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General Description:
Through Chicago’s university-based Academic-Year program in Paris, students in the College live and study for nine months in one of the world’s great centers for learning and culture. In addition to a course in advanced French language required of all participants, students take regular courses at one of the universities with which Chicago has an agreement:
- Université de Paris Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI)
- Université de Paris Denis Diderot (Paris VII)
- Université de Paris Dauphine (Paris IX)
- Université de Paris Nanterre (Paris X)
- Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
The first four institutions are part of the federated University of Paris. Of these Denis Diderot (Paris VII) and Nanterre (Paris X) are relatively comprehensive universities with rich offerings in the humanities and social sciences (typically, most students will take most of their courses at Nanterre, one of the most respected universities in France). Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI) is a science and mathematics university. Dauphine (Paris IX) specializes in economics, business, and related subjects. The Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, popularly known as "Sciences Po," is one of the Grandes Ecoles of France, devoted to political science, public administration, and the social sciences in general. For each university course in which Paris program students are enrolled, Chicago establishes a tutorial in which the material of the course is discussed and each student's work monitored and assessed. The selection of a student's courses in Paris is based partly upon the requirements of his or her individual program in the College, partly upon the availability of courses in Parisian institutions. Normally a Paris Academic-Year student takes courses in his or her major subject as well as electives. All instruction, including the tutorial sessions, is of course in French.
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.
Housing:
As a participant in the Paris Academic-Year program you live, during the first month of the program (September), in a residence hall of the Cité Internationale Universitaire, Paris's international student campus. For the remainder of the year you may remain in the Cité or secure alternative housing (most students live in shared apartments in a variety of Paris neighborhoods).
Credits:
You will receive a full year's credit for your work in Paris. This credit is posted in the form of course titles, units of credit, and grades at the top of your Chicago transcript. Since the application of these credits toward specific requirements in a student's degree program is variable, you are expected to consult with your academic advisor on this issue. To use Paris credits within your major you must secure the approval of the program chair. Their use to meet a general education requirement must be approved by the appropriate senior advisor. Any credits not used to meet a specific requirement fall into elective slots.
Registration and Tuition:
You remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College tuition, a Paris program fee, and the study abroad administrative fee - required of all participants in Chicago's programs abroad. The Paris program fee covers your accommodation during the first month of the program plus certain excursion expenses. You pay living expenses, including housing (after September), food, books, travel, and incidentals, “on the ground” in Paris. For precise figures please see Study Abroad Program Fees.
Financial Aid:
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 France, the self-help component of your financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.
Eligibility:
The Paris Academic-Year program is designed for University of Chicago undergraduates who are beyond their second year in the College (or transfer students beyond their first year). For most students the third year is the most appropriate time to participate in this program, though fourth-year students are also eligible.
You must have taken, with excellent grades, at least two years of French in the College (or demonstrate, by examination, a comparable competence) to participate in this program. This minimum prerequisite aside, you are strongly encouraged to take French language and literature courses beyond the second-year level. Such courses will strengthen your application and enhance your experience of Paris. You should also present an academic record that evinces the sort of scholarly seriousness and resourcefulness demanded by this program. Finally, if you have addressed yourself conscientiously to general education requirements during your first two years in the College, you will likely be viewed as having the most to gain from a year of study in Paris.
Application:
Applications are available on the study abroad website. To apply to the Paris Academic-Year program, a student submits a general study abroad application electronically, then downloads the supplementary application specific to the program and submits it on paper, normally in mid-winter quarter of the previous academic year.
The application process includes a required conference with Mr. Fortner. Appointments can be made with Mr. Fortner by contacting the Dean of Students in the College at 773-702-8615.
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.)
Further Information:
If you would like to discuss the Paris program and the possibility of participating in it, you are invited to contact Lewis Fortner (Harper 213; 702-4858).
Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.
