Language and Culture: Pre-Freshman Studies in France
Language and Culture: Pre-Freshman Studies in France
Language Requirement: None
Academic Standing by Program Start: Freshman
Location: Europe, France
Program Overview
Can’t wait for college to begin? Get a head start on your University of Oregon academic career by exploring the cultural and social legacies of France as manifested in its second largest city, Lyon.
While using a task-based approach to language learning to gain a basic foundation in French, we will examine historical, artistic, architectural, literary, and cultural artifacts associated with France! We will discover many of the legacies France has bequeathed to the rest of the world as we focus on how France continuously re-examines those legacies, including those of Greek and Roman antiquity. We will explore five wide-ranging domains: French language and identity; love, art and architecture; food, fashion, and film; wars, revolutions, and resistance; industrialization, unionization and cultural imperialism.
In addition, we are excited to offer a similar programs in London and Siena, Italy this summer! Students can apply to all programs.
Program Itinerary (subject to change):
- Thursday, June 27, 2024: Depart for Lyon
- Friday, June 28, 2024: Arrive in Lyon
- Saturday, July 20, 2024: Depart Lyon
Minimum Age Requirement: Please note that students must be 18 years or older by the departure date (June 28).
IntroDUCKtion: For Summer 2024, students going to France may participate in any IntroDUCKtion session before or after the Pre-Freshman program that does not conflict with the French program dates. Please register for IntroDUCKtion at this site: https://orientation.uoregon.edu/introducktion/freshman
Please note credits earned on this program are through the University of Oregon's Community Education Program. Therefore this program is not eligible for federal financial aid, including federal student or parent loans.
Dates and Deadlines
| Term | Year | Priority Deadline | Deadline | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | 2024 | 3/15/2024 | 4/15/2024 | 6/28/2024 | 7/20/2024 |
Academic Details
Students will take two courses: FR 150 (4 credits), in English, and FR 199 (2 credits). Please note: FR 150 satisfies UO Core requirements for Arts and Letters and Global Perspectives.
After the course, students will be able to enroll in FR 111 and 112, and complete their first year of language in two quarters, rather than three.
Course Equivalencies
UO students: please refer to the UO Course Equivalency Process and the UO Office of the Registrar Course Equivalency Database.
Non-UO students: Actual credit awarded is determined by the relevant department at your university in consultation with the study abroad office. Check with your study abroad advisor for more information.
Additional requirements
Program participants must be 18 or older as of June 27, 2024.
All participants must be enrolled at the University of Oregon starting fall term 2024, as of May 1, 2024.
Application process
Application Instructions: To create an application for this program, please click the “Start an Application” button. If you are on a computer, this will be in the upper right hand of the screen, and if you are on your mobile phone, it will be at the bottom. You will be brought to the login page, where you can create an account. Please take the following steps:
- Choose “I do not have login credentials to this site.”
- Choose “I am not currently registered at an institution. You are not yet a UO student, and therefore should not plan on using any UO information.
- Fill out the following form requesting your name, date of birth, gender, and email.
When you submit this form, an account will be generated for you, and an email will be sent to you with your login and password information. If at any point you have issues with this process, please contact geoinfo@uoregon.edu.
This program has a rolling admission application process: GEO staff (and the program faculty leader, if applicable) will complete a review of the application materials of complete applications in the order that they are submitted (“first come, first serve”). Decisions about acceptance will be made shortly after you submit a complete application. There are some programs that fill fast, some even before the deadline. Students are encouraged to complete applications and commit to programs early.
Faculty and Staff
Dr. Connie Dickey (cldickey@uoregon.edu) is a Senior Instructor I at the University of Oregon, where she has supervised the first-year French program for almost a decade. A specialist in historical Romance linguistics and (medieval) literatures, Dickey's has also studied the contemporary Occitan dialect of lemosi in Corrèze (in Central France) and modern Italian.
Dickey's work training and mentoring language teachers began at Syracuse University, where she coordinated both the first- and second-year French language program and worked with students in the Future Professoriate Program who were earning a Certificate of University Teaching while pursuing their graduate degrees. Dickey also served as the faculty liaison for high school teachers in the N.E. who taught SU's French classes in their secondary classrooms. She has participated for many years in annual training workshops, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, for Fulbright Teaching Assistants from around the world who come to the U.S. to teach their native languages.
Now a member of the vibrant French program at the UO, Dickey relishes the continuing opportunities to help students gain fluency in French and explore the French-speaking world.
Housing Description
This program offers students an ideal way to be immersed in French culture and language: homestays with native speakers! Host families provide lodging and an opportunity to share with them two meals a day on weekdays, and all meals on weekends. Each homestay situation is unique. The program cannot guarantee any particular configuration, but each homestay offers a rich, genuinely intercultural experience. Host families range from a mother and father with young children, to an older, single host mother. Many types of family are possible!