Experience

The Sweet Briar Junior Year in France is the oldest coeducational intercollegiate program in Paris. Created in 1923 by the University of Delaware, the Junior Year in France has been administered by Sweet Briar College since 1948. Thus, this year we celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France, but the program is already 83 years old.

Programs of Study

Full Year:

• August 28, 2008 - May 31, 2009

Fall Semester:

• August 28, 2008 - December 19, 2008

Spring Semester:

• January 10, 2009 - May 31, 2009

Wide Selection of Classes

The following list of courses offered is by no means exhaustive. For many departments we limited the list to 4 courses. Semester courses are indicated by an f or an s - for 1st (fall) or 2nd (spring) semester. Other courses are year-long. Please note that there is no guarantee that these precise courses which were offered in 2007-2008 will be offered in 2008-2009 although similar courses will certainly be offered.

• SBC JYF Selection of Courses, 2007-2008

Students can enroll in classes at any of the following institutions:

• The Sorbonne:
  
  • III - Université Sorbonne Nouvelle
    Courses
  
  
  • IV - Université Paris Sorbonne
    Art History Courses
    History Courses
    Literature Courses
    Philosophy Courses
  
  
  • VII - Université Paris Denis Diderot
    Economics Courses
    Film Courses
    History Courses
    Literature Courses
    Mathematics Courses
    Sociology Courses
  
  
  • IX - Université Paris Dauphine
    Courses


• Alliance Française


• Institut Catholique de Paris


• Faculté Libre de Droit d'Economie et de Gestion de Paris (FACO)


• Schools in plastic arts, dance, photography, and music: (Maîtrise de Danse Janine et Dominique Solane for Dance, Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and La Schola Cantorum for Music, Spéos for Photography, Les Ateliers du Carrousel for Studio Arts, Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq for Theatre)


• Language schools: (Goethe-Institut for German, Centro di Lingua e Cultura Italiana for Italian, Instituto Cervantes for Spanish)

SBC Special JYF Courses

The courses listed below were given in 2005-2006 by well-known French authorities in their field and were ordinarily open only to students participating in the Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France.

Please click on the name of the course for a description.

French Language

• Atelier d'écriture


• Phonétique: théorie et pratique (offered by the Alliance Française for JYF students)

French Literature

• Littérature et Civilisation du 17e Siècle: La Fin d'un Monde


• Littérature et Civilisation du 18e Siècle: L'avènement d'un Monde Nouveau


• Le Roman du 20e siècle: Corps Féminin et Hybridité

Art History

• Panorama de la création artistique en France jusqu'au début du 20e siècle

Theatre

• Initiation au théâtre parisien

French Civilization

• Histoire de Paris à travers ses monuments

International Relations

• La France dans l'Europe


• L'Union Européenne


• La France et l'Afrique


• La France Multiculturelle

Internships

A limited number of internships in government or social agencies are available during the second semester. Students must have the approval of their Dean and a faculty sponsor on their home campus. One unit of credit (3 or 4 credit hours) is granted for the research paper which accompanies the internship.

Students may also volunteer to serve as assistants to French teachers of English during the whole year or the second semester. The amount of time involved varies from 2 to 6 hours a week. Although these assistantships carry no academic credit, they offer good opportunities for direct contact with French schools.

With the approval of their home college, students may also undertake an independent study project. Credit and grade may be recommended either by the Junior Year in France or the home college.

Please download our internship brochure (PDF) for more information!

True Immersion

Students are registered as regular students and do the same work as their French counterparts, unlike programs where students attend lectures as auditors and have their work corrected by tutors not connected with the University. Note that this is also different from programs which promise that their students will study "at the Sorbonne" when they really mean the "Cours de Civilisation Francaise de la Sorbonne," an institute whose function is to teach courses in French language and culture only to foreign students. Although these courses may be valuable to some students, we believe that students selected by the Junior Year in France are able to take regular university courses with French students. We do everything possible to facilitate this by providing group or individual tutoring sessions.

Preliminary Session

The academic year and fall semester program begins with a two-week session in Tours at the Institut de Touraine. Located in the heart of Châteaux country, Institut de Touraine prepares students for life in Paris and academic work in French universities.

The spring semester orientation program is held in Paris.

Selected Host Families

In Tours, all our students live with French families, as do all those who wish to do so in Paris. All our families are carefully selected and evaluated by students every year. We look for families truly interested in welcoming American students. In Paris all students will have single rooms. Other housing options are available to students who do not wish to stay with French families.

Guaranteed Fee

The fee is not subject to fluctuations resulting from variations in the value of the dollar. It is as inclusive as possible: transatlantic transportation, registration in several institutions, studio courses, room and board, group excursions, medical and personal liability insurance, baggage handling between Paris and Tours, and Tours and Paris, etc. Any expenses not included are clearly stated in our suggested budget.