Countries | France | Poitiers | Academic Programs

Academic Program

The Poitiers program is ideal for students in a variety of majors who have a solid base in French language and are hoping to experience cultural immersion in the French context. The yearlong Poitiers exchange program is a unique opportunity for students to improve their French proficiency and expand their academic training in general-education, major and minor courses within a French university. The language of instruction is French.

There are two types of year-long study in Poitiers. Most Oregon students in Poitiers make use of the language institute courses at the Centre de Français Langue Étrangère (CFLE), which offers intensive training in French language skills at all levels. Students whose French skills are sufficient may select from direct enrollment courses in a variety of fields in the humanities, social and natural sciences, and business management. Most students who arrive in Poitiers with three years of college-level French completed are ready for direct enrollment from the first semester, whereas students who arrive with only second-year college French completed usually start mainly with CFLE courses and transition into more direct enrollment courses in the second semester. The semester Poitiers exchange program is a unique opportunity for students with advanced background in French language to continue to improve their French proficiency while taking regular university courses, in a variety of fields that focus on French life and culture. The language of instruction is French. The semester program can be paired nicely with an internship semester in or around Poitiers.

The academic program begins each fall with a stage, an intensive cultural and linguistic orientation course for which students receive Oregon home university credits. During the stage, students complete a language skills evaluation that determines CFLE placement levels and/or confirms that students are ready for direct enrollment in general university courses taught in French. All stage, CFLE and direct-enrollment courses are taught by University of Poitiers faculty members, but only international students (from outside France) participate in the stage and CFLE courses.

Host University Description

Established in 1431, the University of Poitiers is the second oldest university in France and counts François Rabelais, René Descartes, and Francis Bacon amongst its former students. Highly regarded within France, the University of Poitiers provides 24,500 students a full range of top quality courses in Science, Liberal Arts, Pharmacy and Medicine, Engineering, Law, Economics, and Management. Poitiers provides a student friendly environment with the highest per capita student population of any city in France.

Some of the unique academic programs at Poitiers include: a renowned center for medieval studies (in an excellent setting for the topic!), the program in "arts de spectacle" (theater arts and film), and the Institute of Technology, which blends scientific studies with technological training and innovation. In addition, students majoring or minoring in the fine arts or music may sometimes be placed into one or two courses per semester in the School of Fine Arts Poitiers (separate from the university), on a case-by-case basis. Studio art and music courses cannot be guaranteed until a French professor accepts the student after arrival in Poitiers, usually based on examination of a small work sample.

Host University Website

For general information on the University of Poitiers: www.univ-poitiers.fr.

Registration and Credits

Students participating in this program will be registered at their home university in Oregon and will receive home campus credits for courses taken at Poitiers. Students’ course work will be reviewed and evaluated by appropriate academic departments at their home universities. Students must keep detailed records of course outlines, reading lists, exam results, and other work completed to facilitate accurate evaluation by their home campus academic departments.

Students are advised to consult with their academic advisor about their plans to study in the Poitiers program. Students wishing to earn major or minor credits for courses taken in Poitiers are strongly advised to be in frequent communication with their advisor to determine what’s possible.

Because of the nature of this program, courses and credits are applied after completion of the program.

Academic Calendar

• Required Stage (on-site orientation): late August – mid-September
• Academic Year: mid-September – mid-May
• Fall Semester: late August - mid-December
• Spring Semester: early-January - mid-May