Research and Study in France


Northwestern University offers graduate students various opportunities for study and research in France:

The Paris Program in Critical Theory
Exchange Program with the Ecole Normale Supérieure, rue d'Ulm and the Ecole Normale Supérieure,
Lettres et sciences humaines, Lyon
Dual PhD program with the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)
Double Doctorate program with l’Université de Paris VIII

Students who seek financial support for a year-long stay in France may also be interested in the "Maîtres de langues" program described below.


THE PARIS PROGRAM IN CRITICAL THEORY

The Northwestern University Paris Program in Critical Theory, inaugurated in Fall of 2001, affords advanced graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines a unique opportunity to familiarize themselves with French and European theoretical research by spending a year in Paris under optimal conditions. The Paris program, directed by Samuel Weber, Avalon Professor of the Humanities, has two major functions: to provide funding for a one year stay in Paris and to create a situation in which that year can be put to best possible use.

The Paris Program provides a full fellowship for one year to as many as five highly qualified graduate students from Northwestern. In the Fall quarter, these students participate in a weekly interdisciplinary seminar organized by the Program's Director. The Director also assists students in making contact with leading European scholars and researchers in their respective fields. Students spend the rest of the year in study and/or research according to their individual projects, though the seminars may reconvene in the Spring, depending on faculty availability.

THIS YEAR'S PARTICIPANTS: The participants in the 2005/6 Paris Program are: Touba Ghadessi, Art History; Christopher Skeaff, Political Science; Rob Ryder, Comparative Literature and German; and Peter Jaros, English.

ELIGIBILITY: Ph.D. students who must have advanced to candidacy by the Fall of the year they will spend in Paris and have sufficient knowledge of French to be able to function in an academic setting (at least the equivalent of 2 years of College French). Students may use the summer prior to their year in Paris to improve their language skills. No formal notification of acceptance will be sent before the Paris Program Committee is informed that the student has advanced to candidacy.

APPLICATION: Students should submit: 1) A cover letter which includes: name; contact information (email, phone, postal address); date on which you were admitted to candidacy; other grants to which you are applying. 2) A 2-3 page proposal which describes your project and explains the benefit of a stay in Paris. 3) A letter of support from a faculty member familiar with your work 4) CV 5) A statement or documentation attesting to your proficiency in French. The deadline for submission of application for 2006/07: March 1, 2006. Applications should be sent to Margaret Sinclair, Department of French and Italian, 2-375 Kresge. If you have any questions contact m-sinclair1@northwestern.edu.



NORTHWESTERN'S EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH THE ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE, rue d'Ulm

The exchange program with the Ecole Normale Supérieure, rue d'Ulm, France's most prestigious institution of higher learning, enables a Northwestern student to spend an academic year or part of the year at ENS doing research and/or attending classes.

Students are housed by the ENS. They receive a tuition waver and a stipend from Northwestern University (Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School) and a travel grant from the French Interdisciplinary Group.

ELIGIBILITY: The program is open to Ph.D. students in all fields, including the sciences. Students must advance to candidacy by the Fall of the year they will spend at the ENS and have sufficient knowledge of French to be able to function in an academic setting (at least the equivalent of 2 years of College French). Students may use the summer prior to their year in Paris to improve their language skills.

APPLICATION: Students should submit: 1) A cover letter which includes: name; contact information (email, phone, postal address); date on which you were admitted to candidacy; other grants to which you are applying. 2) A 2-3 page proposal which describes your project and explains the benefit of a stay at the ENS. 3) A letter of support from a faculty member familiar with your work 4) CV 5) A statement or documentation attesting to your proficiency in French.

This year’s ENS exchange student is Sebastian Rand, Philosophy.

The deadline for submission of application for 2006/07: March 1, 2006. Applications should be sent to Margaret Sinclair, Department of French and Italian, 2-375 Kresge. If you have any questions contact m-sinclair1@northwestern.edu, or s-diagne@northwestern.edu.



EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH THE ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE, Lyon

The Department of French and Italian has an exchange program with the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Lettres et Sciences Humaines in Lyon. Every third year, one French department student goes to Lyon and teaches English language there while pursuing independent research. The Northwestern student is paid a salary as lecteur/lectrice by the ENS-LSH Lyon. He/or she receives a travel grant from the Department of French and Italian. The program is open to Ph.D. students in the department of French and Italian, and, exceptionally in other departments, who have advanced to candidacy. For details, contact the DGS in French and Italian, d-garraway@northwestern.edu.

