Winter Paris Program
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

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.

    


Paris from Sacre Coeur
Adam Brunk 08
General Description:
The University of Chicago's winter-quarter Social Sciences program in Paris offers students in the College an opportunity to study the social sciences, including economics, from a European perspective. All participants take four courses: a required "core" course on the European Union, two electives, and a French language course. The core course is designed to introduce students to the historical development and current structure of the EU. The electives are chosen from a list of social sciences and economics courses offered to participants in this program as well as the College's winter-quarter International Studies program. These courses are taught in English by a combination of Chicago and Paris faculty (largely from Dauphine University [University of Paris IX] and the Institut d'Etudes de Sciences Politiques ["Sciences Po"]). In addition to these subject-based courses participants take a fourth course in "Practical French," designed to facilitate their exploration of France's capital and their connection with French culture. For a virtual tour of Paris, visit http://paris.arounder.com/.

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.


Exploring Parisian Boulangeries
Violeta Voykinska '08

     

Housing:
Participants in the Paris Social Sciences program 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 (in the fourteenth arrondissement), the Cité offers easy access, by metro and bus, to all of Paris.

Credits:
 Students receive one credit (equals 100 units or one course) for each of the four courses in this program (four credits total). These courses have been pre-approved for use in their respective majors. The use of any of these courses in another major is subject to the approval of the program chair. All courses are usable, without further approval, as free electives. Course titles, units of credit, and grades are placed on your Chicago transcript.

Registration and Tuition:
Students remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College tuition, the Winter 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 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 Social Sciences 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 Slavic 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 Paris Social Sciences program and the possibility of participating in it, you are invited to contact Sarah Walter (Harper 207A; 834-3753).

 


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