Spend a semester or the full academic year drawing upon the resources of one of the world’s most fabled and beloved capitals. Take one-of-a-kind courses, pursue individual research, and master the French language. Immerse yourself in the city's rich history and multi-cultural fabric. Find your passion and lose yourself in the City of Light.
Overall I felt my experience was incredible, unforgettable, eye-opening, and transformative -- Fall 2018 participant
Program Overview
The program encourages you to challenge yourself both academically and personally. Immersing yourself in the French language through your coursework and daily life, you will push yourself beyond your comfort zone and expand your ways of thinking. By the end of the semester or year, you will find yourself more confident in your role as a global citizen, capable of living, working, and affecting change beyond your national boundaries.
Depending on your goals and interests, you will choose from a broad range of options in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. You will take at least one required language course at Reid Hall and select the rest of your courses from Columbia in Paris electives. The program provides academic support and mentoring throughout the program to support you in making the most of your time in Paris.
All coursework (unless otherwise specified) is in French. French university faculty teach the elective courses at Reid Fall and are committed to undergraduate teaching in a small seminar setting to encourage in-class discussion and debate.
This was one of the loveliest experiences ever. I've changed so much for the better and I don't want to leave! -- Fall 2018 participant
A highlight of the program is the opportunity to engage with local resources. Past students have conducted research in archives with primary materials, engaged with local experts, artists, and writers on important contemporary issues, and participated in academic conferences.
This is a wonderful program, run by wonderful people! Organized, enriching, attentive to the well-being of students. It really is structured with us in mind...It really does give a whole experience -- academics and living in Paris -- Fall 2018 participant
Columbia students may be able to fulfill Core requirements while abroad by enrolling in Global Core classes.
Eligibility and Application
- Must be a currently enrolled undergraduate student and in good academic and disciplinary standing. Students from universities and colleges other than Columbia are welcome to apply.
- Must have completed at least four semesters of college-level French or the equivalent.
- It is expected that you will be enrolled in a French language course in the term preceding your enrollment in Paris. Grammar, composition, or literature courses will better prepare you for a semester in Paris than conversation courses. Failure to continue French language training may affect acceptance to the program
- Students looking to take local university courses should have studied at least 5 semesters of college-level French or the equivalent.
- Minimum 3.0 average language GPA
- Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Students must also maintain a 3.0 GPA during the semester before going abroad.
How to apply
Want to apply? Click the “Start Your Application" button at the top of this page. If the button doesn't appear above, the program is not yet accepting applications. You will be asked to set up a short profile, which will allow us to send you relevant information about your application. Once you’ve created a profile, you will see a checklist of items that you will need to submit. These generally include:
- Application questionnaire(s)
- Personal statement
- Letter of recommendation from someone who has recently taught you French
- Home school approval/clearance: please check with your home university's study abroad office about applying for permission to attend the program and to transfer the credit
- Application fee (if applicable)
Please note that we now offer a Columbia in Paris: English program. Students may not apply to both programs simultaneously.
Academics
Depending on your French proficiency at the start of the program, you will be required to take either one or two language courses in addition to three to four electives. Those electives include:
- Specially-developed courses, taught exclusively for the program, that draw on the rich urban fabric of the city.
- The opportunity to conduct a Directed Research project base on your personal specialization and interests, under the guidance of leading thinkers and scholars in your discipline.
- Columbia Global Core courses.
- Students can take courses at Reid Hall as well as local universities.
The University reserves the right to withdraw or modify the courses of instruction or to change the instructors as may become necessary.
French Language Curriculum
French is the main language of interaction at Reid Hall and engagement with the language is a foundation of the program. You will receive robust support as you develop your linguistic abilities through specialized instruction, individual tutoring, and connections to outside resources.
Based on the results of a language assessment during the orientation, you will take part in either one or two language courses. Both courses are designed to help you succeed in your academic work in French.
Academic Writing. (3 points)
This intensive course is mandatory for every student as it introduces them to some of the major differences between French and American ways of approaching academic analysis and production. Course content varies with the level.
Language Practicum. (3 points)
This course, taken by students who place into Level I or II, is a language course at the intermediate and upper intermediate level. Its aims is to sharpen students’ linguistic skills to prepare them for their life in France as a student. It meets twice a week for five hours over 12 weeks and finishes before final work for other classes becomes due. Course content varies in each level.
Test de Connaissance du Francais (TCF)
At the end of their language curriculum, students take a standardized French Language exam called Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF). This test, similar to TOEFL, and recognized in 39 countries, enables students interested in returning to France for post-graduate work (professional or academic) to demonstrate their French language ability.
Elective courses
In addition to French language courses, you will select your remaining courses from the options below.
