Year abroad programme
Introduction
All year-abroad students have one ambition - to improve their French. The Institute has, for more than fifty years, offered courses to undergraduates reading for degrees in French in British universities and spending their compulsory third year abroad.
Why University of London Institute in Paris?
Our Department of French Studies operates mostly in French. Only in our programme can year-abroad students benefit in France from teaching designed in accordance with the strict quality control standards of the best British universities. In the modular elements, they study side by side with our own undergraduates. In the 1996 Quality Assessment, our French Department was awarded the highest possible marks for teaching and learning, student progress and achievement.
What courses can I choose?
Your semester or year at the Institute is organised around two components: a core course and a module (filière). The French language core course is made up of French grammar and written French (3 hours per week), and translation into French and into English (2 hours per week).
In the modular part of the course (which is optional), the knowledge acquired in the core course comes into its own. You can choose from a choice of filières with a linguistic or cultural theme (3 hours per week). Some modules are subject to specific requirements on your level of French and others are only offered to full-year students.
List of modules
Please note that modules may not all be offered every year and that a limited number of places are available for each module.
- Spoken French
Study of the phonetics of French and of the areas of difficulty encountered by foreign speakers. Work in the language laboratory: on contrasting pairs of phonemes and grammatical structures, on acquiring structural fluency and on broadening vocabulary. The course also covers various aspects of oral comprehension and expression. - The French Nation, past and present
Lectures, study of various types of documents, and monitored surveys on the geographical, ethnic, cultural, ideological, political and institutional roots of the French sense of national identity, together with a study of the main current events in the year of the course. - Sociology and History of the family in France
This module includes lectures and guided study of social and literary texts and documents on the development of family life and related moral values. It covers childhood, motherhood, parental authority, sexual conventions, concepts of marriage and adultery, as well as the social role of the family in France from the seventeenth century to the present. - French Film
This module covers the history of French film and approaches to the language of film, through several films representative of different periods and styles: the poetic realism of the 1930s, the Popular Front, the films produced during the German occupation, the New Wave, and modern French quality film. It includes lectures, large-screen showings, seminar work on video, guided use of the Institute's video collections and the film and video collections on show in Paris. - Fin de siècle - French Literary Culture of the Late Nineteenth Century
A study of late nineteenth-century literary culture in France, contextualised in terms of the major literary, intellectual and socio-political developments of the era. - Language and Image
This module includes lectures and guided study on the relationships between the written and the graphic sign, and on the role of letters and words in twentieth-century painting. - Paris: development and representation of the town
A study of the city of Paris viewed from a series of different perspectives (historical, architectural, artistic, literary, political etc.), revealing the interaction between representation and construction, between images of the town and its material reality. - Women in/and post-war fiction (Cinema and Literature)
A study of aspects of the influence of sexual politics on the production of culture through an analysis of post-war women's writing and cinema in France from the post-war period to the late 1970s.
How to apply
Your university's year-abroad tutor should normally have pre-registration packs for the Institute. If not, you can contact our office (french@ulip.lon.ac.uk) to receive it by post. Please note that pre-registration begins in May for the next academic year.
- Check with your year-abroad tutor on your university's policy as to payment of the Institute tuition fees during your stay in France. Some universities only pay part of these fees. These vary according to the formula you choose: 'Formula A' involves 8 contact hours a week (core course plus module), and 'Formula B' 5 contact hours (core course only). Make sure your year-abroad tutor signs and stamps your registration form or provides a written confirmation if the university pays all or part of your fees.
- Take an hour and a half to complete the placement test, which will help us place you in an equal ability group, and return it to us by post. Based on your result in the test, you will then be given a list of modules to chose from.
- Arrive in Paris two weeks before the start of term, or plan to spend a few days on a previous visit, in order to secure accommodation. When you arrive in Paris, our accommodation secretary will be available to provide advice on accommodation and to put you in contact with landlords. Find out more about our accommodation service .
Calendar
2009/2010
- First semester Monday 28 September - 16 December 2009
- (Christmas holidays 17 December - 10 January)
- Second semester Monday 11 January - 26 March 2010
Fees
Tuition fees for the academic year 2009-10 are as follows:
Fee for one semester | Fee for full year | |
Full-time Home/EU | £1,613 | £3,225 |
Part-time Home/EU | £1,010 | £2,020 |
Full-time Overseas | £4,750 | £9,500 |
Part-time Overseas | £2,970 | £5,940 |
