Since students have “full immersion in Paris university life” with the SBC JYF program, I’ll be taking a few classes in one of the Paris universities as a real French student (!!!). I’ll also probably take a few that are geared toward the SBC students, offered by Sweetbriar, because they seem really interesting too.
The Paris 7 Logo
So, I’ll be studying at Université Paris Diderot, or, Paris 7. I decided to read a little about it before getting there; it’ll help me feel more prepared, I guess. The closest comparison I can find to the University of Paris system is the Texas A&M University system. It was a little confusing at first, but I think I understand it now…
The University of Paris, which people had often referred to as the Sorbonne, was founded in the 12th century. Over 800 years later, in 1970, the University was dissolved and 13 autonomous universities (Paris 1-13) were formed from it. Now, the Sorbonne basically refers to the historical building, and some of the Paris universities have “Sorbonne” in their name, but it doesn’t refer to the same thing as it did just 50 years ago. It’s pretty cool that Paris universities are based in so much history.
The Grand Moulin Building of Paris 7
Paris 7, which is actually celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, teaches a vast range of courses: there are classes in arts, literature, languages, social sciences, humanities, science & technology, and in medicine and dentistry. According to its website, it’s the only multidisciplinary university in Paris to have a broad “range of degrees in Humanities, Medicine, and the Sciences,” and they’re known for their research too.
I’m so excited to study there! It’ll definitely be different from Rice…there’s 26,000 students in comparison to Rice’s 5,000. And, there are 6,000 international students. It’s weird that I’ll be an “international” student, right? That’s more than Rice’s undergrads and grads combined. Their website also says that there are Circus Acrobatics and Jazz Gymnastics for possible student activities. Hm, new sport for me? Paris 7 also has the largest university library in Paris, so I’ll probably be studying there sometimes, just to see what it’s like.
Well, there’s a little about Paris 7! We all know universities obviously aren’t the same feel as the website makes one think, so we’ll see how it goes. When I get there, I’ll be sure to write about my reaction to the thousands of students there (I’m foreseeing a *deer in headlights* look for the first few days)…