Spring 2025 Reid Hall Courses
Taught by French faculty in French, these courses have been specifically designed for the program to actively engage students with local resources. Typically, writers, government leaders, and scholars are invited as guest speakers in class, and several courses are taught on-site in museums or around monuments, using the Parisian cityscape as an extension of classroom learning. Courses may include an academic conference or film screening in which faculty and students are invited to engage with a larger audience open to the public. For recent courses and descriptions please see the local Columbia in Paris website.
FREN3719OC: Revolutions, Wars and Genocides: Violence by and against Women. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Christelle Taraud
The question of violence - a central paradigm for analyzing and understanding the ambivalences, paradoxes, and tensions of our contemporary societies - will be questioned in contexts of specific gender, class and racial power relations: those of revolution(s), war(s) and genocide(s) between the 19th century to the present in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. However, although the course focuses on situations of extreme violence against women in times of conflict, (in class we will refer to Diana Russel’s 1990 concept of “feminicide”), this course also intends to place women in an epistemological and political continuum: that of the "banality" of physical, psychological and sexual violence of everyday life. Yet, while women are undeniably victims of violence, the course will also demonstrate that there, as elsewhere, they are neither "inert" nor "passive". Indeed, violence will not only refer to the violence suffered by women but will also concern the violence produced by them. Multiple examples taken from contemporary history will demonstrate this last point (e.g. fighting figures such as Amazons, Pétroleuses - female supporters of the Paris Commune, accused of burning down much of the city during the last days of the Revolution in May 1871 -, women terrorists / suicide bombers / jihadists, women soldiers, anti-colonialist and / or anti-imperialist revolutionary activists). In addition, using concepts of agency and empowerment, students will rethink the question of these "women in arms" allowing them to interrogate central notions of gender studies such as gender binarity, the fixity of female identity, the "virilization" of women, gynophobia…, in many historical and current contexts where male domination is proven. Through these reflections, students will question the central link between combat (revolutionary or conventional) and women's emancipation / liberation. It is, however, in this dynamic between suffered violence and produced violence that lies the heart of the course. Indeed, throughout history, violence of women - which is still globally undiscussed and remains a minority field in academic and scientific discourse - was a way to control, monitor and punish women. This can be seen in the paradigmatic example of the French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century, with which we will begin our investigations and reflections.
This course is approved as a Global Core at Columbia.
AHIS3682OC. Issues in Nineteenth Century Painting. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Nicolas Baudouin
In this course, we will focus on a key artistic period that is full of upheavals. We will particularly consider the affirmation of the individuality of the artist in relation to the institutions and great pictorial movements that have marked the history of French painting of that time.
FREN3036OC. The Age of Enlightenment. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein
Dans ce cours, nous examinerons le phénomène qui domine—et révolutionne—le discours philosophique, religieux, sociologique et politique au 18e siècle en Occident: les Lumières. Visant les dogmes jusque-là incontestables d'un Etat monarchique et d'une Église catholique autoritaires, ce mouvement réclame la liberté de la pensée et du culte; condamne l'intolérance religieuse, l’iniquité politique et le préjugé culturel; expose et déplore l’inégalité sociale; examine les bases de l’autorité politique; et subvertit par ses propos l'idéo. A l'exception d'un texte de l'Allemand Immanuel Kant, nous nous bornerons à lire des écrits des principaux philosophes francophones des Lumières (Voltaire, Diderot, et Rousseau), aussi bien que deux romans "dystopiques” (Charrière et de Sade), et deux textes politiques parus durant la Révolution française.
War in 20th Century France: History, Memory and Representation. 3 points.
Taught in French.
This course aims to analyze the different wars in which France was involved during the “dark 20th century”. From the “Tranchées” of World War I to the end of the Algerian war, through the disaster of June 1940 and the German occupation, we are going to study the most dramatic events of French contemporary history. Based on different types of documents (articles, speeches, diaries, paintings, literature, memoirs and several movies), the course will explore the political choices and behaviors of the population, the social and cultural fields (what war changes?) as well as questions of memories and representations, with a special focus on films.
FRST3994OC History of Contemporary French Cinema (1990-2018). 3 points.
Instructor: Fabien Delmas
"French cinema is characterized by its artistic richness, its vigor and, above all, its diversity. This film history course will function as a journey in which we explore contemporary French cinema. Our itinerary will take us from the 1990s, those of “young French cinema” and neoclassicism, to the end of the 2010s, those of directors like Julie Delpy and Christophe Honoré. Together, we will develop a panorama in which the works of Cédric Klapisch and Nicole Garcia will intersect, as well as those of Céline Sciamma and Arnaud Desplechin.
The objective of this course will be to introduce students to French cinema, its history and its diversity. We will also have the chance to correlate academic knowledge and practical experience, so as to give the students a significant idea of French film activity.
