USC SEMESTER IN PARIS

Program Provider: USC

Program Site: USC study center, University of Paris (Sorbonne), Institut Catholique

Duration: Fall or Spring. Fall semester runs from late August to mid December, spring semester runs from mid January to late May.

Description: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris when you are young, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
- Ernest Hemmingway

The USC Semester in Paris program is offered in conjunction with ACCENT, an international education organization that works with American universities to provide quality study abroad programs. The program is housed in the ACCENT center, located in the 11th arrondissement just a few minutes away from the Place de la Bastille. The program is designed accommodate students with beginning through advanced French fluency, offering classes in both English and French.

Academics: Students are required to enroll in sixteen units of coursework. These can include four or eight units of French language in the Sorbonne’s Cours de Civilisation Française (only the eight unit course is available in the fall). Courses are held on the Sorbonne campus in the Latin Quarter and are open to international students only. Students take Sorbonne courses on a Credit/No Credit basis.

Students also chose from USC catalog courses taught at the ACCENT center by local professors. These courses are taken with other USC students and are awarded letter grades (which count toward the USC GPA).

Available courses:
-    FREN 300 Grammar and Composition
-    FREN 330 Reading and Writing about Literature
-    FREN 385 Ecritures de Voyages (normally offered in Fall)
-    FREN 464 Sociéte et Politique dans la France contemporaine
-    FREN 474 Paris Avant-Garde (normally offered in Spring)
-    IR 368 French Foreign Policy: 1945 to the Present (Fall)
-    IR 389 Islam in France (Spring)
-    AHIS 357 History of French Art 1860-1920
-    AHIS 467 19th Century French Art

The Institut Catholique de Paris has a long tradition of welcoming international students and is particularly strong in the humanities. Its campus is located in Paris’ 6th arrondissement, within walking distance of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Students with at least four semesters French are allowed to take one or two courses there and study alongside local students. While students who choose this option are expected to be able to handle the demanding nature of these courses, the USC Resident Director can offer assistance with homework, writing papers, presentations, etc. Courses are offered on a Credit/ No Credit basis.

Sample Institut Catholique courses:
-    Histoire des idées politiques en Europe
-    Sociologie générale
-    La mondialisation: paradigms des relations internationales
-    Analyse de l’économie mondiale
-    Histoire de l’Art Antique
-    Philosophie générale: Le chaos dans le monde

Course load and Credit: Students are required to enroll in 4 courses. The maximum number of units granted per semester is 16.

Accommodations: Students are housed with French families in Paris. Breakfast is provided daily and dinner is provided four days per week (except during semester break).

Activities and Other Program Features: Cultural excursions are an integral part of the each semester. Field trips include Giverny, Normandy/ Brittany, Provence and Chartres. There are also activities planned throughout the semester such as opera nights, museum visits and dinners.

While the program participants are all from USC, students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zone become actively engaged in Parisian life. The Resident Director and ACCENT staff are available facilitate finding language partners, sports teams, cooking, dance, art and other lessons of interest, and volunteer opportunities.

Eligibility: Minimum 3.0 GPA. Two semesters of college level French or the equivalent.

Estimated Semester Cost:
Tuition.............................$19,285
Additional Expenses*.........$11,749
Total................................$31,034

Cost Updated: 3/30/09
Text Updated: 8/19/08

*Additional expenses include estimated costs for airfare, room and board, books and supplies, health insurance, and personal expenses (which can vary greatly from student to student). USC financial aid, scholarships, and tuition remission may be applied to program costs. Please visit the Office of Overseas Studies for more detailed cost information.