Literature Study Abroad Programs in Paris, France

It is difficult to find the words to describe what an incredible time I had in Paris with CEA Study Abroad. My life is forever changed because of my time in Paris. Meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, having to converse in a language I had never studied grew me more than I could have imagined. The CEA staff was extremly organized and welcoming, beginning to end and calmed the nerves I had landing in Paris. I will never forget my experience and will forever be grateful to the CEA team

Studying abroad is one of the best decisions I could have made. I found it to be a great learning experience and a taste of independent life. I enjoyed the freedom of getting to visit any place in the city, as well as neighboring cities and countries. I traveled to 3 other countries and went on both CEA-sponsored trips. I had a blast in the academic center and made a lot of great friends. I liked the instructors that I had for my Thermodynamics and Architecture classes. They were not trying to trick us or fail us, and they did a lot to incorporate the city of Paris into the class content. I took the train and metro everywhere! I didn't realize how convenient it was to get around. I was used to NYC subways, but Paris metros were so much better. The transportation system everywhere (even in Switzerland and Germany) was very easy to figure out. Pros: the great food ease of transport not really a language barrier Cons: cost of souvenirs transportation doesn't run after 1 am

My study abroad was the greatest time of my life. I met countless friends from the United States and all over the world. I have friends that I am actively planning trips to see again in Paris and am coordinating trips in America for my American friends abroad. Within 3 weeks of my return I went from Ohio to Idaho to see a good friend I had met just months earlier. Every night was an adventure. My French is very good. I would love to go back but also inspire others to take that step in their journey.

I recently just returned from Paris where I spent the best 4 months of my life all thanks to WorldStrides!! I met so many amazing people, learned so much about the business world, and was able to travel all around the world!!

I loved every minute of travelling and exploring the city of Paris, the program was really fun and I learned quite a bit. My professor was great and the locations we went to were awesome. Go abroad! It's worth it.

APA Paris is a wonderful program. I felt supported and challenged in all the right ways. From start to finish, I was surrounded by some of the kindest and most patient program coordinators who helped me seamlessly navigate life in a foreign country. The academics offered by the program are engaging and well-tailored to multiple levels in French, and the cultural events and excursions were some of my fondest memories here in Paris. The group of students the program attracted were some of the loveliest people to have spent a semester in Paris with, and the program did an excellent job facilitating a welcoming environment for us to bond. While I felt fully independent and immersed in French culture, the APA office was always there, offering support and a strong community. I could not have asked for a better study abroad experience. Merci APA!

I had an amazing time with APA! The program is run by a kind, considerate and detail-oriented program that emphasizes cultural immersion. We had multiple cultural events that were included with the program including concerts, tastings, as well as overnight stays in French regions. I also opted to stay in a homestay which was a wonderful experience; I really clicked with my host mom and lived in a beautiful Parisian apartment. My French has improved greatly thanks to tutoring and language offerings and I fell in love with Paris. I highly recommend APA to anyone wanting to study abroad in Paris!

I loved my semester with APA. My French has improved tremendously! The teachers, advisor, and administrative support is amazing. I loved that we had the opportunity to take classes with multiple universities based on our interests and the courses at APA are also very well taught. The cultural program is unlike any other, and it gave me a great opportunity to have experiences I never would have had otherwise! I highly recommend this programme!

I had such a blast and I was especially impressed with the extra curricular offerings of APA in comparison with other study abroad programs my friends were doing at the same time! 😁❤️🥳🥐🗼🏠😊🫂🍫🌿

Academic Programs Abroad was definitely the way to go! The level of immersion and cultural offerings that you get are unlike any other, and everything is well organized—yet still personalized, to feel responsive. I highly recommend this program to someone that wants to immerse themselves in the city and have a good time with others.

I felt fully immersed in French culture from the moment I arrived. I believe that the combination of attending a Parisian university and living in an apartment building with other Francophone young adults really helped me feel like I was having a true Parisian experience. I felt supported by the program, but I also had a lot of freedom to live my life independently as much as I liked. I think that the best part for me was my living situation, just because it introduced me to all my closest friends and forced me to speak French frequently. I think I felt like I integrated well into French culture and life without staying within the confines of being an American on an exchange.

When I arrived to Paris, I had forgotten a lot of my french. Because I was forced to constantly hear and speak french, I really was able to improve my skill and now I am able to understand majority of what is said in french and be able to speak in a conversation.

The academics were a little difficult because everything was in French but that is to be expected. APA was amazing and provided such great support. My advisor was amazing and I met such good friends here.