HSPS3240OC. Political Life in France. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Cédric Moreau de Bellaing
The main objective of the course is to offer a global perspective on French political life by recalling its history and analyzing its dominant current characteristics. After presenting the basics of the French political system - including institutions, political trends and major institutional issues - this course will address the themes that structure French political life. Particular attention will be paid to social issues that influence French policy, as well as to major changes impacting the environment in which new political issues appear (Europe, national identity, secularism, social inequalities, ecology and terrorism). The presentation and analysis of these various themes will permit students to fully benefit from the series of lectures intended to deepen certain major aspects of what we will be studying. Various academic guest speakers will also provide the opportunity for students to expand on the knowledge acquired in class as well as to witness diverging perspectives that will lead to lively debates and critical thinking.
Literature and Painting. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Elisabeth Ladenson
This course focusses on literary encounters with the visual arts, especially painting, from the 19 th century through our own era. We will read fictional and critical accounts of the lives and works of artists and models as well as taking advantage of the proximity of museums and exhibitions to view artworks first-hand. Excursions will include the Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin, Musée de la vie romantique, and Maison Gustave Moreau.
Literature and Prostitution. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Elisabeth Ladenson
French literature has been preoccupied with prostitutes and prostitution for centuries. This course proposes to examine the some of the various depictions of women and men who make their living via sexual activity, from the 18 th century through our own era. We will trace the different varieties of “loose women”, identifying an extensive taxonomy of courtisanes, lorettes, grisettes, filles de joie etc., in male-authored works from Manon Lescaut (1831) through the apogee of literary obsession with “fallen women” in the 19 th -century. Over the course of the century the romantic “whore with a heart of gold” trope (Dumas’s Dame aux camélias) coexisted with Mérimée’s fatal gypsy Carmen, Flaubert and Baudelaire’s insistence on prostitution as metaphor, Maupassant’s analyses of bourgeois hypocrisy in this regard, and, finally, Zola’s irresistible and destructive Nana. The 20th century saw more nuanced depictions of both female and male prostitution from such authors as Colette and Jean Genet. We will conclude with 21 st -century first-person accounts of sex work by Nelly Arcan (Putain, 2001) and Virginie Despentes (King Kong théorie, 2006).
Formation of National Identities & Comparative Fundamental Rights. 3 points.
Columbia in Paris and the NCEP (Nouveau College d'Études Politiques) offer a joint seminar on global inequalities to students from both institutions. Each session will be divided into two parts: firstly, an in-depth examination of a general theoretical theme concerning the rights protected, their scope, the guarantee of their protection and the justification for their limitation; secondly, a perspective based on topical examples from around the world (right to life, freedom of expression, collective freedoms, right to the environment).
The Formation of National Identities
This seminar examines the structuring of national groups since the end of the 18th century, contrasting them in particular with the forms of political organization that existed until then (empires, kingdoms, city-states). It examines the political, economic and cultural processes that led to the formation of national identities, and their recent resurgence. The seminar introduces the main theories on these issues and presents various empirical studies.
Comparative Fundamental Rights
The seminar will explore the distinction between the concept of fundamental rights and freedoms, their proclamation and their translation into law: What are fundamental rights and freedoms, and how can they be identified? When and how did they emerge? On what justifications do democratic regimes base their protection and limitations?
Fall 2024 Reid Hall Courses
Taught by French faculty in French, these courses have been specifically designed for the program to actively engage students with local resources. Typically, writers, government leaders, and scholars are invited as guest speakers in class, and several courses are taught on-site in museums or around monuments, using the Parisian cityscape as an extension of classroom learning. Courses may include an academic conference or film screening in which faculty and students are invited to engage with a larger audience open to the public. For recent courses and descriptions please see the local Columbia in Paris website.
FRST3994OC. Urban History. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Jean-Michel Dequeker
The course offers the chance to discover Paris both chronologically and spatially. It is about understanding how Paris has developed and transformed since Antiquity. We will explore how its neighborhoods and their identities have been shaped, as well as how the social and cultural geography of the city took shape. The course is set up in a way that most of the classes will be held in various neighborhoods around the city.
WMST3550OC. Women & Society – The Sex-Trade economy. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Christelle Taraud
Based on an interdisciplinary, intersectional, subalternist and post-colonial approach, this course is a general introduction to the history, sociology and anthropology of the economy of the sex-trade in Africa, America, Asia and Europe from the early nineteenth century to today. It aims to clarify: 1) the historiographical situation by questioning and analyzing the French regulatory system and its many avatars in Europe, the United States and in the colonial world, but also questioning the backlash to this system that consisted firstly of the abolitionist (born in England in the second half of the nineteenth century) and then the prohibitionist movements; 2) The relationship between class, “race” and gender in the sex market via issues of human trafficking and sex tourism in Europe, America, Africa and Asia; 3) The socio-economic issue - and its political connections – in the economy of sex with particular attention to individuals (prostitutes versus sex workers), their voices, their legal status, and even their mobilization (rallies and demonstrations, community collectives and trade unions, political and / or literary publications), but also the many heated debates that these demands for recognition and these mobilizations have provoked in places as diverse as France, the Netherlands and India to take only three specific examples in the world covered in the course.
