Overview | Academics | Cost | Location | Life Abroad | Student Voices
Take a study abreak at the Eiffel Tower while studying abroad in Paris, the city of light. Pass the day watching the world walk by at your favorite local cafe or gaze at the Mona Lisa in the world's most visited art museum, The Louvre. Stroll along the Champs-Elysees while enjoying everything that Paris has to offer in your spring semester abroad!
The UW Paris Spring Program is offered through a partnership of the UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. A faculty member from one of the sponsoring universities serves as the resident director each Spring. In addition, the local organization ACCENT will facilitate the transition into Parisian life and help with everyday practical matters.
Founded in 1875, the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP) is a teaching and research institution where French students specialize in topics such as philosophy, law, psychology, education, business, social sciences, sciences, and engineering. In 1948, it also launched the Institut de Langues et de Culture Francaises (ILCF), expanding its offerings to include French as a Foreign Language. Students from over seventy countries come to take courses from the forty-five faculty members at the ILCF.
In the heart of the Latin Quarter, on the Rue d'Assas, and close to other Parisian institutions of higher education, ICP offers easy access to a thriving and exciting student neighborhood. Stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens or wind your way through the cobblestone-lined streets of the Latin Quarter to get a taste of Parisian life. Students can also experience the classical and aristocratic elegance of the Faubourg St. Germain. Other inviting promenades lead to the Esplanade des Invalides, the Champs de Mars, or the famous Musee d'Orsay. Take in the splendor of Gothic-style architecture and the beautiful multi-colored rose windows at Notre Dame Cathedral, a short metro ride away from ICP.
Paris, a metropolitan area of approximately 10 million, offers limitless cultural and historic resources. Its buildings and monuments represent more than 2,000 years of history. Its museums, theaters, and libraries are among the finest in the world. Paris is a major world metropolis. The Seine River traverses the city; its waterways, quays, and bridges are major thoroughfares, and also ways to see the city's most famous monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum, and the Notre Dame cathedral. The city is known for its cafes (one for every 200 inhabitants); its parks (Bois de Boulougne, Jardin de Luxembourg, Bois de Vincennes); its street life and markets; and as a center for culture, art, fashion, gastronomy, and intellectual life.
Getting to Your Program
Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and are given guidelines for arrival dates and times.
Visa
A student visa is required. The visa process can be lengthy; students should begin the process immediately upon notification of visa procedure. Students must have a US passport valid for at least six months beyond the end of the program.
Orientation
A required orientation session held before departure at UW-Madison helps students prepare for studying abroad. Topics covered include academic, financial, administrative, cultural, and site-specific issues. In Paris, students attend orientation sessions that include walking tours, a welcome reception, and practical information about life in Paris.
Housing
Students will have the option of homestays or private student residences (depending on availability). Homestays are recommended as they provide students greater contact with French people and include daily breakfast (four dinners per week can also be arranged for an additional fee).
Excursions and Activities
In Paris, students attend orientation sessions that include walking tours, a welcome reception, and practical information about life in Paris. Paris, a metropolitan area of approximately 10 million people, offers limitless cultural and historic resources. Its buildings and monuments represent more than 2,000 years of history. Its museums, theaters, and libraries are among the finest in the world.
Excursions outside of Paris in the past have included a day-trip to Chartres to visit the cathedral and a trip to the Loire Valley.
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.
On-Site Support
Resident director and staff
Handbooks
Use the links below to find out more information on academics, daily life and student impressions for this program.
UW Paris Spring Student Handbook (Spring - 2012-13)
ACCENT Paris Spring 2013 Student Handbook (Spring - 2012-13)
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.
Nick KohlerMadeline Winter
Student Testimonials
"In Paris the possibilities for academic, cultural and social opportunities are endless."
"After a tour of Barcelona, Madrid and Rome during spring break, I find Paris the best because it has all: the classy, the vibrant, iconic architecture, picturesque park, the connection to the past and the vision of future. I feel really refreshed coming back from spring break and find myself in love with it even more."
Read Yaqi's Blog! Yaqi studied on this program during the Spring 2012 semester. You can read about her experiences and see her pictures here.
Blogs
Read about current & past students' adventures.
Yaqi-Spring 2012
While in Paris, you will enroll in a 6-9credit intensive language course at the ILCF. This course is required of all students participating on the program.
In addition to the intensive language course, you will be able to choose between two of the following three courses to make up a total of 12 credits:
Paris en Scène: La France multi-culti: Program course to be taught by UW Milwaukee Resident Director, Spring 2014. (3 credits).
Contemporary France: This course is taught by a local professor (3 credits)
From Watteau to Picasso – A History of French Art, 1715-1914: This course is taught by a local professor (3 credits)
If you want to enroll in more then 12 credits, you can choose to take an additional course at the ILCF for an extra fee.
To supplement your academic course work, you can opt to complete an internship teaching English in a local French middle school or high school.
Affiliate Institution(s)
www.icp.fr
Program Web Page(s)
www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIE/studyabroad/programs/ParisIC.htm
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.
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