France Paris Tour Eiffel Through Camera Lens

We invite you to study abroad with API in Paris at the Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne. This program offers a combination of French language and cultural courses conducted in French (at all levels), as well as 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 freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors
  • Open to all levels of French speakers
  • Completed API application
  • University Approval Form
  • One letter of recommendation
  • One official transcript
  • Entry requirements: valid passport with student visa
Session Program Dates Program Cost Application Deadline Extended Application Deadline Payment Deadline
Spring Jan 29, 2024 - May 26, 2024 $17,900 Dec 1, 2023 No Extension Dec 1, 2023
Fall Sep, 2024 - Dec, 2024 $17,900 Jun 5, 2024 No Extension Aug 4, 2024
Academic Year Sep, 2024 - May, 2025 $36,500 Jun 5, 2024 No Extension Aug 4, 2024

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!

  • Loire Valley

    Visiting the Loire Valley palaces is like visiting 16th century Renaissance France when fortified medieval fortresses were transformed into delicate castles inspired by Italian architecture. Such is the case of le Château d’Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci was buried.

    The Château de Chenonceau is an exceptional site not only because of its original design, the richness of its collections, its furniture and its decorations, but also because of its destiny, since it was loved, administrated and protected by women.

    Depending on the program, the students may also enjoy a traditional boat ride on the Loire river or he splendor of Chambord’s castle and its exceptional architectural creation that draws its inspiration from the French tradition as much as from the new ideas of the Italian Renaissance.

  • Normandie

    Students will travel to Mount Saint Michel, one the most visited sites in France, and walk in the quicksand of the bay. The group will then explore Saint Malo city, a haunt of pirates for hundreds of years, the “Cité Corsaire” that has always done things its own way. The old town is still surrounded by granite walls, while the tidal islands next to the city continue to be fortified by 17th century bastions.

  • Alsace / Allemagne

    The Alsace region is located in the Rhine plaine in the north eastern part of France. It is bordered by Germany and Switzerland. Over the centuries Alsace has been back and of forth under the control of France and Germany; a rich bicultural heritage is therefore strongly anchored in this welcoming region. The architecture of the villages and the cities, the gardening works, the religious plurality and the daily use of language dialect make you feel like being in a different country when you are definitely in France!

    Gastronomy is not a legend in this area! You will be puzzled by the variety of local culinary traditions : baeckeoffe, sauerkraut, flammekueche, kugelhopf, bretzel, bredele, just to mention a few of them. They are a real pleasure for the palate!

    A stop on the other side of the Rhine will be a nice opportunity to discover a part of the Schwarzwald region in Germany giving this three days excursion an international dimension.

  • 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!

  • Loire Valley

    Visiting the Loire Valley palaces is like visiting 16th century Renaissance France when fortified medieval fortresses were transformed into delicate castles inspired by Italian architecture. Such is the case of le Château d’Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci was buried.

    The Château de Chenonceau is an exceptional site not only because of its original design, the richness of its collections, its furniture and its decorations, but also because of its destiny, since it was loved, administrated and protected by women.

    Depending on the program, the students may also enjoy a traditional boat ride on the Loire river or he splendor of Chambord’s castle and its exceptional architectural creation that draws its inspiration from the French tradition as much as from the new ideas of the Italian Renaissance.

  • Normandie

    Students will travel to Mount Saint Michel, one the most visited sites in France, and walk in the quicksand of the bay. The group will then explore Saint Malo city, a haunt of pirates for hundreds of years, the “Cité Corsaire” that has always done things its own way. The old town is still surrounded by granite walls, while the tidal islands next to the city continue to be fortified by 17th century bastions.

  • Alsace / Allemagne

    The Alsace region is located in the Rhine plaine in the north eastern part of France. It is bordered by Germany and Switzerland. Over the centuries Alsace has been back and of forth under the control of France and Germany; a rich bicultural heritage is therefore strongly anchored in this welcoming region. The architecture of the villages and the cities, the gardening works, the religious plurality and the daily use of language dialect make you feel like being in a different country when you are definitely in France!

    Gastronomy is not a legend in this area! You will be puzzled by the variety of local culinary traditions : baeckeoffe, sauerkraut, flammekueche, kugelhopf, bretzel, bredele, just to mention a few of them. They are a real pleasure for the palate!

    A stop on the other side of the Rhine will be a nice opportunity to discover a part of the Schwarzwald region in Germany giving this three days excursion an international dimension.

What You’ll Study

TOTAL CREDITS - 12-16 per session

Students will select a combination of French language and cultural electives referred to as French Civilization courses. The number of credits earned for each language course and the cultural electives varies according to the particular session a student selects.

A student’s French level is based on an online placement exam administered before arrival by the CCFS. The CCFS divides their language levels into 5 main categories: Débutant (A1), Élémentaire (A2), Intermédaire (B1), Avancé (B2), and Supérieur (C1).

FALL SEMESTER AND SPRING SEMESTER

  • All students selecting a semester program complete 8 credits of language instruction, 2 credits of phonetics instruction, and 2-6 credits of French civilization courses for a total of 12-16 semester credits per semester.
  • Students at the Intermediate (B1) language level or above have the option of earning an additional three credits each semester if they complete an elective course taught exclusively for API students. Students generally take this course in place of one of the cultural courses at the CCFS. An additional fee may be charged for participation in the API course (whether taken in place of or in addition to a regular elective course). Course subject to minimum enrollment.
  • A limited number of teaching internships are also available for students at the Intermediate (B1) language level or above. An additional fee is charged for participation in the 3-credit internship.

TRANSCRIPTS

Transcripts are issued by the Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne. If a student enrolls in the API-led course or the teaching internship, chooses to complete supplementary papers, or if their home university requires it, they can elect to receive a transcript from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for an additional fee.

  • 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

Depending on the term, students take 9-16 semester credit hours of French Language and Culture. Semester students take 2 hours of language per day, five days per week. Language courses are available at five different levels. Students will also take a Phonetics class for a portion of the session. Students complete their class schedule after the online placement test (completed prior to the program start) and the class schedule depends on their language level. Additionally, students will take 2 to 4 elective courses on various themes of French Civilization.

CREDIT INFORMATION

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. credits, divide the contact hours available by 15.

Courses at Cours de Civilisation Francaise de la Sorbonne - CCFS (Semester)

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 Cours de Civilisation Francaise de la Sorbonne - CCFS (Semester)

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 Cours de Civilisation Francaise de la Sorbonne - CCFS (Semester)

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
  • 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.