In this course students will learn to work on the entire gamut of primary sources from the most traditional (e.g. essays, political statements, press reviews, administrative reports, demographic statistics, judicial archives, etc.) to less commonly used sources such as iconographic materials (e.g. paintings, photography, postcards, films) as well as private diaries, correspondence, etc. These primary sources will be studied in each session and will be contextualized in relation to secondary sources.
This course is approved as a Global Core at Columbia.
FREN3036OC. The Age of Enlightenment. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein
Dans ce cours, nous examinerons le phénomène qui domine—et révolutionne—le discours philosophique, religieux, sociologique et politique au 18e siècle en Occident: les Lumières. Visant les dogmes jusque-là incontestables d'un Etat monarchique et d'une Église catholique autoritaires, ce mouvement réclame la liberté de la pensée et du culte; condamne l'intolérance religieuse, l’iniquité politique et le préjugé culturel; expose et déplore l’inégalité sociale; examine les bases de l’autorité politique; et subvertit par ses propos l'idéo. A l'exception d'un texte de l'Allemand Immanuel Kant, nous nous bornerons à lire des écrits des principaux philosophes francophones des Lumières (Voltaire, Diderot, et Rousseau), aussi bien que deux romans "dystopiques” (Charrière et de Sade), et deux textes politiques parus durant la Révolution française.
FRST3994OC History of Contemporary French Cinema (1990-2018). 3 points.
Instructor: Fabien Delmas
"French cinema is characterized by its artistic richness, its vigor and, above all, its diversity. This film history course will function as a journey in which we explore contemporary French cinema. Our itinerary will take us from the 1990s, those of “young French cinema” and neoclassicism, to the end of the 2010s, those of directors like Julie Delpy and Christophe Honoré. Together, we will develop a panorama in which the works of Cédric Klapisch and Nicole Garcia will intersect, as well as those of Céline Sciamma and Arnaud Desplechin.
The objective of this course will be to introduce students to French cinema, its history and its diversity. We will also have the chance to correlate academic knowledge and practical experience, so as to give the students a significant idea of French film activity.
AHIS3682OC. Issues in Nineteenth Century Painting. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Nicolas Baudouin
In this course, we will focus on a key artistic period that is full of upheavals. We will particularly consider the affirmation of the individuality of the artist in relation to the institutions and great pictorial movements that have marked the history of French painting of that time.
Fall 2023 Reid Hall Courses
Taught by French faculty in French, these courses have been specifically designed for the program to actively engage students with local resources. Typically, writers, government leaders, and scholars are invited as guest speakers in class, and several courses are taught on-site in museums or around monuments, using the Parisian cityscape as an extension of classroom learning. Courses may include an academic conference or film screening in which faculty and students are invited to engage with a larger audience open to the public. For recent courses and descriptions please see the local Columbia in Paris website.
Please view the Fall 2022 course schedule for course times. An updated schedule for 2023 will be shared soon.
FREN3036OC. The Age of Enlightenment. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein
Dans ce cours, nous examinerons le phénomène qui domine—et révolutionne—le discours philosophique, religieux, sociologique et politique au 18e siècle en Occident: les Lumières. Visant les dogmes jusque-là incontestables d'un Etat monarchique et d'une Église catholique autoritaires, ce mouvement réclame la liberté de la pensée et du culte; condamne l'intolérance religieuse, l’iniquité politique et le préjugé culturel; expose et déplore l’inégalité sociale; examine les bases de l’autorité politique; et subvertit par ses propos l'idéo. A l'exception d'un texte de l'Allemand Immanuel Kant, nous nous bornerons à lire des écrits des principaux philosophes francophones des Lumières (Voltaire, Diderot, et Rousseau), aussi bien que deux romans "dystopiques” (Charrière et de Sade), et deux textes politiques parus durant la Révolution française.
AHIS3682OC. Issues in Nineteenth Century Art. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Nicolas Baudouin
In this course, we will focus on a key artistic period that is full of upheavals. We will particularly consider the affirmation of the individuality of the artist in relation to the institutions and great pictorial movements that have marked the history of French painting of that time.
