UMW in France

Summer at IAU Aix-en-Provence

• Experience the beautiful South of France, from lavender fields to artistic history and Mediterranean beaches.
• Stroll around historic Aix-en-Provence, founded in 123 B.C.
• Stop in at Cézanne’s home and studio and hike the Montagne Sainte Victoire which inspired him.
• Celebrate Bastille Day in authentic style.
•  Take a day trip to the beach town of Cassis.
• Taste local cuisine in historic restaurants and patisseries.
• Select the experience of your choice from Découverte de la Provence.
• Visit the Farmer’s Market and purchase local delicacies for a picnic lunch a la française.

Accommodations

Students will stay in a student residence hall with access to a furnished kitchen, common area, and laundry facilities.  WiFi, bed linens, and towels are included. Meals are not included.

Alternatively, students will have the option to participate in “demie pension” homestays with local families in Aix. Daily breakfast and six dinners per week are included. Priority for homestays will be given to those practicing the French language. The homestay accommodations come at an additional cost:

• 3-week homestay: $225
• 6-week homestay: $450
• 8-week homestay: $600

Coursework

OPTION A – 3 WEEKS, 1 COURSE:  Students will earn transfer credit for a 3-credit French Culture course taught in English by Dr. Di Lauro at IAU College, Provence.

Course Description – “From Bordeaux to Lyon: Cultural Landscapes of Southern France”

• Using southern cities as jumping off points, we will explore the culture—history, religion, arts, cuisine—of France. For example, Bordeaux and Béziers (Languedoc) will introduce students to France’s viticulture and Roquefort-sur-Soulzon will be our entrée into the country’s more than 250 cheeses.
• Grasse, the world’s perfume capital, will introduce us to another of France’s main exports. To explore France’s history we will begin with Nîmes (“French Rome”), continue onto Carcassonne (medieval fortified city), Lyon (the Renaissance capital), and then jump ahead to the twentieth century and Vichy and Périgueux which were central, respectively, to the Collaboration and the Resistance during the Second World War.
• To initiate a discussion of the France’s infamous separation of church and state and its current ramifications, such as the 1989 affaire du voile and 2016’s ban of the burkini, we will trace the country’s religious history, beginning with embarkation points for the Crusades (Clermont-Ferrand, Aigues-Mortes) and Toulouse’s place on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimmage route and continuing with Avignon’s crucial role as the seat of the papacy in the 14th century and the Catholic/Protestant struggles which followed.
• As for the arts, Montignac, Angoulême, site of the international comics festival, will introduce us to French classics such as Tintin and Astérix, and the international film festivals in Cannes and Clerment-Ferrand will provide an entrée into France’s role in world cinema, particularly the Nouvelle Vague.
• Arles’ International Photography Festival, which we will visit, will allow us to explore France’s role in the development of photography, beginning with the daguerreotype and the Lumière brothers and following through to the popular Robert Doisneau.
• Poitiers, known for its Romanesque art, and the gothic cathedral in Limoges will serve as introductions to medieval architecture while our base of Aix-en-Provence, the hometown of childhood friends Cézanne and Zola, will begin our discussion of the art and literature of the nineteenth century.

This course will be a veritable cultural tour of France. The program satisfies the Experiential Learning/Beyond the Classroom or Global Inquiry/Diverse and Global Perspectives general education requirement by contract with the professor.

OPTION B – 6 WEEKS, 2 3-CREDIT COURSES or 1 6-CREDIT COURSE – Students may choose to stay in Aix for six weeks to earn a total of 6 credits. Students will enroll in either one 6-credit course or two 3-credit courses from IAU’s Summer Session Catalog.  Courses available in the following disciplines: Studio Art, Art History, Business, French, Psychology, Gender Studies, Political Science, and International Affairs. If students wish to participate in the 2 3-credit course option, Dr. Di Lauro’s course can be one of their selections.

If students opt for one of the following IAU Summer Courses, there are additional fees due with the final balance:

• Marchutz Core Art Program Fee: $405
• Studio Art Course: $315
• Wine Studies Course: $150
• Photography Course: $150

INTERNSHIP OPTION

Optional Week in Paris

Students interested in experiencing the urban side of France, with some of it’s most famous historical and cultural icons, can follow up their time in Aix-en-Provence with one week in Paris for an additional fee of $1000.  The optional week in Paris will take place after coursework has been completed for either Option A or Option B, and would be entirely extra-curricular.  Included are a TGV (rail pass) from Aix to Paris, housing at Three Ducks Hostel (or similar), a week-long metro pass, free entry to all museums and churches (using your IAU student cards), one cabaret, two dinners, and two lunches. There is no set itinerary for this portion of the program—we will organize the activities according to the interests of the group.

Requirements & Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites for this program. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA in order to participate. As per UMW credit transfer policies, a grade of C or above is required for courses taught abroad to transfer back to UMW. This program is open to all UMW students regardless of major or year of study. It is also open to non-UMW students.

Scholarships

Faculty-Led Program Scholarships are available to UMW students (deadlines apply).

Payment

See the program fees and payment due dates in the right column. Use the Make a Payment button below to pay your deposit and regular program payment. Use the Special Payment option to pay a special amount (such as additional insurance or payment in a different amount as a result of a scholarship award).

Online payees have the choice of either credit card or eCheck (ACH) payment. ACH transactions will be charged a flat fee of $0.50 per transaction. All credit card payments will incur a 2.85% service fee. For credit card payments, a minimum convenience fee of $3.00 will be applied to transactions over $20.00 and under $106.00.