Paris

The year-long and fall semester programs begin with a four-week pre-session in Paris; the spring semester begins with a shorter stay in Paris—10 days to two weeks, to accommodate the French academic calendar. The Paris sessions allow students to sharpen their linguistic skills, both oral and written, and to become familiar with the teaching methods and approaches of the French university. Formal coursework and informal excursions and side-trips introduce participants to contemporary French culture and society.

COURSES
Students enrolled in the full-year or the fall semester program take classes in language, literature and culture—12 hours per week—in Paris during the month of September. The surveys of French literature, grammar and stylistics are designed to prepare students for coursework at the Université de Provence. In addition, a professor from the Sorbonne teaches a special course on contemporary French culture, politics and the media.

EXTRACURRICULARS
Along with these four core courses, a series of guided museum tours in and around Paris, organized in conjunction with the Musées de France, introduces students to French art and architecture from the Middle Ages to the Post-Impressionists. Students who opt for the spring semester begin the program year in January with a schedule of activities organized by the director. Their stay in Paris also includes museum visits, an evening at the theater, restaurant meals, and various other cultural activities.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN PARIS
Paris-area excursions in the past have included:

• Sunday excursions to Versailles, Chartres, Château Gaillard, Monet’s home and studio in Giverny, and Vaux-le-Vicomte.
• Guided tours of Paris neighborhoods, monuments and museums—the Louvre, Orsay, Cluny, the Marais, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Sainte Chapelle—organized by the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques et des Sites.
• Music and theater.

PARIS REVISITED
After their time in Paris, students know their way around the capital—including the métro, RER, and bus systems—and in many cases have made acquaintances and friends with whom they will stay in touch after they have begun life in Aix. Many of our students go back to Paris on their own at some point during the year—a return made easier by the initial time they spent in the city (and by the legendary TGV—train à grande vitesse).