WMST3550OC. Women & Society – The Sex-Trade economy. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Christelle Taraud
Based on an interdisciplinary, intersectional, subalternist and post-colonial approach, this course is a general introduction to the history, sociology and anthropology of the economy of the sex-trade in Africa, America, Asia and Europe from the early nineteenth century to today. It aims to clarify: 1) the historiographical situation by questioning and analyzing the French regulatory system and its many avatars in Europe, the United States and in the colonial world, but also questioning the backlash to this system that consisted firstly of the abolitionist (born in England in the second half of the nineteenth century) and then the prohibitionist movements; 2) The relationship between class, “race” and gender in the sex market via issues of human trafficking and sex tourism in Europe, America, Africa and Asia; 3) The socio-economic issue - and its political connections – in the economy of sex with particular attention to individuals (prostitutes versus sex workers), their voices, their legal status, and even their mobilization (rallies and demonstrations, community collectives and trade unions, political and / or literary publications), but also the many heated debates that these demands for recognition and these mobilizations have provoked in places as diverse as France, the Netherlands and India to take only three specific examples in the world covered in the course.
In this course students will learn to work on the entire gamut of primary sources from the most traditional (e.g. essays, political statements, press reviews, administrative reports, demographic statistics, judicial archives, etc.) to less commonly used sources such as iconographic materials (e.g. paintings, photography, postcards, films) as well as private diaries, correspondence, etc. These primary sources will be studied in each session and will be contextualized in relation to secondary sources.
This course is approved as a Global Core at Columbia.
HSPS3240OC. Political Life in France. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Cédric Moreau de Bellaing
The main objective of the course is to offer a global perspective on French political life by recalling its history and analyzing its dominant current characteristics. After presenting the basics of the French political system - including institutions, political trends and major institutional issues - this course will address the themes that structure French political life. Particular attention will be paid to social issues that influence French policy, as well as to major changes impacting the environment in which new political issues appear (Europe, national identity, secularism, social inequalities, ecology and terrorism). The presentation and analysis of these various themes will permit students to fully benefit from the series of lectures intended to deepen certain major aspects of what we will be studying. Various academic guest speakers will also provide the opportunity for students to expand on the knowledge acquired in class as well as to witness diverging perspectives that will lead to lively debates and critical thinking.
FREN3036OC. The Age of Enlightenment. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein
Dans ce cours, nous examinerons le phénomène qui domine—et révolutionne—le discours philosophique, religieux, sociologique et politique au 18e siècle en Occident: les Lumières. Visant les dogmes jusque-là incontestables d'un Etat monarchique et d'une Église catholique autoritaires, ce mouvement réclame la liberté de la pensée et du culte; condamne l'intolérance religieuse, l’iniquité politique et le préjugé culturel; expose et déplore l’inégalité sociale; examine les bases de l’autorité politique; et subvertit par ses propos l'idéo. A l'exception d'un texte de l'Allemand Immanuel Kant, nous nous bornerons à lire des écrits des principaux philosophes francophones des Lumières (Voltaire, Diderot, et Rousseau), aussi bien que deux romans "dystopiques” (Charrière et de Sade), et deux textes politiques parus durant la Révolution française.
FRST3994OC "Paris and France in American and French Cinema. A cross-cultural perspective." 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Marc Cerisuelo
In this film history course, we will first look at a few American examples of the representation of Paris, and question both its undeniable artistic quality and the persistence of certain clichés and stereotypes. After this introduction, we will move on to the study of French cinema from the years up to the contemporary period. We will try to understand the specificity of French creation in this field, through the work of great authors, the capital importance on both sides of the Atlantic of famous movements such as the New Wave, up to contemporary filmmakers who manage to combine spectacle and autobiography. The aim is to grasp, from a rigorously transatlantic perspective, and by focusing on films, criticism and discourse, how and why French cinema has always been both Hollywood's best friend and most constant rival.
FRST3994OC. Urban History. 3 points.
Taught in French.
Instructor: Jean-Michel Dequeker
The course offers the chance to discover Paris both chronologically and spatially. It is about understanding how Paris has developed and transformed since Antiquity. We will explore how its neighborhoods and their identities have been shaped, as well as how the social and cultural geography of the city took shape. The course is set up in a way that most of the classes will be held in various neighborhoods around the city.
Directed Research Option - 4 Points
One of the highlights of on the Columbia in Paris program is undertaking a Directed Research Project. Highly-motivated students who enjoy working independently will find this option challenging and rewarding. Under the supervision of a French scholar, they will explore a specific topic in depth and acquire both the methodological and analytical skills necessary for advanced academic research. Students may also decide to do a translation or creative writing project. Students meet with their mentor weekly and complete a mémoire – a research paper of at least 25 pages. Students conduct research in French but may elect to write their final mémoire in English.
French University Courses
All students have the opportunity to take courses at an affiliated French university. As with any American university, there will be course offerings in many different disciplines. Students will decide which university best suits their academic interests before leaving for Paris. However, during orientation, students will work with their Columbia in Paris adviser to select specific courses. In most cases, your major or concentration department will need to review the courses to determine if they will be accepted as credit towards your degree.