Clémentine Bordelais is currently spending the year at Northwestern as part of this exchange.



DUAL PHD PROGRAM WITH THE INSTITUT D'ETUDES POLITIQUES (SCIENCES PO)

The dual PhD program is offered jointly by Northwestern University and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po), one of Europe's premier institutions for the study of public affairs. Through this program, Northwestern students spend their fourth and fifth years of study at Sciences Po. Students perform research, begin writing a dissertation under the direction of a joint Northwestern-Sciences Po dissertation committee, and become eligible for the degrees of both institutions.

During the first year of the exchange and in consultation with his or her Sciences Po advisor, the Northwestern student pursues a course of studies and research, including a) three courses of 30 hours each, the choice of which must be approved by the student's Sciences Po adviser, and b) writing and defending a dissertation proposal. The student's second exchange year is devoted primarily to research and writing, structured in consultation with the student's Northwestern and Sciences Po advisors.

Students may be drawn from any program or school whose interests match those of Sciences Po faculty. These include but are not limited to the departments of Comparative Literary Studies, Economics, French and Italian, History, Political Science, and Sociology in The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and Communication Studies in the School of Communication.

All requirements, procedures and deadlines for each university continue to apply to students in this joint program. A student who fails to meet the requirements of one university will not be eligible to receive a degree from that university.

ELIGIBILITY: The program is open to Ph.D. students in relevant disciplines. Students must have sufficient knowledge of French to be able to do class work and write a research prospectus and summary in French. Students may use the summer prior to their year in Paris to improve their language skills.

APPLICATION: Students should submit: 1) A cover letter which includes: name; contact information (email, phone, postal address); date on which you were admitted to candidacy; other grants to which you are applying. 2) A 2-3 page proposal which describes the student's project and explains the benefit of this program. 3) A letter of support from a faculty member familiar with the student's work 4) CV 5) A statement or documentation attesting to the student's proficiency in French.

The deadline for submission of application for 2006/7: March 1, 2006. Applications should be sent to Michael Loriaux, Dept. of Political Science, Scott Hall. If you have any questions contact m-loriaux@northwestern.edu.

Lee Seymour, Political Science, is Northwestern’s first participant in this innovative program. Jake Matyataou is also spending 2006/7 at Sciences Po on the one-year exchange program, which the dual PhD program will replace hereafter. Two Sciences Po students, Florent Blanc and Igor Stiks, are working toward their dual degrees at Northwestern.


DOCTORAT A DOUBLE SCEAU (CO-TUTELLE)

"Co-tutelle de thèse" is an ad hoc agreement that allows outstanding students with specific interests and needs to have their Ph.D. dissertation supervised by scholars from both their home institution and a French university. The student then receives a "doctorat" from the French university besides his/her Ph.D. from Northwestern. The student and his/her advisor need to show that there is a strong need for this arrangement. Interested students should contact s-diagne@northwestern.edu or m-loriaux@northwestern.edu.

The Department of French and Italian has a provisional agreement for "co-tutelle" with the Centre d'études féminines (directed by Hélène Cixous) and the Department of French at Paris VIII. Interested students should discuss this possibility with the Director of Graduate Studies and then contact the Chair of the Department of French and Italian.

MAITRES DE LANGUES PROGRAM

Students who seek financial support for a year-long stay in France may be interested in the "Maîtres de langues" program. Certain universities have "Maîtres de langues" positions (similar to Teaching Assistantships in the US) which permit graduate students to teach English while studying or pursuing research at that University. Students have to have had at least one year of Ph.D. study in the US or in France. They must be native speakers of English and are hired to teach English either as part of an "English as a foreign language" program or as part of a professional English (e.g. English for Engineers) program. Students teach on average 6 hours a week and earn about $1,300 a month. The position can be renewed for a second year. Interested students need first to establish that the university of their choice has a "Maître de langues" position and, if so, that the position is vacant. Interested students can contact FIG or the Cultural Service of the French Consulate in Chicago for more information.