Winter Paris Program
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.
The College-sponsored Europe: East and West Program, offered in Paris in Winter quarter, provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to explore the rich cultural ties between France and the Slavic countries. The Program recognizes and celebrates the long-standing role of Paris as a destination for a steady stream of Eastern European artists, writers, musicians, statesmen, and scientists, individuals who formed vibrant émigré communities in the French capital, enriching and being enriched by the intellectual scene therein.
While it may be of particular interest to students majoring in the Slavic Languages and Literatures, this program is designed for students from all majors who have an interest in this significant intercultural exchange and who would like to purse this interest in Paris. It is, in other words, intended for the generalist and thus has no prerequisite (though students will normally have completed the general education humanities sequence).
Program participants take three courses illuminating significant interregional topics, each compressed into approximately three weeks and taught in succession (but not as a sequence) by Chicago faculty. In addition to these courses students take a language course running at a normal pace through the ten weeks. While for most students this course will be a "practical" course in French, pitched at a number of levels, there is also the possibility for students with some previous study of a Slavic language to replace the French with that language. As with all programs at the University of Chicago's Center in Paris, the Europe: East and West Program is enhanced by a number of excursions, museum visits, film viewings, etc. within or in the vicinity of Paris. A particular highlight of this program is an extended excursion to an Eastern European capital such as St. Petersburg, Krakow, or Prague. This culminating event, with its own museum visits and walking tours, is designed to amplify and add perspective to the concept of the East-West cultural exchange that is central to this venture.
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 (Bibliothèque
François Mitterand) and just across the street from the new home
of the Université Denis Diderot.
As a participant in the Europe: East and West Program you will live in one of the residence halls of 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 (the fourteenth arrondissement), the Cité offers easy access, by metro and bus, to all of Paris.
You receive one credit for each of the four courses offered through
this program. While students in Slavic Languages and Literatures, especially
the "Interdisciplinary Studies" track, will likely be able
to use some or all of these courses in their major, it is not impossible
that a student in another subject receive such credit with the approval
of his or her program chair. Certainly you may use any of these courses,
including the language course, as a free elective. Course titles, units
of credit, and grades are placed on your Chicago transcript.
You remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College
tuition, the Winter Paris Program fee, and the College's study abroad
administrative fee. The Program fee covers accommodation (without meals)
and some excursion costs For precise figures please see Study Abroad Program
Fees.
You retain your financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses--the
study abroad administrative fee and the round-trip airfare to Paris--are
not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since
you cannot be expected to work part-time while in Paris, the self-help
component of your financial aid package does not include a term-time
employment factor.
The Winter Europe: East and West Program in Paris 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, you should present
a transcript demonstrating that you are a serious student who will make
the most of this opportunity. There are no prerequisite courses for
this program, nor is knowledge of French or a Slavic language required.
Applications are available on the study abroad website. To apply to the Europe: East and West program, a student submits a general study abroad application electronically, then downloads the supplementary application specific to this program and submits it on paper, normally in mid-winter quarter of the previous academic year.
A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a $500 non-refundable study abroad administrative fee. (To begin the application process, click on the Study Abroad General Application.)
If you would like to discuss the Winter Europe: East and West Program in Paris
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.
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