Overview | Academics | Cost | Location | Life Abroad | Student Voices
Spend a semester or academic year in Southern France refining your French! Stroll the Cours Mirabeau, passing by the many fountains of Aix-en-Provence and stopping at the markets on your way to class. Take a weekend to hike up Mont Sainte Victoire for a beautiful view of the countryside and end the day with a stop at one of the remaining Roman spas in town. Enjoy fresh ingredients, a mild climate and plenty of sunshine while you immerse in French culture for your study abroad adventure. A wide variety of courses are available at two institutions: Aix Marseille University and Sciences Po-Aix where program participants are enrolled in classes alongside French and international students. The program also offers specially designed courses for program participants in grammar and composition, oral expression, and history & civilization. Students with four semesters of French are able to enroll at SCEFEE, a French language and culture institute at Aix Marseille.
The Academic Program in Aix-en-Provence, established in 1962, is offered by a consortium of Indiana University and UW-Madison. A faculty member from one of the participating U.S. universities serves as the Resident Director for the academic year and teaches at least one course. The Faculty Director, along with local staff, assists with all aspects of the program. Aix Marseille University was founded in the early fifteenth century. Along with Sciences Po-Aix, it offers many opportunities for the study of French language, culture and various courses in social sciences. Both institutions are located in Aix-en-Provence, a city of about 150,000 people in southeastern France.
As the former capital of the Kingdom of Provence and a former Roman city, Aix features remnants from Roman and Medieval times. For centuries, Aix-en-Provence has been famous for art, music festivals, fountains, and a pleasant climate. Cezanne's paintings immortalize the beautiful countryside of this region. While small enough that you can walk anywhere and not get lost in the shuffle, Aix offers plenty to explore and is located only a short distance from Marseille and the Cote d'Azur.
Interested in learning more? View the online Information Session!
Aix-en-Provence is a city of about 150,000 people in southeastern France and is only a short distance from Marseille and the Cote d'Azur. As the former capital of the Kingdom of Provence and a former Roman city, Aix-en-Provence features remnants from Roman and Medieval times. For centuries, Aix-en-Provence has been famous for its art, its many music festivals, its fountains, and its pleasant climate.
Getting to Your Program
You are responsible for making your own round-trip travel arrangements and are given guidelines for arrival dates and times.
Visa
A student visa is required. The visa process for France can be lengthy; you should begin the process immediately upon notification of visa procedure. You must have a passport valid for at least six months beyond the end of the program.
Orientation
IAP expects you to be an active participant in preparing yourself for your study abroad experience. As a participant on an IAP program, you will receive a pre-departure orientation, either in-person or online. The type and format of this orientation will vary by program and will be provided to you upon acceptance to the program.
You will also have a comprehensive orientation once you arrive onsite in Aix. To prepare for regular university courses, students studying at Aix Marseille University will enroll in an orientation/language session called the Cours Intensif. This session consists of one to three weeks of intensive study of French language, literature, and civilization.
Housing
Academic year students live in apartments that you find with the assistance of the program staff. During orientation, you are housed in a temporary hotel until your permanent housing is found.
Spring students are placed in a rented room situation with kitchen access. If desired, you can also have some meals included at an additional fee payable onsite. You may eat in any of the university cafeterias at very affordable prices, cook for yourself, or dine at numerous popular cafes and restaurants in Aix-en-Provence.
It may be possible for spring students to live in apartments, depending on availability. You will fill out a housing preference sheet upon acceptance to the program to indicate your preferences.
Excursions and Activities
Once in Aix, you will attend orientation meetings that provide practical and academic information as well as an introduction to life in Aix. These orientations include specially conducted sightseeing trips and visits to historical monuments. You can take one sports activity at the University Sports Center and in the past, students have also joined sports teams.
Insurance
All participants in IAP programs are enrolled in health insurance through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) and the cost of the insurance coverage is included in program fees. You are also required to purchase French insurance (Securite Sociale) upon arrival.
On-Site Support
Faculty Director and Assistant Director
Handbooks
Use the links below to find out more information on academics, daily life and student impressions for this program.
Aix-en-Provence, France Program Handbook Spring 2013 (Spring - 2012-13)
Aix-en-Provence, France 2013-2014 Student Handbook (Year - 2013-14)
Returned Student Network
Click
here to see testimonials from students abroad or to contact a returned student.
Student Profiles
Check out student profiles to learn more about their experience abroad.
Kate ThornboroughAllison Mack
Student Testimonials
"It was the best year of my life!"
"Some of the greatest joys were the simplest of things, such as ordering a coffee at a cafe in a sunny square of the city, chatting with a French person about politics and popular culture, or realizing that I just managed to read several pages of a book without the need of constant reference to a dictionary. This year, with its highs and its lows, also gave me the gift of greater personal strength and self-confidence, which is something that I will carry with me the rest of my life."
Blogs
Read about current & past students' adventures.
Devin-Academic Year 2012-13Sam-Spring 2013
Video
Watch videos about the program.
Kate ThornboroughCaitlin Quintenz
A wide variety of courses are available at two institutions: Aix Marseille University and Sciences Po-Aix, where you are enrolled in classes alongside French students. The program also offers specially designed courses in grammar and composition, oral expression, and history and civilization. If you have four semesters of French you are able to enroll at SCEFEE, a French language and culture institute at Aix Marseille.
At the Faculte des Lettres of Aix-Marseille University, courses are offered in cinema, education, geography, history, art history, archeology, and communication, foreign languages, French literature, music, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theatre. Students enroll in courses after the program orientation in consultation with the Faculty Director. Course offerings are published at the beginning of each semester and are taught by Universite faculty.
Sciences Po-Aix offers courses in political science, international studies, communications, European Union, economics, history, journalism, law, and French and European Institutions. There is a separate application process for students interested in Sciences Po-Aix and acceptance is not guaranteed as spaces are limited. Students interested in applying for this track must have a declared major in political science, international studies or another social science and have taken at least two university-level courses related to political science, political theory, political philosophy, social-science theory, European history, or similar topics prior to departure. Courses are taught by law researchers, professors, and professionals in the field.
To prepare for regular university courses at both institutions, you will enroll in an orientation/language session called the Cours Intensif. This session consists of one to three weeks of intensive study of French language, literature, and civilization. Due to the different academic calendars, Sciences Po-Aix students may not be able to participate in the Cours Intensif. In addition, you will enroll in a semester-long Expression Ecrite course to help improve their written French.
If you have four semesters of French, you will study French language and culture workshops at SCEFEE, a language institute within Aix Marseille University. If you are participating on the academic year program, you will study at SCEFEE for the fall semester with the intent of moving to either Aix Marseille University or Science Po-Aix for regular courses during the spring semester.
Affiliate Institution(s)
www.up.univ-mrs.fr/
Program Web Page(s)
www.iep.u-3mrs.fr/international.php#ex1
Foreign Courses
Available Courses
Course Equivalents
Use the links below to see a list of courses that students have taken on this program before and the UW equivalents. Note: this list only includes pre-approved courses for your program and may not be an exhaustive list of courses or departments. You will get instructions on the course equivalent process after acceptance.
Sort by Foreign Course Titles
Sort by UW-Madison Course Titles
Group by host institution and Sort by Foreign Course Titles
Group by host institution and Sort by UW-Madison Course Titles
