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. Continue reading