International Programs
Each year approximately 200 University of Chicago undergraduate students travel to Paris to participate in one of our many international programs offered at the Center in Paris. For a full list of University of Chicago study abroad programs, visit the study abroad website.
Year-Long
Academic Year in Paris
Through Chicago’s Academic-Year program in Paris, students in the College spend nine months in Paris, where they are directly enrolled at one of the Parisian universities with which Chicago has an agreement.
Autumn Quarter
European Civilization (in English)
The autumn-quarter European Civilization program, taught in English, is devoted to the study of the history of Europe with a particular emphasis on France. Integral to this program are a number of excursions to sites of historic and artistic interest both within and in the vicinity of Paris. Students will explore the French capital and its environs to connect readings, discussions and lectures with the monuments of France’s past.
European Civilization (in French)
Like its English language counterpart, this program comprises three civilization courses devoted to the history of Europe with some emphasis on France. The distinctive feature of this civilization sequence is that all readings and discussions are conducted in French. Students will also take an advanced French language course.
Primates and Human Evolution
Students have the opportunity to visit Parisian sites of evolutionary and zoological importance through the Primates and Human Evolution program. This program is comprised of an intensive three-course sequence taught by Chicago faculty. This program is open to students of all majors, but will be particularly attractive to those interested in primate behavior, ecology, morphology, genetics, and the evolution of human behavior. The courses are unique in that they may be used both by Biological Sciences majors (as upper-level BioSci courses within the major) and by non-science majors (to meet the BioSci general education requirement). These courses can be used in the Anthropology and Comparative Human Development majors as well. Students will take a fourth course in French.
Winter Quarter
“The conversation partners were such a pleasure to meet with every week. It was great to meet a 'real' French person who could take us to bars and the movies to practice our French. The sessions were supposed to last for an hour, but everyone I know met for two hours or more. I became really good friends with my conversation assistant.”
Jessica Rodriguez '09
European Civilization (in English)
The winter-quarter European Civilization program, taught in English, is devoted to the study of the history of Europe with a particular emphasis on France. Integral to this program are a number of excursions to sites of historic and artistic interest both within and in the vicinity of Paris. Students will explore the French capital and its environs to connect readings, discussions and lectures with the monuments of France’s past.
Europe: East and West
The Europe: East and West program provides students an opportunity to explore the rich cultural ties between France and the Slavic countries. The chief element of the program is a succession of three courses illuminating significant interregional topics, each compressed into approximately three weeks and taught in English by Chicago faculty. In addition to these courses, students take a language course running at a normal pace through the ten weeks. A particular highlight of this program is an extended excursion to an east European capital.
International Studies
This program is open to all students—regardless of their major—with an interest in international relations and public policy from a European perspective. Students take courses, taught in English by Chicago and Paris faculty, on various global issues as viewed from a French and European perspective. Central to this program are two "core" International Studies courses: "Lectures on International Organizations," a seminar based upon a series of lectures by representatives from UNESCO and other international organizations, and an introductory course on the social challenges currently facing the European Union. In addition to these required courses, students take an elective course in the social sciences and a "practical" course in French language. This program meets the IS study abroad requirement.
Social Sciences
The Social Sciences program is devoted to the study of economics and the social sciences, considered from a European perspective. Like the International Studies program, courses are taught in English by a combination of Chicago and Paris faculty, and there is no French language prerequisite. Students will take a "core" course about the European Union, a practical course in French, and two electives.
Spring Quarter
Astronomy
This sequence, designed for non-science majors, investigates the observational and theoretical bases for our present understanding of the evolution of stars, galaxies and the nature of the Universe. The three-course sequence, taught by Chicago faculty, fulfills the College’s physical sciences requirement providing credit for PHSC 11900 and 12000, and a third astronomy course. Students will also take a practical course in French. Coursework is enhanced by excursions to sites of astronomical interest and a connection with the Laboratoire de Astroparticule et Cosmology (APC) at the Université Denis Diderot (U-Paris VII) directly across the street from the Center.
Biology
“Working at the Pasteur Institute was the best part about living in Paris. The ability to do actual research and acquire new data was amazing. I started as a beginner and felt like an expert after 10 weeks.”
Adam Large ’11
The Bio-Major Study and Research in Paris (SARP) program is open to AP 5 biology students only. During the first three weeks of the spring quarter, the selected students take an AP 5 biology course, taught by a Chicago faculty member in Paris. The students then merge into the second and third courses of the civilization program at the Center in Paris. As with the other programs in Paris, participants will take a French language course taught throughout the ten weeks of the quarter. A central highlight of this program is a summer research internship at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, for which students receive a stipend.
European Civilization (in English)
The goal of the spring-quarter Civilization program is to give students an opportunity to meet the College's civilization requirement by studying European history at one of its political and cultural centers. The three-course sequence, taught in English by Chicago faculty, places some emphasis on France and Paris and is supplemented with visits to local historical sites. Additionally, students will take a French language course at an appropriate level.
Humanities
The spring-quarter Humanities program provides an excellent opportunity for students with an interest in the humanities (not necessarily students majoring in a humanistic subject at Chicago) to pursue this interest in Paris. The program consists of a succession of three courses, each in a humanistic discipline and each drawing upon the cultural resources of Paris. These courses are designed for "the generalist" (all majors), though each course is usable in the major of its home department. Students additionally take a French language course designed to help them make their way within and connect their studies to the French-speaking environment.
Mathematics
The University of Chicago's spring-quarter program in mathematics is designed for students with substantial preparation in math and a desire to further their mathematical studies, intensively and in the company of a small group of like-minded students, in Paris. Students take three mathematics courses, each compressed into three weeks and taught in succession during the ten weeks of spring quarter. These courses are taught in English by Chicago faculty. In addition to this series of courses is a French language course, taught at various levels.
Summer
Advanced French
The summer French Language program is designed to provide qualified University of Chicago undergraduates with intensive French language training. In addition to the courses addressing specific language skills, the program also features a text-based course focusing on some aspect of French literature and culture. Apart from the central goal of language acquisition, the program is designed to broaden the intellectual and cultural horizons of its participants and to impart to them a knowledge of Paris deeper than that of the short-term visitor.