APA gave me the cultural immersion I needed to really improve my French. I thoroughly enjoyed my classes and the APA administration was so helpful and supportive. The cultural program was great as well. You get to see all sorts of performances and engage in french culture

I was part of the Fall 2024 APA:FMS program and my experience served as a pivotal point in my academic and personal life. So much so that I joined my colleges's study abroad advising team to urge students to not only go abroad but to go abroad with APA. My review will be divided into multiple parts, ranging from the program's structure to its impact, as I look back a year later. When I approached planing to study abroad my focus was on the country(ies) that I wanted to live and study in, I did not realize how much the program I selected would influence my experience. I was lucky to be recommended APA by a friend, but I think it should be public knowledge how much of a gem APA's structure is for anyone looking to study in a francophone country. The program's mission is immersion, so there is a great emphasis and effort put towards ensuring that students experience the country as a local would. This means the team of the program is greatly involved in helping the students navigate and integrate into local life. for example, I remember the program arranged for all students to arrive at the same time so that the director of the program could pick us up and welcome us to France. Another example of how APA go about immersion is excursions. APA value academic exposure as much as cultural exposure. Meaning, while in another program I would have to plan weekend-trip, and research on my own activities to do, APA already arranged. At the beginning of the program students receive both an academic and excursion calendar. Meaning Upon arrival I had a calendar packed with plays, concerts, wine tasting, cheese tasting. museums visit, and weekend getaway to different parts of the countries already planned and organized for me to attend. to go back to the involvement of the team, I remember how the founder of the program would sometimes join the cohort to attend concerts, we had mental-health workshops, and students were invited to have coffee chats with the founded of the program. Going abroad can seem daunting, but APA has such a diverse team and they are so involved, I not only felt supported but I felt like I joined a family. APA-FMS: APA-FMS is the acronym for the multi-country study abroad program I did with APA where during one semester I lived in studied in 3 countries! whenever it is proposed to students to go abroad it's often a semester in 1 country, so I was totally captivated by the idea that within one semester I could study in three countries across two continents with very different culture(France;Morocco;Senegal). It was the best decision I could have made. Aside from immigrating to the united states as a child I had never travelled, so the program was appealing for me in the sense that it would afford me the chance to travel and get to know the countries from a local perspective. AS part of the program students will stay in each country for 5-8 weeks, and take classes that will be taught across the historical context of three countries. YES, your institution will accept the credit for the FMS classes, I go to harvard and they counted the APA:FMS classes as elective credit, but I know other institutions will count the classes towards your major requirements. The FMS program requires that all students live in homestays, meaning with host family. I was little apprehensive about the concept but it turned out to be one of the best parts of the program. first the "host family" structure looks difference for everyone, while I stayed with a family of 6 with children, someone in the program lived with an elderly grandmother living alone, another a young filmmaker. The families we lived in depended on our preferences and requests. Staying with host families helped with my homesickness as I had a support system to whom I went home to every day abroad. In France, as a Christian, I was placed with a Christian family who took me to church on Sundays and nurtured my love for yogurt by teaching me how to make it fresh. In Morocco, my host mom taught me how to bargain and my host sisters helped me discover the beaches. In senegal my host mom taught me how to cook local cuisine, she took me to her favorite hairtylist, and took me to her friend's wedding. However, the beauty of FMS is that it ensured that my experience is one and my own. My friend in the program, who is a film major, was matched with host who is a young filmmaker so while I was making yogurt thursday nights, she was out at different bars in Paris brainstorming ideas for future projects. Additionally APA's mission of immersion carries on across all three countries, meaning in every countries we are taken to art exhibition, concerts, plays, movies, restaurants.APA also organized various week-end getways to different parts of each country. Meaning, while in lived in the capital of all three countries during the program, I am well acquainted to the country side of each country and various cities in each country. Ultimately studying in 3 countries was an amazing experience. APA-FMS taught me how to trust myself as I had to navigate three countries. The multi-country program APA offers is unique as it not only provides provides substantial support and resources for students to live and study in three countries but it helps students built a network of connection that will facilitate returning to these countries. Having done the program I now have the connection 12 professors spanning from France to senegal. One of the professors from the program even wrote my recommendation letter for an internship in Europe. Having done the program I have a network of loved ones across the world as a year later I am still in contact with my host families. Academic: the program has an academic structure where professors are solicited from different universities across the the country and come to the students to teach classes. This means that as part of the FMS program you are not going to be enrolling in a university in each country but rather APA will have professors come teach your cohort at their office space. The great plus of this structure is that the cohorts are not big so you will have the opportunity to get to know your professors who are often renowned for their work in the country. Another benefit of this structure is it facilitates participation, as you are not intimidated by local students but are learning with your friends in the program. My review is overwhelmingly positive, because my experience was overwhelmingly positive. But, while the reality of this program was fun, adventurous, exciting, and beautiful, it was also difficult in some ways. As a french program, immersing yourself in french in the classroom and home can be a challenge and at times tiring when you are not used to speaking french all the time. Therefore I would recommend watching french tiktoks, reading french book, and listening to french music before and throughout the program! I would also recommend doing APA’s pre-program where you go ahead of the program and APA’s teaching staff will help you become acquainted with academic writing in a francophone context. Travelling, living and studying broad in three countries within 4 months can also be mentally and physically taxing(fatigue and mental health). So keeping up with hobbies, families and friends back home, and resting is indispensable.

