French

Programs in Francophone Countries

Bowdoin students of French have the opportunity to study away for a year or a semester in a variety of exciting programs in France and Francophone Africa. Study Away is an integral part of students’ experience as a French major at Bowdoin. Students find that their experiences abroad teach them as much about themselves and their own culture as they do the foreign culture they live in while abroad.

Department-recommended programs in France and Francophone Africa:

Africa:

Senegal    
(Y/F/S) Wells Study Abroad in Dakar
http://wellsabroad.com/cities/dakar/subject/program_overview
Application deadline for 2012-2013: October 1

Cameroon
(Y/F/S) Middlebury Program based at the Université Catholique de l'Afrique Centrale in Yaounde, Cameroon. 
http://middlebury.edu/sa/africa/cameroon
        
Application deadline for Academic year 2012-2013 and for Fall 2012 : March 15
Application deadline for Spring 2013 : October 1, 2012

Madagascar 
(F/S) SIT, Fort Dauphin, Madagascar (Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management)  
http://sit.edu/studyabroad/ssa_mge.htm
Fall Semester Closing Dates: May 15: For all other programs
Spring Semester Closing Dates: November 1 for all programs
Summer Program Closing Dates: April 1 for all summer programs
Scholarship deadlines: May 15 (fall semester); November 1 or 15 (spring semester)

Morocco 
(Y/F/S) SIT, Rabat, Morocco (Multiculturalism and Human Rights) 
http://sit.edu/studyabroad/ssa_mor.htm
Fall Semester Closing Dates: May 15: For all other programs
Spring Semester Closing Dates: November 1 for all programs
Summer Program Closing Dates: April 1 for all summer programs
Scholarship deadlines: May 15 (fall semester); November 1 or 15 (spring semester)

France:

Bordeaux
(Y/F/S) Middlebury College in Bordeaux
http://middlebury.edu/academics/grad_lang/french/bordeaux/
Academic Year & Fall semester deadline:  March 15
Spring semester deadline:  February 1

Nantes
(Y/F/S) IES Nantes
https://iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/France/Nantes/nantes.html
Academic Year & Fall semester deadline: April 30   
Spring semester deadline:  November 2

Nice
Sweet Briar in Nice
http://sbc.edu/junior-year-france/program-nice
Academic Year and Fall semester deadline: March 15
Spring deadline: October 15

Paris
(Year-only) Hamilton College Junior Year in France-Paris
http://hamilton.edu/academics/programs_abroad/france/
Academic year deadline:  February 28

(Y/F/S) Middlebury Program in Paris
 http://middlebury.edu/sa/france/applying
Academic Year and Fall semester deadline: February 1
     
Poitiers
(Y/F/S) Middlebury College in Poitiers
http://middlebury.edu/academics/grad_lang/french/poitiers/
Academic Year & Fall semester deadline:  March 15
Spring semester deadline:  February 1

Toulouse
(Y/S) Dickinson College Program in Toulouse
http://dickinson.edu/global/programs/year-semester/france/
Academic Year deadline: February 15   
Spring semester deadline:  September 15

The “Comprehensive List” of Bowdoin-approved programs, with links to each of the pre-approved programs listed above, is available via the Off-Campus Study website, along with general information on study abroad.

The direct link to the list is: http://bowdoin.edu/ocs/choosing/options-list.shtml
Some students have also participated in semester and year-long programs that are not on the approved list.  Enrolling in one of these programs requires a petition to the Study Abroad Committee and a meeting with the OCS office before November 1st.  If you find a program appropriate for you, please come discuss it with one of us and we will aid you in preparing your petition.

For example:

(F/S) School for International Training (SIT): in Cameroon
http://sit.edu/studyabroad/ssa_cmr.htm
Fall Semester Closing Dates: May 15: For all other programs
Spring Semester Closing Dates: November 1 for all programs
Summer Program Closing Dates: April 1 for all summer programs
Scholarship deadlines: May 15 (fall semester); November 1 or 15 (spring semester)

(Y/F/S) CIEE Rennes
http://ciee.org/study/programOverview.aspx?pID=100#1rightForYou
Fall and Academic Year: April 1
Spring semester: November 1

(Y/F/S) Brown in Lyon or Paris
http://brown.edu/Administration/OIP/programs/france/

A few SUMMER programs:

(Not meant to replace study abroad during the academic year. Students have sometimes combined a summer of study with a semester of study abroad when a year-long program was not possible.)

Bryn Mawr Institut d'études françaises d'Avignon
http://brynmawr.edu/avignon/ 

Middlebury College
in Vermont: http://middlebury.edu/academics/ls/french/

New York University in Paris
http://nyu.edu/summer/2009/abroad/programs-france.html
Summer deadline:  April 30

La Sorbonne, Cours de civilisation pour les étrangers
http://ccfs-sorbonne.fr/
Summer dealine : none

et il y en a beaucoup d'autres...renseignez-vous !

All members of the French Section are happy to speak with you about your study abroad plans. Please make an appointment with one of us.

Returning students are also a fantastic resource for information about individual programs. 

Bowdoin's deadlines for applying for permission to study off-campus:

1 November: Preliminary OCS application deadline (to register preference of study away semester)

21 February: Bowdoin's OCS application deadline (for fall 2012, spring 2013, and 2012-13 academic year)

N.B: Petitions to study in non-approved programs are due on 21 February as well, but you must meet with OCS to discuss this before the Preliminary Deadline on November 1)

1 April: Bowdoin's summer study abroad application deadline (for summer 2012)

Credits and Your French or Romance Languages Major:

Bowdoin awards up to 4 credits / semester, 8 / year for courses taken during study away.

The French Department awards, for courses taken in French in the humanities and social sciences:

• up to 3 credits toward the major for a semester of study away in a French-speaking country
• up to 4 credits toward the major for a year-long program

Important guidelines and procedures to remember

• Please communicate from abroad with a member of the Department when making your course selections to ensure that you are taking the appropriate courses in order to receive credit toward the major.
• Remember that if you are a French or Romance Languages major and have not taken 207 or 208 AND 209, 210 or 211 before going abroad, you should find a corresponding culture and society course or a literature survey course abroad to obtain credit for that requirement (especially if you are going for the year). Bear in mind that 207 or 208 AND 209, 210 or 211 or the equivalent in study abroad is required to enter 300-level courses. Seniors are not usually permitted to take 207-211 courses upon their return.
• One upper-level French literature course taken abroad may be counted as one of the three 300-
  level courses required for the major.
• Those courses counted toward the French or Romance Languages major may also be counted
  toward another major, but not all departments have this policy. Be sure to talk with faculty from other
  departments for which you wish to receive credit.
• Courses taken abroad will not count as credits towards the French minor.
• Within one month of returning to campus from study away, in order to obtain credit toward the French or Romance Languages major for courses taken abroad, you must meet with a member of the French faculty (before October 1 in the fall or before March 1 in the spring). It is your responsibility to schedule this meeting. Prior to the meeting, you will have: 1. assembled all materials for courses taken abroad for which you hope to receive major credit and 2. written a 3-4 page narrative in French describing your experience abroad. In this personal narrative, you are encouraged to comment on your academic and cultural experience, telling us what you learned, some of the specific classes you took, your outside activities, and how your world view has changed as a result of your time abroad.  How do the specific courses you took change your approach and understanding of your study of French and Francophone literatures and cultures? How do these courses complement those previously taken at Bowdoin? And those you are taking this semester?  How did your experience in another country change your views about your own country? How did you change?