Youth Development & Psychology in France —

Program Details

Program Eligibility

About 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, 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 Psychology professor, who will teach the core course in Montpellier. Students will leave this program with a deep intercultural perspective on trauma, immigration, and other global issues that affect children and youth. Students will participate in a cohort-based program while engaging with the local community through their coursework.

Housing & Meals

Homestay

Homestays provide a vital connection to the local culture and social life, as well as the opportunity to experience the daily life of the French. Host families provide breakfast and dinner during the week and all meals on the weekend. Housing is not provided during program breaks unless specifically arranged. Host families are usually located in the suburbs, 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 housing option will appeal to you. The level of integration you experience with your host family may vary—some families will go to great lengths to make you feel like part of the family while others may have a more independent approach. If you are concerned about adjusting to a host family, consider one of the other housing options.

Traditional French Apartment

Live with other program participants in apartments, usually located in town and approximately 20–30 minutes from the university and downtown Montpellier. 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 rooms with a small private bathroom and basic kitchenette. The rooms are furnished with a single bed and a desk. You will be placed in downtown Montpellier about 30 minutes 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, this housing option may be a good fit. 

Excursions

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)

Flight

Learning Outcomes

• 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

Faculty & Staff

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.

Corrine 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.

Cedric Carpanedo

Cedric is the logistic coordinator for the program in Montpellier and teaches the Conversational French class. He has been part of the team for ten years and has lived in Montpellier for 12. He spent two years as a teaching assistant for the French Department at Macalester College in Minnesota.

Originally from Avignon, he studied English and American civilization and literature at the Université d'Avignon et des pays de Vaucluse. 

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.

Kim Mousseron

Kim is the Housing Coordinator for the Montpellier programs.

Kim received her BA from Mount Holyoke College and MA from Middlebury College. After teaching French for a year at Boston College, Kim permanently moved to France where she obtained her TEFL certification. Kim has lived in Montpellier for over 20 years. She was born and raised in western Massachusetts.­­­

Program Structure

Coursework

All courses are taught in English with the exception of the French language course.

Required Courses

Resilience in Children & Youth: Global Perspectives

MONT 4310

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

How do children overcome hazardous experiences to succeed in life? What can be done to protect young people at risk from trauma, war, disasters, and other adversities? This course examines the global literature on resilience in children and youth. We will focus on the origins, methods, findings, controversies, and future of research on how young people overcome adversity, as well as the implications of this body of knowledge for fostering resilience in children and societies. Students will also gain a global awareness of diverse perspectives on resilience from interactions with other MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) participants online in discussion forums.

Syllabus for Resilience in Children and Youth: Global Perspectives (PDF)

UofM equivalent: CPSY 4310

Community Engagement

MONT 3886

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

This course is an opportunity for you to gain valuable experience working with children and adolescents, often in underserved populations. This course will explore the historical, sociological and political context of the French community but also in relation to Europe and with a comparison to the American system. It will provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their community engagement in the host country environment. The course along with your engagement in the community will deepen your understanding of the host country cultural context and will lead you to critically examine your own worldview. Placement options for students with limited French may include assisting with coaching after-school sports teams, working with charities, and assisting with English language classes in school settings. Taught in English. Students with sufficient French language skills can enroll in the Internship course in French (MONT 3303) instead and have a wider selection of possible placements.

Syllabus for Community Engagement (PDF)

UofM equivalent: CPSY 3896; approved for the Civic Life and Ethics liberal education requirement

French Language

MONT 1001–3016

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 or 5 credits

Students in 1st–4th semester enroll in a French language class that is divided into sections based on linguistic level.

• Syllabus for MONT 1001 (PDF) (5 credits)
• Syllabus for MONT 1002 (PDF) (5 credits)
• Syllabus for MONT 1003 (PDF) (5 credits)
• Syllabus for MONT 1004 (PDF) (5 credits)

Advanced levels of language are offered in a special language program for international students and is included in the program fee.

• Syllabus for Advanced French I (PDF), 5th semester (3000-level, 3 credits)
• Syllabus for Advanced French II (PDF), 6th semester (3000-level, 3 credits)

Students beyond 6th semester French can enroll in a more advanced language course.

Elective Courses

Adolescent Psychology

MONT 4303

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

Students will gain a foundational understanding of what is currently known about the transformational processes that shape human development as children mature into adults. This course will review what has been learned about the biological, cognitive, and social development of adolescents in the context of their multiple worlds and the issues and challenges that adolescents confront along the way. At the conclusion of this course students will understand major theories of adolescent development and be able to define central concepts, such as puberty, identity, emerging adulthood, and cliques. Students will understand the basic biological, cognitive, and social changes of adolescence and how these may influence each other, as well as the roles of family, peers, schools, work, media and culture. Students will be able to delineate the major developmental tasks of adolescence, the risks and protective factors that contribute to success or failures in those tasks, and common problems of human behavior that often emerge during the second decade of life.

Syllabus for Adolescent Psychology (PDF)

UofM equivalent: CPSY 4303

Introduction to Child Psychology

MONT 3301

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

This course will examine normative physical, social, and cognitive development from the prenatal period through adolescence, bringing in the French context. The major goals include fostering an understanding of the usefulness of a developmental approach to psychological issues, familiarizing students with current research and methodology in child psychology, and engaging students in the experiences of developmental psychology through observation and analysis of child behavior.

Syllabus for Introduction to Child Psychology (PDF)

UofM equivalent: CPSY 2301/3301

Cross-Cultural Psychology

MONT 3006

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

This course will examine how cultural factors influence human behavior and development. Additionally, the interaction between different cultures and how to solve the difficulties that may arise during the acculturation process may be discussed. The course also studies the vision and treatment of mental disorders in different cultures, especially the differences and similarities between French and North American cultures. Mental Health systems of both countries will be also analyzed and compared.

Syllabus for Cross-Cultural Psychology (PDF)

UofM equivalent: PSY 3301

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Language Learning

MONT 3121

Fall & Spring Semesters

3 credits

This course exams the process of language learning in children and the different philosophical approaches in the US and France regarding second language development.

Syllabus for Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Language Learning (PDF)

UofM equivalent: CI 3610; also fulfills Social Sciences liberal education requirement.

Dates & Deadlines

Orientation Dates & Locations

Fees for Youth Development & Psychology in France

Spring 2020 Program Fees

Traditional French Apartment, Student Studio Apartment, Homestay

Billing & Payments

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Bridging Loan

Cancellation Policy

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