Columbia University works with the following universities in Paris:
University of Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne): The University of Paris I is a leading research and education institution in France, which ranks among the best 100 universities worldwide. It is known for having strong departments in art history and archeology, history, law, philosophy and visual arts.
University of Paris IV (Sorbonne): Located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, the University of Paris IV - Sorbonne is the oldest university in France and one of the first universities in the world. Characterized by a rich culture and tradition, it is especially renowned for its excellent academic programs in literature, languages, arts, and the humanities.
Previous Courses Offered
AHIS3682OC. Issues in Nineteenth Century Art. 3 points.
Instructor: Nicolas Baudouin
In this course, we will focus on a key artistic period that is full of upheavals. We will particularly consider the affirmation of the individuality of the artist in relation to the institutions and great pictorial movements that have marked the history of French painting of that time.
FREN3524OC. French Literature in a Global Context. 3 points.
The main thread guiding this course will be an interrogation on the place of French literature in today’s global landscape. Drawing on the complex history of France’s colonial past, as well as on the rich debates that shaped French intellectual history in the aftermath of World War II, this course will offer a variety of readings reflective of French geographic and cultural diversity (e.g.: African and Caribbean literature, works focusing on identity politics, multiculturalism, and migration issues). Through encounters with leading figures of today’s French literary scene (e.g.: authors, publishers, literary agents, guest speakers) students will also learn about the global pressures (e.g.: economic, social, political and ideological) that are placed on French literature today, and the ways in which global demands inform the conditions in which literature is being read and produced. A further objective of this course is to demonstrate the diversity of current literary practices and reception modes. A listing of excursions and guest speakers will be provided at the beginning of the course.
FRST3994OC. Paris in American Cinema. From Audrey Hepburn to Emily in Paris. 3 points.
Instructor: Fabien Delmas
Paris is undoubtedly the most represented foreign city in American cinema. Its neighborhoods and streets have served as a playground for generations of filmmakers, from D.W. Griffith to Sofia Coppola, from Alfred Hitchcock to Brian de Palma. Seen by Hollywood, Paris is a city with many faces. Familiar and exotic, the French capital is a place where travelers reinvent themselves. Celebrated by Hollywood cinema but also by shows such as Sex and the City or Emily in Paris, the City of Light has become a capital of world pop culture. Between tradition and modernity, our course will connect the history of American cinema with the works of Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Gaston Bachelard and Michel Foucault.
AHIS3682OC. Issues in Nineteenth Century Art. 3 points.
Instructor: Nicolas Baudouin
In this course, we will focus on a key artistic period that is full of upheavals. We will particularly consider the affirmation of the individuality of the artist in relation to the institutions and great pictorial movements that have marked the history of French painting of that time.
CLFR3821OC: City Diplomacy. 3 points.
Instructor: Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi
Based on a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, the city diplomacy course is designed to offer a general introduction to the international role of cities. Through an innovative approach cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines (international relations, urban sociology, area studies, history, geography), the course will combine the emerging scholarly literature with a comparative accent linked to the analysis of primary sources from cities and international actors from all regions of the world. As a result, students will learn to connect global and regional macro-dynamics with micro-transformations at the local level, while gaining an in-depth understanding of city diplomacy's core features, management, tangible impact, and evolution.
This course is approved as a Global Core at Columbia.
FRST3994OC "Paris and France in American and French Cinema. A cross-cultural perspective." 3 points.
Instructor: Marc Cerisuelo
In this film history course, we will first look at a few American examples of the representation of Paris, and question both its undeniable artistic quality and the persistence of certain clichés and stereotypes. After this introduction, we will move on to the study of French cinema from the years up to the contemporary period. We will try to understand the specificity of French creation in this field, through the work of great authors, the capital importance on both sides of the Atlantic of famous movements such as the New Wave, up to contemporary filmmakers who manage to combine spectacle and autobiography. The aim is to grasp, from a rigorously transatlantic perspective, and by focusing on films, criticism and discourse, how and why French cinema has always been both Hollywood's best friend and most constant rival.
FRST3994OC. Urban History. 3 points.
Instructor: Jean-Michel Dequeker
The course offers the chance to discover Paris both chronologically and spatially. It is about understanding how Paris has developed and transformed since Antiquity. We will explore how its neighborhoods and their identities have been shaped, as well as how the social and cultural geography of the city took shape. The course is set up in a way that most of the classes will be held in various neighborhoods around the city.
WMST3550OC. Women & Society – The Sex-Trade economy. 3 points.
