The Department of French and Italian participates in two graduate student exchange programs with French university partners, the Université Paris-Cité and the Université Paul-Valéry (Montpellier). The purpose of these exchange programs is to provide graduate students the opportunity to teach and study for a year in France at a stage in their graduate career when this opportunity will be of maximum benefit, allowing them to pursue their research and to gain enhanced linguistic and cultural fluency.
For graduate students traveling abroad to Montpellier or Paris for an entire academic year, the Department will provide them with stipends from a newly established fellowship. Those who participate in the Montpellier exchange will receive $1,500 and those participating in the Paris exchange will receive $7,000. Previously, graduate students have used this stipend to pay for their round trip flight. Before departure for Paris or Montpellier, students should contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for a copy of the department’s “Graduate Study Abroad Guide.”
In the Université Paris-Cité exchange program, graduate students are located in the U.F.R d'Etudes Anglophones, where they teach English language classes in language laboratories and conversation classes. More information can be found at their website.
In the Université Paul-Valéry exchange program in Montpellier , graduate students are located in the Département d'Etudes Anglophones, where lecteurs/lectrices teach English language courses, including translation and oral communication, and British or American literature and culture courses. As the curriculum for all courses is not set, lecteurs/lectrices have the opportunity to design their own course syllabi and develop teaching expertise in a secondary field.
Be sure to understand and confirm the health-insurance requirements for research time abroad. If you are a foreign national, this is particularly tricky, and you might be required to have additional insurance or proof of specific forms of insurance. If necessary, the CLA Grad Office can provide the student’s health insurance in the
summer interim after their academic year abroad is complete. In order to obtain this special summer health insurance, students should consult with the Graduate Program Coordinator by April 30 during their time abroad; the Graduate Program Coordinator can then complete and submit this paperwork request to the CLA Grad Office on their behalf.