Description

The Liberal Arts study abroad program in Rennes, France is geared to students who have two years or more of college-level French and who want to achieve fluency in the French language, an understanding of the French people and a deeper awareness of themselves and their own culture.

Academic Program
The CIEE Study Center in Rennes opened in 1971, and is geared to students with intermediate French skills interested in perfecting their language abilities. The program offers a combination of French language and content courses taken at the CIREFE and the opportunity to take regular university courses at the Université de Haute Bretagne Rennes II (UHB).

Direct Enrollment Update
The Université de Haute Bretagne Rennes II has implemented a new, earlier spring calendar. As a result, spring students taking direct enrollment classes may have to miss the beginning of some of the preliminary direct enrollment classes due to arriving on site after the the Université de Haute Bretagne Rennes II semester begins. On-site CIEE staff will do everything possible to fulfill the students' academic requests and to facilitate the direct enrollment process.

Academic Culture
Higher education in France is divided into: the licence, masters, and doctorat. French students specialize in a particular discipline with a prescribed set of courses and limited electives. Professors in France tend to be more formal than in the U.S. and do not see it as their role to give encouragement or individual attention to students. They see themselves as specialists who are there to impart their knowledge. As a result, French students are generally very self-disciplined and do not expect to be motivated by their instructors, but rather judge a course by the quality and quantity of information taught.

CIREFE, where CIEE students take the majority of their classes, does provide more individual attention to international students. However, students must still have an independent, self-motivated attitude. Teachers notice when students are absent, which can affect their grade. Syllabi are seldom as detailed as in the U.S. and students need to be able to figure out for themselves what is important, what should be memorized, etc. All CIREFE courses are taught in French. A stronger emphasis is placed on writing skills than in the U.S. One reason is that many international students in CIREFE classes go on to study at a French university, and therefore need to have an excellent command of the written language. Secondly, the core language class in each level emphasizes written French. And finally, a student's written work is considered to be an indicator of their overall competency in French.

The CIREFE is a member of the ADCUEFE, an association of 38 similar centers in France. In spring 2010, ADCUEFE decided that all centers will adopt a standardized rating system that follows the Common European Framework (CECR) guidelines (equivalent to the ACTFL guidelines in the U.S., see description on the next page). Consequently, effective fall 2010, the CIREFE will reorganize its language levels with new names and courses. There are no major changes to content, but please be aware that there may be some adjustments with regards to certain courses.

Classes in which CIEE students enroll meet Monday through Friday, with excursions on some weekends. Students usually take two, two-hour classes per day. Students are expected to complete all of the work given and take exams when scheduled. Advanced students may enroll in one or two courses at UHB and must attend lectures, take notes, complete assigned work, and take exams. Special exams are given if the exam period falls outside the CIEE program dates.