Both my sons - twins - traveled to Paris in 2019. I followed and stayed at a different hotel in Bercy Village. Having never been to Paris, I, too, wanted to see some of what my sons were experiencing! Several other parents had made the trip and invited me to visit them at their homes in France. Four years later I asked one of my sons what he recalled from his summer at Parsons in Paris. His face aglow, he stated that he remembered the friends he made, the fun they had, and what he learned. He stated that then API team had taken great care of them making sure they were safe, but still allowing them to explore, take the Metro, and learn about Paris on the many excursions they took. One experience we both recalled was as I was on a tour bus driving around Paris, I looked down and saw my sons and their new friends walking down the street. Their faces displayed the joy they felt about being on this fabulous trip and surprise at seeing me gazing down on them from the tour bus. I recalled visiting the Parsons school with its beautiful circular stairway and many well-equipped studios where students created their fashion projects. As a parent, I appreciated the excellent coordination and support with paperwork that API gave me when planning the trip. My sons' summer at Parsons in Paris via API helped them when they were in college and with future jobs as well. The three of us would highly recommend students taking advantage of the wonderful programs and counselors that API has to offer. Merci beaucoup!

I completed an intensive French language program with API having only one semester of college French. Quickly my language skills improved, thanks to this program, my peers, and the faculty. I learned so much in such a short amount of time. It gave me foundational French skills that truly allowed me to excel in the language over the last few years. The classes at Institut Catholique de Paris were hard, but I was so grateful for the challenge. In addition I enjoyed the fact that the classes were mixed with other study abroad programs, namely because it allowed me to meet one of my best friends to this day and several other close friends. In terms of the living accommodations, I really enjoyed living at Cite Universitaire, it was so accessible by train and API provided me with the necessary transit card! There was a communal kitchen there that I used often, helping me save lots of money on food - plus API provided some money for groceries which I was so grateful for. If anything, I wish I had stayed longer - one month flew by! API made sure to take us to nearby cultural locations outside of Paris on weekends and I enjoyed those a lot. Also since I had a European student ID, I was able to visit nearly all museums for free. Truly once in a lifetime experience.

I had the chance to study abroad in Paris this past fall semester and I loved everything about it. I did not want to leave! With ISA, we were taken cared of and given the information we needed. All the students were able to partake in excursions the first couple weeks where we all made friends to ease into our new lives in France. I would not trade it for the world I had an amazing time!

I decided to study abroad in Paris with APA due to it offering the rare chance to immerse oneself in the French language through the day-to-day operations of the program alongside the option to stay with a host family. I opted to stay with a host family for the entire academic year and it was the best choice I could have made. Aside from greatly improving my French, I also developed deep relationships with my host family that will last forever. At APA, I similarly developed these connections. With it being a small team, you have the unique opportunity to develop personal relationships with the staff who truly know and understand you. Additionally, the program offered endless outings and events to attend, livening up every week with incredible opportunities.

Picture this: sipping espresso at a quaint café, discussing global marketing with classmates from 80+ countries, the Eiffel Tower in view. This was my incredible semester at the American Business School of Paris with ISA! ISA's program exceeded all expectations. Their on-site staff provided excellent support, from orientation to ongoing advice. I was placed in a homestay in a beautiful Parisian neighborhood, enhancing my cultural immersion. The academic experience was rewarding, with English-taught classes offering unique perspectives on business. ISA's cultural excursions were a highlight, from Louvre tours to weekend trips across France. These pre-arranged events made exploring accessible and fostered connections with other ISA students. Choosing ISA was one of my best decisions. They transformed a potentially overwhelming experience into an unforgettable adventure. For anyone considering studying abroad in Paris, I wholeheartedly recommend ISA. They ensure a safe, educational, and life-changing experience that goes beyond just academics. Thanks to ISA, I've gained knowledge, experiences, and memories that will last a lifetime!