I’m applying to American University of Paris and ESSEC for their undergraduate business programs. I was wondering if La Sorbonne offers bachelors programs taught in english? I don’t speak french (yet) which is why I applied to AUP and ESSEC. I would love to learn the language, though. I was also thinking of eventually transferring to a public uni after a year and a half or so (since tuition is cheaper), but for that I need to learn french. I heard that there’s a program where you learn the french language at La Sorbonne for a year or so before starting in one of their bachelors? Since as far as I know the school only offers courses in french. Can anyone help me out with this, please?
Does it have to be the Sorbonne? There are other Universite de Paris campuses. I believe there is something offered at Paris-Sud (Saclay) You also need to check about visa/tuition if you’re not a citizen of a EU country.
They don’t.
Essec BBA is very good. AUP not so much (kind of a country club for rich kids who don’t have the grades to go to a decent college in Europe and don’t want a public university).
You could look into Science Po Reims.
Go live in France for a few months and then apply. That’s how you learn the language. I had one who did this and got to university level within 6 months (granted, this one has a propensity for languages).
@katliamom it can be any uni tbh! I mentioned sorbonne since it’s a very prestigious one? and it’s in paris and close to AUP. I was thinking of maybe doing a year or so at AUP before transferring to a french uni
@MYOS1634 I liked sciences po but the interview process doesn’t have a date in my country and I can’t travel abroad to do the interview so I’m not sure if I should apply or not yet. I liked AUP for their USC program (in case I don’t like it in paris, I can use this to transfer to america) but also because they teach in english, I don’t think I’d do the full 4 years there due to the cost of tuition tbh which is why I was looking at transfer options or at any other uni in paris that teaches in english tbh
@TranquilMind I thought about this! I wanted to live there and just attend a language course to get a feel of the city and all instead of committing right away to college, but my parents don’t like the idea. They just keep pushing me and insisting I start college already (I literally graduated HS 4 months ago) My first language is spanish and I speak 3 languages and am learning portuguese, so I don’t think I’d find it super difficult to learn french. I heard there was a program for la sorbonne where they let you take french for a year before enrolling, but I can’t seem to find anything about it
Sorbonne just has the name… it has its strengths, but in reality, it’s no different from any other Universite de Paris. There are plenty more prestigious schools in/around Paris than the Sorbonne.
@katliamom is there any other I could look into? I’m interested on staying in paris or close to paris. Is there any school that could offer sort of a course to learn french before I start the career focused courses? thank you!
You can study French at the Sorbonne – they have many language classes for international students – or at the Alliance Francaise. Then you can try to enter, provided you meet the requirements, one of the Universite de Paris campuses based on what you want to study. (They somewhat specialize.) All the information you need is available online, in English and French and probably other languages.
The other elite schools in/around Paris are Ecole Normale, Ecole Polytechnique, Sciences Po, etc. They’re very, very competitive and many have highly specific requirements you are unlikely to meet if you did not do your high school education in France.