France Paris Student Selfie Eiffel Tower 390687139

We invite you to study abroad with API in France at the Institut Catholique de Paris! This program offers French language instruction at all levels, in addition to an array of liberal arts and French culture courses conducted in English and French. This program also offers the opportunity to complete an optional teaching internship in a local school.

Earn valuable academic credit toward your degree, advance your French language skills, experience life in the majestic "City of Light," and explore all this beautiful country has to offer!

What's Included?

Highlights

Pre Departure Services

Advising

APIConnect Platform

Orientation Materials and Resources

Access to International Phone Plans

API Alumni Network

Social Networking

Scholarships

On Site Services

Airport Reception

API Center

On-Site Orientation

Excursions

Resident Director

Tuition

Medical and Life Insurance

Social and Cultural Activities

Welcome and Farewell Group Meals

Volunteer Opportunities

Monthly Transit Pass

Tutoring

Housing (including meals and laundry with some options)

Language and Culture Tools

Re-Entry Services

Re-Entry Materials and Support

Post-Program Evaluation

Transcript

Alumni Network and API Ambassador Program

View all opportunities and amenities

Application Requirements

  • Minimum 2.5 G.P.A.
  • Open to first years, sophomores, juniors and seniors
  • Open to all levels of French speakers
  • Completed API application
  • University Approval Form
  • Official transcript
  • Entry requirements: valid passport with student visa
Session Program Dates Program Cost Application Deadline Extended Application Deadline Payment Deadline
Spring Early Start Jan 3, 2024 - May 26, 2024 $21,500 Nov 1, 2023 No Extension Nov 4, 2023
Spring Jan 29, 2024 - May 26, 2024 $18,900 Nov 15, 2023 No Extension Dec 15, 2023

API students participate in excursions designed to help familiarize them with the culture and surrounding areas of their host city and country. The following is a listing of potential excursions for API Paris programs. API may need to modify the excursions offered in a given term due to travel restrictions or health and safety concerns.

  • Lyon

    France’s second largest city, Lyon is located on the Rhone and Soâne Rivers with many sites to see, including the Gallo-Roman Museum, two excavated Roman theaters, and the 19th century Basilique Notre-Dame de Fouvière. In Lyon, visitors can take a unique journey through time and across cultures through traipsing down its narrow streets, crossing its “traboules“ (narrow secret passages). Lyon's Parc de la Tête d’Or showcases botanical gardens, a small zoo, lakes for sailing, running trails, and many areas for relaxing.

  • Normandy - Honfleur & Etretat

    Honfleur is so utterly enchanting, it's hard to remember that it was built essentially for commerce. Its harbor sits in a great location, tucked away on the southern side of the Seine’s estuary. During the Hundred Years War, the French king had this strategic spot fortified, but that didn’t stop the English from taking over for several decades.

    The little town of Etretat is located in the Pays de Caux, on a section of the coast of Normandy called “La Côte d’Albâtre”, and is renowned for its impressive white cliffs, featuring arches, a large rock needle-like structure and tunnels (which Impressionists painted so memorably).

  • Toulouse

    Welcome to Toulouse, capital of Occitania! Toulouse is a city of colors, with its pink brick facades, its emblematic flower, the violet, the blue of the pastel... Located in the heart of the South-West, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the "Pink City" joyfully combines heritage and the art of living. Yesterday, capital of the Visigoths, today aeronautical and space capital, Toulouse invites you to discover its two thousand years of history and has many surprises in store for you!

  • Lyon

    France’s second largest city, Lyon is located on the Rhone and Soâne Rivers with many sites to see, including the Gallo-Roman Museum, two excavated Roman theaters, and the 19th century Basilique Notre-Dame de Fouvière. In Lyon, visitors can take a unique journey through time and across cultures through traipsing down its narrow streets, crossing its “traboules“ (narrow secret passages). Lyon's Parc de la Tête d’Or showcases botanical gardens, a small zoo, lakes for sailing, running trails, and many areas for relaxing.

  • Normandy - Honfleur & Etretat

    Honfleur is so utterly enchanting, it's hard to remember that it was built essentially for commerce. Its harbor sits in a great location, tucked away on the southern side of the Seine’s estuary. During the Hundred Years War, the French king had this strategic spot fortified, but that didn’t stop the English from taking over for several decades.

    The little town of Etretat is located in the Pays de Caux, on a section of the coast of Normandy called “La Côte d’Albâtre”, and is renowned for its impressive white cliffs, featuring arches, a large rock needle-like structure and tunnels (which Impressionists painted so memorably).

  • Toulouse

    Welcome to Toulouse, capital of Occitania! Toulouse is a city of colors, with its pink brick facades, its emblematic flower, the violet, the blue of the pastel... Located in the heart of the South-West, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the "Pink City" joyfully combines heritage and the art of living. Yesterday, capital of the Visigoths, today aeronautical and space capital, Toulouse invites you to discover its two thousand years of history and has many surprises in store for you!

What You’ll Study

TOTAL CREDITS - 12-15 credits per semester

The French Language and Liberal Arts program at the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP) is open to students at all language levels and is a great opportunity to continue to develop French language skills in Paris. The ICP follows the European framework for their language levels, dividing students into the following: A1-1, A1-2, A2-1, A2-2, B1-1, B1-2, B2-1, and B2-2. A student’s French level is based on an online placement exam administered before arrival by the ICP. All students will take 15 U.S. semester credits during the semester. Extra fees will apply for students who choose to enroll in more than 15 U.S. semester credits.

