Youth Development & Psychology in France

Live and study in Montpellier, one of France’s fastest growing cities and an emerging cultural and educational center. Within easy reach of both mountains and the Mediterranean, and home to 100,000 university students, it is a young, vibrant city with a centuries-old history of intellectual advances and social tolerance. Montpellier is the ideal place to experience French culture as a study abroad student.

This program provides an exceptional opportunity to study resilience in young populations through a course co-created by a University of Minnesota Developmental Psychology professor and a French psychologist, who will teach the core course focused on resilience. You will participate in a cohort program based at our program center while engaging with the local community through community engagement work. By the end of the program, you will have gained a deep, intercultural perspective on trauma, immigration, and other global issues that affect children and youth.

Homestays

Homestays provide a vital connection to the local culture, as well as the opportunity to experience French daily life. Host families provide breakfast and dinner during the week and all meals on the weekend. Most families live in the suburbs of Montpellier, approximately 45 minutes by bus, tram, and foot from the city center and from campus.

If you wish to maximize your language practice and cultural development through regular family contact and are willing to adapt to a French family's lifestyle and schedule, this is a good housing option for you. The level of integration you experience with your host family may vary—some families go to great lengths to make you part of the family while others take a more independent approach. Host families are an option even for students who do not have prior French language study.

Traditional French Apartment

Live with other program participants in typical French apartments. These are usually located in the center of town or close to the universities and are easily accessible to the program center and the university. You will share the apartment with 1–2 other students from the program, occasionally with two people of the same gender sharing a room. The program fee for this option does not include meals, utilities, or the $500 security deposit. See the Fees page for additional costs. If you have special dietary needs or intend to have an active social life with frequent evenings out, this is a good option.

Student Studio Apartments

Small studio apartments within a student apartment building offer basic modern rooms with a small private bathroom and kitchenette. The rooms are furnished with a single bed and desk. The residence building is located in downtown Montpellier, about a 20-minute walk from the program center and a 30-minute commute from the university. This housing option does not include meals, but does include utilities. A $500 security deposit will be billed with your program fee. If you are independent, like your own space, and want to meet other students (French and international), this is a good option.

Two or three day-long excursions are planned each semester to introduce you to the unique character of southern France.  These day excursions are included in your program fees. In addition, the program’s social assistants organize activities in Montpellier to help you get to know the city and to provide you with opportunities to meet French students. Optional longer excursions are also organized by the Program Center staff during the semester and are offered (at an extra cost) if there is sufficient interest.

Typical Fall Semester Excursions

Day excursions sites may include: 

• Aigues-Mortes and the Mediterranean Sea

• Arles and the Carrières de Lumière

• Avignon and Fontaine de Vaucluse

Medieval Weekend Excursion (included in Program Fee)

• Carcassonne, Lagrasse, medieval dining, and the Cathars' castles

Optional longer excursions (at an extra cost) include:

• Morocco (One week in Fez, Morocco)

Typical Spring Semester Excursions

Day excursions sites may include: 

• Nimes and Pont-du-Gard

• Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

• Anduze and the bamboo forest

Optional longer excursions (at an extra cost) include:

• Paris

• Wars, Wine and Wonders: Exploring Western France (One week touring Mont Saint-Michel, Normany, D-Day beaches, Loire Valley castles, Bordeaux and St. Emilion)

• Morocco (One week in Fez, Morocco)

• Gain French, European, and international perspectives on youth development & psychology
• Investigate factors of resilience in French and migrant communities
• Deepen cross-cultural understanding through interaction with local students, host families, and community members
• Increase independence and self-reliance by learning to navigate French society
• Develop professional skills such as problem-solving and teamwork
• Strengthen French language skills

Françoise Defrecheux-Chaton

Françoise has been the On-Site Director of the program in Montpellier since 1990. With her staff, she oversees student services, excursions, housing arrangements, and academic coursework. She is also a professor in Business English at the Université de Montpellier and is well-connected in the local university community in Montpellier.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Germanic Languages from the Université de Liège and a Master's from the University of Minnesota in French Literature. She has also taught at the University of Minnesota and Carleton College in Minnesota.

Corinne Dumas

Corinne has been the Assistant Director of the University of Minnesota Program in Montpellier since 2006. She currently teaches the course on Leadership and Experiential Learning for the program.

She received a MA in English from the University of Orléans in France and a MA in French and ESL from West Virginia University. Corinne studied for five years at the University of North Carolina where she was also a teaching assistant in the French department. She completed her course work and passed her PhD exams in Comparative Literature.

Paul Rogers

Paul is the Academic Adviser for the Montpellier programs. He has been teaching university courses for over twenty years, and currently teaches in his specialty for the University of Minnesota program and at the Université Paul-Valéry in the Lettres Modernes department.

Paul holds a PhD in medieval French literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is originally from southern Rhode Island.

• Fall 2021
• Spring 2022

After you submit your application, you will receive an email notification confirming that your application was received. Submitted applications are assigned an application checklist, which will include the following items:

• Application Essay
• Transcript (Non-UofM students only)
• Home Institution Nomination (Non-UofM students only)

Detailed descriptions and instructions for submitting each checklist item are included on the application checklist assigned to you.

After your application checklist is complete, your application is reviewed by our program team. You will be notified of an acceptance decision by email. If accepted, you will have two weeks to confirm your spot on the program.  Once confirmed, you will have additional required forms to complete before participating in the program.  If you decide not to continue with the application process, log into the online application system and submit a Cancel Request.

Leah H.: Spring 2020, Psychology major