Instructor: Christelle Taraud
Based on an interdisciplinary, intersectional, subalternist and post-colonial approach, this course is a general introduction to the history, sociology and anthropology of the economy of the sex-trade in Africa, America, Asia and Europe from the early nineteenth century to today. It aims to clarify: 1) the historiographical situation by questioning and analyzing the French regulatory system and its many avatars in Europe, the United States and in the colonial world, but also questioning the backlash to this system that consisted firstly of the abolitionist (born in England in the second half of the nineteenth century) and then the prohibitionist movements; 2) The relationship between class, “race” and gender in the sex market via issues of human trafficking and sex tourism in Europe, America, Africa and Asia; 3) The socio-economic issue - and its political connections – in the economy of sex with particular attention to individuals (prostitutes versus sex workers), their voices, their legal status, and even their mobilization (rallies and demonstrations, community collectives and trade unions, political and / or literary publications), but also the many heated debates that these demands for recognition and these mobilizations have provoked in places as diverse as France, the Netherlands and India to take only three specific examples in the world covered in the course.
In this course students will learn to work on the entire gamut of primary sources from the most traditional (e.g. essays, political statements, press reviews, administrative reports, demographic statistics, judicial archives, etc.) to less commonly used sources such as iconographic materials (e.g. paintings, photography, postcards, films) as well as private diaries, correspondence, etc. These primary sources will be studied in each session and will be contextualized in relation to secondary sources.
This course is approved as a Global Core at Columbia.
FREN3036OC. The Age of Enlightenment. 3 points.
Instructor: Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein
Dans ce cours, nous examinerons le phénomène qui domine—et révolutionne—le discours philosophique, religieux, sociologique et politique au 18e siècle en Occident: les Lumières. Visant les dogmes jusque-là incontestables d'un Etat monarchique et d'une Église catholique autoritaires, ce mouvement réclame la liberté de la pensée et du culte; condamne l'intolérance religieuse, l’iniquité politique et le préjugé culturel; expose et déplore l’inégalité sociale; examine les bases de l’autorité politique; et subvertit par ses propos l'idéo. A l'exception d'un texte de l'Allemand Immanuel Kant, nous nous bornerons à lire des écrits des principaux philosophes francophones des Lumières (Voltaire, Diderot, et Rousseau), aussi bien que deux romans "dystopiques” (Charrière et de Sade), et deux textes politiques parus durant la Révolution française.
FRST3991OC Joint Seminar with NCEP: Inequality and Poverty. 3 points.
These two seminars (Mondialisations and Les inégalités) are offered with the Nouvel Collège des Etudes Politiques:
The objective of this course is to examine the manner in which contemporary global phenomena have reshaped the world economy: be it developing countries, new and old wealthy countries, or poor countries, the question in each case will be to examine what economic imbalances globalization has failed or succeeded in reconfiguring.
Academic Support
All students work with academic advisers who oversee their progress throughout the semester and assist with academic aspects of the program.
In addition, students enrolled in French university courses will be assigned both linguistic and methodological tutors so that they may achieve their highest level of work. Tutors are active academics in the field and an invaluable resource for students intellectual and academic development.
GRADES AND TRANSCRIPTS
All courses taken on the program are converted to an American grading scale and transmitted to students as follows:
Click here for the Columbia Semester/Academic Year program grading policies.
Columbia students: Grades appear on SSOL and your transcript any semester grades from courses taken at Columbia. For more information, please see the section on Academic Credit in Steps to Study Abroad.
Barnard students: Grades appear on eBear and your transcript as any semester grades from courses taken at Barnard. For more information, please see the section on Credit and Transcripts for Barnard Students on our Barnard student pages.
University of Pennsylvania students: The program sends grades directly to Penn for direct posting on the Penn transcript. Please review Penn's guidelines on grades and credit.
Non-Columbia students: Grades are entered into Columbia's system and you will need to request a transcript to obtain your final grades. Please see the section on Credit and Transcripts for Non-Columbia Students on the Non-Columbia student pages.
Life in Paris
Your daily life in Paris will be made up of moments, equally beautiful and challenging, that will help you construct your overall experience. The program will empower you with the tools to confront the myth of the city as it is commonly perceived and transform you into an active participant of its dynamic, multi-cultural life. Through immersive homestays and activities with local students and scholars, Columbia in Paris will invite you to explore the city in all of its fascinating contradictions and experience it in a way most can only dream of – as a real Parisian.
Housing
Fall
Student Residence
Participants are housed together at a student residence, just a short metro ride to Reid Hall. Options include single rooms with private bathrooms, and shared kitchen facilities or a studio apartment in a student residence. There is no meal plan offered, though many budget friendly student options are around the dorm and at Reid Hall. In general the residential dorm experience in France is different from a college experience in the United States, offering greater independence and fewer amenities. This residence does offer study areas, a music room and a fitness area.
Spring
Homestay
A highlight of this program is the opportunity to live with a francophone family, giving you the chance to live like a true Parisian, off the beaten tourist path. Homestays are located throughout Paris and the nearby suburbs and never more than a short train ride from Reid Hall. You will have your own room and share common spaces with your host family and may elect to share meals with them. Sharing meals in France is not only an excellent opportunity to practice your language skills but the chance to partake in an essential part of French culture. Living with a host family is a great way to experience firsthand the daily rhythm of French life, learn about Paris from an insider's perspective, and be immersed in a French-speaking environment.