BEGINNING LEVEL OPTIONS (A1-1, A1-2, A2-1, A2-2)

Students at the beginning language levels are required to take 15 contact hours of French language per week. Students take one comprehensive course that focuses on reading, writing, and speaking skills and will spend approximately 3 hours in the classroom each day. Students at a beginner level are required to do this program.

Students at the beginning levels have the option of earning an additional 3 credits each semester with an English or French elective offered through the ICP.

INTERMEDIATE AND ABOVE LEVEL OPTIONS (B1-1 AND ABOVE)

Students at all other language levels typically take 6-15 contact hours of French language and culture courses per week. Depending on how many contact hours of French language and culture a student takes, they may be able to take 1 or 2 cultural electives (offered in English).

Students at the high-intermediate language level (B1-1) and above also have the option of earning an additional three credits each semester if they complete an elective course from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, at the API office. Students generally take this course in place of one of the cultural courses at the ICP. Course subject to minimum enrollment.

TRANSCRIPTS

Students receive a transcript from the Institut Catholique de Paris upon completion of their program. If a student enrolls in the API-led course or the teaching internship, they will receive a transcript from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

  • Caroline headshot

    Caroline Mobley

    Caroline Mobley will be your Program Coordinator and will help prepare you for your API program.

    (she / her / hers)

  • Francine Bost Millischer

    Francine Bost-Millischer

    Francine Bost-Millischer will be one of your Resident Directors in Paris and a resource for you on-site.
    (she/her/hers)

  • Screen Shot 2022 10 04 at 10 05 41 AM

    Cyprien Maillard

    Cyprien will be your Student Life Coordinator in Paris and a resource for you while you are in France!

    (he/him/his)

  • Screen Shot 2022 10 04 at 10 06 40 AM

    Laure Cochin

    Laure will be your Academic Coordinator in Paris and a resource for you while you are in France!

    (she/her/hers)

Click Here to Find Classes

COURSE OFFERINGS

Students at the intermediate to advanced language levels will take from 9-15 hours of French language and/or culture coursework per week. They may then complete 1-3 elective course options offered in English or French depending on a student's language proficiency. Intermediate and advanced-level students may choose to participate in a teaching internship or API-taught coursework.

Most API partner universities in France operate on the contact hour system, wherein the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class. To determine the conversion of contact hours to U.S. semester credits, divide the contact hours available by 15.

OPTIONAL ELECTIVE COURSES

Students have the option to take additional elective courses in Paris offered through API. Some electives are taught in English while others are taught in French. French elective options require an intermediate to advanced language proficiency level. These elective courses incur an additional fee and are subject to change.

SPRING INTENSIVE OPTION

Students in this program take 21 contact hours of French language per week, over 3 weeks, earning an average of 4 credits. Students can either do the Jan Term in Paris before starting their Spring semester at their home university or add the intensive month to their Spring semester in Paris as an Early Start program. This option is open to all levels of French speakers.

TEACHING INTERNSHIP

All students with 4 semesters of college-level French (equivalent to the intermediate level) or more are able to participate in the teaching internship for an additional 3 credits. Beginning and intermediate-level students can also complete the internship, but are not eligible to earn credit or a grade for the experience. Spaces are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. An additional fee is charged for the internship. Students teach English in a French school. This is a unique experience for API students in Paris to get to know Parisians and Parisian life from the inside, not only through the teenagers in the classes students teach, but also from the teachers that students assist. The regular professor asks the student what is to be taught and helps students prepare for class. In order to get the 3 credits, students are required to teach English about three hours a week, to keep a journal where all course plans and weekly evaluations are registered to present it in French at the end of the semester and to write a final internship paper (in French) analyzing the French teaching system and their perception of French society through their own teaching experience.

Courses at Institut Catholique de Paris (Semester French Language & Liberal Arts)

For the most up-to-date course availability on this program, explore our Class Finder. Sort courses by term, area of study, and more!

Click here to find courses, syllabi, and more!

Courses at Institut Catholique de Paris (Semester French Language & Liberal Arts)

For the most up-to-date course availability on this program, explore our Class Finder. Sort courses by term, area of study, and more!

Click here to find courses, syllabi, and more!

Courses at Institut Catholique de Paris (Semester French Language & Liberal Arts)

For the most up-to-date course availability on this program, explore our Class Finder. Sort courses by term, area of study, and more!

Click here to find courses, syllabi, and more!

Courses at Institut Catholique de Paris (Semester French Language & Liberal Arts)

For the most up-to-date course availability on this program, explore our Class Finder. Sort courses by term, area of study, and more!

Click here to find courses, syllabi, and more!

Highlights
  • Classes taught in French and English
  • Transcript from U.S. accredited institution available (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
  • Teaching internships available (for credit)

We can’t wait to welcome you to Paris! We know you’re excited to get out and start exploring, but at the end of long days, you’ll want a cozy place to study, socialize, rest, and relax.

Check out all available housing options in Paris by clicking here!

API’s housing options have been curated with you in mind. We offer housing that has been Visited & Verified™ by API, with a focus on student comfort, safety, and location.