Otherwise known as 'Little Paris', the town of
Aix-en-Provence is just as sophisticated as its namesake. Aix is slap bang on
the French Riviera coast and profits from warm weather and good French food. This
is France at its most picturesque and traditional, with an added bonus of
catering to a young student crowd. Famous for its large student population with no
less than 3 separate facultés make for a vibrant social life and as well as loads of trendy
cafés and bars to ensure that you'll be entertained whatever the hour or taste.
Aix-Marseille University is the fruit of the merger of the 3
Universities of Provence, Méditerranée and Paul Cézanne. Aix-Marseille
University is the biggest French speaking University and despite it being
relatively new, its roots stretch back as far as 1409.
Aix-Marseille is constantly growing and opening up to a
variety of disciplines, thus becoming a pole of world-wide reputation. Aix offers
teaching in fields as varied as the Arts, Social Sciences, Health, Sport and Economics,
Law and Political Sciences, Applied Economics and Management, and Exact
Sciences such as Mathematics, Data-processing, Physical Sciences, Astrophysical
Sciences, Chemistry and Biology.
Almost 10,000 students from all around the world study on
one of the five major campuses of Aix-Marseille. Furthermore, and perhaps more
impressively, Aix ensures programmes that are linked to 132 research units in
connection with major national organizations and in partnership with
socio-economic actors of the region. The quality of student life seems to a constant concern for
Aix-Marseille : more than 130 associations, 60 University libraries, 50 sports
accessible and renovated campuses, make Aix-Marseille University a highly
ranked institutions of higher education in France.
More specifically to my studies, the SUFLE – the Institute of French language for overseas students is held in high regards
worldwide. The former Institutes of French language, IEFEE and SCEFEE,
merged to the SUFLE that offers one of the widest range of specialist French courses
available in France at a wide range of level (in coherence to the European
Framework for Languages) to non-francophone students. I hope to use this to my
full advantage and I have set myself a goal of achieving the level of C1 by the
time I have completed my year abroad.
As mentioned previously in my blog, one of the main reasons
I have chosen Aix-Marseille is due to the intensity and variety that the
language school offers. The range of
programs is very varied, backed by basic and applied research, and in tune with
the professional world. Both full-time and continuing education programs are
available, covering the entire arts, humanities, languages, and social science
field.
The areas that are relevant to my degree and are of greatest
interest to me are languages, linguistics, and cultures. The areas of study
include general linguistics and phonetics, French as a foreign language, English,
German, Asian, Slavic, Middle Eastern, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian,
and Latin-American languages and culture. This excites me immensely as it not
gives me the means to improve my German while in France. Considering I had to
think long and hard about which country to study in for my year abroad, this is
fantastic news and will hopefully allow me to keep my two languages at a more
similar level. However, although most of the classes would be conducted in
German, any potential explanations that maybe given in French will present a
great challenge as translating between two languages that I am not yet fully
fluent in is something that I will have to just try my best at.
The International Relations Office is responsible for enhancing the internationalization of the university, administering international programmes and facilitating collaboration. It also coordinates international students programmes and provides support services for students enrolled in exchange programmes (Erasmus, Crepuq ISEP, or Inter University agreements) , in specific integration programmes such as those with the Mediterranean countries, North American Universities and Asian countries or Erasmus Mundus and double degree programmes. The international relations are managed by a central office located in Aix-en-Provence. To facilitate all communication an international relations team (professors and administrative staff) has been appointed in each faculty and campus site to help students. Not only is this encouraging in terms of a diverse and multicultural student population that will make my stay even more enjoyable, it is highly reassuring that I know the resources are in place to help me with any problems that may arise during my stay or even before my departure.
In terms of accommodation for my stay, I have been shocked
by the lack of availability of apartments, especially furnished flats. However,
a French friend of mine has informed me that finding a furnished apartment in
France is near impossible. For this reason, I have decided to go down the halls
of residence road. Exchange programme students as well as grant holders from
the French government can obtain aroom in Halls of Residence subject to
availability, according to the student life section of the university site. I will
register for a room in Halls of Residence through the International Relations
Office and then keep my fingers crossed. Not only will halls of residence or la cité universitaire remove a lot of
stress from my relocation process but I will have the chance to meet lots of
different people and speak everyday French as I share the kitchen and bathrooms
with countless other students.
Basically, Aix-Marseille offers me the chance to study
modules and live in a way that will allow me to take full advantage of my year
abroad. The town seems to have the perfect balance between classic French feel
and up and coming student town as well as an extremely agreeable climate that
makes Scotland look positively arctic. The year is closing in on me fast, I can
remember thinking that at the start of my first year that it was ages away, and
now it is only a matter of months. I have already started the various stages of
pre-Erasmus feelings and I feel like I have the balance between apprehension
and excitement at just about the right levels for now and I’m looking forward
to the challenges that await in Aix.
Source:
Aix-Marseille Université (2015) Présentation de l'université [Online] Available from: http://www.univ-amu.fr/presentation
[Last Accessed 17 March 2015]
Aix-Marseille Université (2015) UFR ALLSH [Online] Available from: http://www.univ-amu.fr/faculte-arts-lettres-langues-sciences-humaineshttp://www.univ-
[Last Accessed 17 March 2015]
Crous d'Aix Marseille (2015) Résidences Universitaires [Online] Available from:
http://www.crous-aix-marseille.fr/logement/cites-et-residences-universitaires
[Last Accessed 17 March]
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