University of Kansas Study Abroad Programs in France Participant Handbook Produced by the Office of Study Abroad at the University of Kansas Lippincott Hall 1410 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 108 Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7515 December 2005 Revision Table of Contents General Information on Study Abroad Programs in France University of Kansas Programs in France 3 Required Documents for Study in France 3 One Student's French University Experience 5 Higher Education in France 6 Course Selection and Registration 10 Grading Scale 14 Credit for Courses 15 Names, Terms, and Abbreviations 16 University of Kansas Exchange at the Université de Franche-Comté (Franche-Comté handbooks only) Besançon, Franche-Comté, and the Université de Franche-Comté 19 The Student Exchange Program 20 Your Address in France 22 Emergency Contact Information 22 Orientation at the CLA 23 Selecting Your Courses 25 UFC-KU Course Equivalencies 26 Course Descriptions (partial list) 30 Housing in Besançon 37 Crime and Safety 38 Settling In: Adjusting to life in Besançon 40 Telephone Service in France 42 Calling to and from France 42 Medical Services 44 Where to Eat in Besançon 45 Transportation in Besançon 47 Libraries 49 Mail, Banking, Shopping 50 Student Cards and their Uses 52 Cultural Activities 53 Travel and Vacation Resources 55 Newspapers 56 Religious Activities 57 Sports 57 2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PROGRAMS IN FRANCE The University of Kansas offers the following programs for students who wish to study in France: Summer Summer Language Institute, Paris Advanced French Studies, Strasbourg Summer Institute in Architecture, Paris Doing Business in Western Europe (Negocia), Paris Semester Université Catholique de l’Ouest-CIDEF, Angers Negocia School of Business, Paris International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) – various sites Academic Year Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) - various sites École Supérieure de Commerce, Clermont-Ferrand (Graduate) Although this section of the handbook is primarily directed at those students participating in a program that involves matriculation into the regular courses of a French university, it will be useful to all students studying in France. Any questions about the information contained in this handbook can be referred to the KU study abroad advisor for France. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR STUDY IN FRANCE Any student who plans to study in France for a period of longer than three months must obtain a student visa from the French consulate. Students participating in the ISEP and CIEE programs will be provided instructions on obtaining visas by those programs. Students participating in the Besançon and Angers programs will be provided the visa applications by this office, along with instructions for completing the forms, in a separate memo. Students studying in France are responsible for taking the necessary steps to obtain their own visas, although the OSA is happy to direct students to information concerning the visas. Currently, a student visa costs about $120 but the amount is subject to change due to fluctuations in the exchange rate. For more up to date cost information, visit the following web site. http://www.consulfrance-chicago.org/main_visas_eng.htm Once in France, students are required to apply for a carte de séjour (residence permit) from the local préfecture. Students who are studying in a structured program and/or a program sponsored by a U.S. University can generally expect to receive assistance from the program director or coordinator in completing the necessary forms and supplying the required documents. To apply for a carte de séjour, students will need to take all the documents they submitted with their visa applications, along with photocopies. It is also important to organize and bring to France a set of documents required for the carte de séjour itself. 3 Attention: the visa is NOT the same as a carte de séjour! Documents required to obtain the carte de séjour: Certificate of enrollment at a higher institution in France Proof of accommodation in France (rent contract, certified statement from person who is providing housing) Proof of financial resources. A notarized letter from your parents stating guaranteeing financial support, an attestation de bourse from the French university, or a financial aid statement will suffice. Two ID photos. (In general, it is advisable to bring about 20 ID size photos to France. A very inexpensive idea is to save a digital photo to your email. Whenever there is a need for an ID photo, you can print several photos for free in the computer lab on campus.) A stamped, addressed envelope. Note that American stamps are invalid for domestic French mail. Proof of health insurance coverage in France. A 55 € tax stamp for the first issuance of a carte de séjour will also be required and can be paid for at the local Poste. Certified copy of birth certificate; this document must be embossed or water-marked to prove originality. Upon arrival in France, a list of documents will be provided upon establishment of a premier rendez-vous for the carte de séjour. Do not forget to bring the following administrative documents, as they may prove very important: certified copy of birth certificate, immunization records, previous year’s tax returns. Students studying in Besançon and Angers will receive assistance on-site in obtaining their carte de séjour. ISEP and CIEE students will receive instructions from those program offices or their on-site coordinators. Study Abroad participants should be advised to expedite the processing of their carte de séjour by well organizing the required documents, establishing a premier rendez-vous as soon as possible upon arrival in France, and not missing any scheduled appointments. While Americans do not necessarily have to worry about illegally residing in France without a residence permit, the carte de séjour can increase the number of privileges from which an student may profit. For example, foreign exchange students have the right to obtain social security benefits (including a housing allowance for apartment renters), medical insurance which will cover all medical expenses in France, opening a bank account and subscribing to internet or a cellular phone plan. 4 ONE STUDENT'S FRENCH UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE In moments of frustration with French universities, read the following observations by one American student in Paris. We hope you take this with the fun that it's intended. Remember that your counterparts, the French students who come to the U.S. to take your place on ISEP, Besançon, and the other exchange programs, are facing registration, closed classes, noisy dormitories, and cafeteria food for the first time! Complaints about university registration and student housing are almost universal. As this student did, you will probably remember all of your time abroad, even your worst moments, with a bit of nostalgia and humor. One of my first contacts with Paris and the French character was the Sorbonne. Now there's a well-run organization if I ever saw one! I've made a study of it, and I've come to the conclusion that its main tactic is the sneak attack. You see, no one knows what any course is about, where or when it is held, or who is teaching it, except the professor himself, and of course no one knows where the professor is. This produces a remarkable confusion in the courtyard of the Faculté des Lettres every day for about two months, and occasionally you can see a professor standing off to one side chuckling quietly to himself, his three-quarter moustache just quivering with joy. He knows all about his course, including the fact that it started three weeks ago, but damned if he's going to give away any secrets. He did his part - he posted a notice reading "Course of M. le Professeur Untel to take place in Salle 20 at 16 hours. Date of commencement posted elsewhere." This notice is posted behind a big sign beginning "Étudiants Étrangers ----" so that everyone who knew where it was could find it. Of course he didn't bother to post the notice giving date of commencement, because the students would just think they couldn't find it, and it was too much trouble to find another hiding place. Also, to continue the little game, Salle 20 only half exists. That is to say that it was called Salle 20 five years ago, but now it’s called Salle Louis XIV, by majority vote of the Assemblée Nationale. Then there is the story of one professor of two years ago who really faked out her students. Her course was supposed to start in the beginning of November. So, along about the middle of the month a notice went up to the effect that she was "suffering" and the course would start in the beginning of December, at which point another notice went up - she was still suffering, and the course would begin after Christmas vacation. Well, by that time she was not only suffering, she had complications, and the notice of March 17 said she would certainly be well by the end of May and that the course would begin shortly thereafter. As it turned out, she gave the bibliography on June 20, and her students gave her a party on June 27, at which everyone got happy, and she was persuaded to waive the exam and give everyone a 19 for the course. They're just so utterly casual about the whole thing. It gives you the impression that gradually, in fits and starts, courses start popping up from nowhere, and, with a terrible grinding of gears, the school year miraculously gets underway. While you will almost certainly encounter some obstacles along the way, you can also look forward to an exciting year of new discoveries.