitaire, a campus-like assemblage of houses for international students. In addition to its various national residences, the Cité comprises a library, restaurant (with adjoining cafeteria), and several sports and exercise facilities. Located at the southern edge of Paris (in the fourteenth arrondissement), the Cité offers easy access, by metro and bus, to all of Paris.

Credits:
Students receive full credit (four courses) for their work in the Primates and Human Evolution program. Course titles, units of credit, and grades are placed on their Chicago transcript. The BIOS courses have been approved for use in the Biology, Anthropology, and Comparative Human Development majors. The use of a course in another major will be subject to the approval of the respective program chair; otherwise, any course may count as a free elective.

Registration and Tuition:
Participants in the Primates and Human Evolution program remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College tuition, the Autumn Paris program fee and the non-refundable study abroad administrative fee required of all participants in Chicago's programs abroad. For precise figures, see Study Abroad Program Fees.

Financial Aid:
Students retain their financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses--the non-refundable study abroad administrative fee and the round-trip airfare to Paris--are not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since students cannot be expected to work part-time while in Paris, the self-help component of their financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.

Eligibility and Application:

The Primates and Human Evolution program is open to University of Chicago undergraduate students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

The program is designed for undergraduates in good standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the program stipulates no minimum grade-point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity. Because the BIOS sequence is taught in English, there is no language prerequisite, although students are encouraged to take French on campus before the program begins.

Each application is examined on the basis of the student's scholastic record, personal statement and academic recommendation.

A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a non-refundable study abroad administrative fee.

Further Information:
If you would like to discuss the Primates and Human Evolution program and the possibility of participating in it, you are invited to contact Sarah Walter (Harper 207A; 834-3753).

Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.