Student Residence
Dormitory participants are housed together at a student residence, just a short metro ride to Reid Hall. Options include single rooms with private bathrooms, and shared kitchen facilities or a studio apartment in a student residence. There is no meal plan offered, though many budget friendly student options are around the dorm and at Reid Hall. In general the residential dorm experience in France is different from a college experience in the United States, offering greater independence and fewer amenities. This residence does offer study areas, a music room and a fitness area.
Meals
Meals are typically not included in the program fee, unless you have chosen to eat with your host family or will live in a dorm that provides a partial plan. Grocery stores, boulangeries, fromageries, and charcuteries are abundant in Paris, and you will have no problem buying food supplies for casual dining. Countless low-budget travel guides and blogs will give information about where to eat in Paris. We recommend that you research beforehand if you aren't sure what to expect
Activities
The program offers many activities that will help students engage with the cultural life of Paris, including:
- social and cultural activities with French university students
- excursions with French student groups to the Loire Valley, Vaux le Vicomte, Mont Saint Michel, and Belgium
- French cuisine and wine workshops
- local concerts, plays, and performances
- student teaching and volunteer opportunities
Also, the Columbia Global Center has a robust program of concerts, art openings, symposiums and discussions throughout the year that are open to students on the program, free of charge.
Daily Living and Schedule
The daily schedule will depend on where you have your classes and will change throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester, you will likely be at Reid Hall almost every day. Later, you may only come to Reid Hall a few times a week. You will likely commute 35-45 minutes to class daily. This is part of Parisian life.
Location
Located in the lively Montparnasse (sixth) district of Paris, Reid Hall was originally a porcelain factory, built in the early 18th century, before the French Revolution. Conveniently located near the Luxembourg Gardens, it is within walking distance of the Latin Quarter, as well as several branches of the University of Paris.
Today, Reid Hall primarily houses administrative offices and classrooms and also has a small reference library, a student lounge, and two large conference rooms. Students have access to WiFi in classrooms and all common areas of Reid Hall.
Reid Hall is known as a dynamic hub of art, culture, and intellect. At the center of this activity is its interior courtyard and private garden, overflowing with trees and flowers. Idyllic, Reid Hall is perfectly suited to be Columbia's location in Paris and gives students, faculty, and alumni a campus feeling in the heart of Paris.
Fall 2022 Calendar
People
You will have many questions throughout the phases of your experience abroad. Once you have reviewed the applicable information on this site, please feel free to contact our office.
New York
Please feel free to contact the adviser listed at the bottom of this page with questions.
Paris
For staff and faculty in Paris, please see the Paris-based Columbia in Paris site.
Financial Considerations
Many students use a combination of federal student aid and home school grants to fund their undergraduate studies. Many, if not most, of these funds are applicable to studying abroad for a semester or academic year. The costs of studying abroad during the semester or academic year are frequently comparable to those of staying on campus.
All students should work with their home school financial aid office to determine what aid is available for studying abroad.
Please see below for the cost breakdowns for detailed information on all program-related expenses:
Fall 2024:
- Cost Breakdown for Columbia Students
- Cost Breakdown for Barnard Students
- Cost Breakdown for University of Pennsylvania Students
- Cost Breakdown for Visiting Students
Spring 2025
- Cost Breakdown for Columbia Students
- Cost Breakdown for Barnard Students
- Cost Breakdown for University of Pennsylvania Students
- Cost Breakdown for Visiting Students
*Please Note: Tuition and fees are subject to Board of Trustees of Columbia University's approval and may change*
Finding Funding
For more information and resources on financing your time abroad, please see the pages below:
WITHDRAWAL & REFUND POLICY
If you decide to withdraw from the program after confirming your participation, please be aware of the financial consequences and the office policies by reviewing the Withdrawal and Refund Policy.
Resources for Accepted Students
- Passports and Visas
- Health and Safety
- Identity and Diversity Abroad
- CU Course Registration and Housing
- Gender Based Misconduct Resources
- Cultural Awareness
Fall 2023 Reid Hall Courses
Taught by French faculty in French, these courses have been specifically designed for the program to actively engage students with local resources. Typically, writers, government leaders, and scholars are invited as guest speakers in class, and several courses are taught on-site in museums or around monuments, using the Parisian cityscape as an extension of classroom learning. Courses may include an academic conference or film screening in which faculty and students are invited to engage with a larger audience open to the public. For recent courses and descriptions please see the local Columbia in Paris website.
Please view the Fall 2022 course schedule for course times. An updated schedule for 2023 will be shared soon.
