Study Abroad in Grenoble: Academics
This program is open to students with a 2.5 or higher GPA who have had one (recent) year of French at the college level. To ensure students derive maximum benefit from their stay in Grenoble, the University of Grenoble stipulates that:
- Students must enroll in an intensive French language course. Under no circumstances may a student withdraw from this course.
- Once the semester has begun, a student has one week to change levels if the CUEF Director of Studies and the Resident Director deem this appropriate.
At the CUEF, AIFS and other foreign students are not in class with French nationals.
Attendance is required. In accordance with University of Grenoble regulations, students absent from classes without prior authorization may not be eligible to take exams or may be awarded lower or failing grades. Total hours attended in language classes are recorded on the University transcript. Students should be prepared to adapt to different teaching methods, library facilities and academic environment from that which they have previously experienced.
Classes meet 14 weeks each semester with a final exam week. Class sessions are 60 minutes.
Course load
The University has set a different program for each course level. The typical semester course load at the University’s Centre Universitaire d’Etudes Françaises (CUEF) is described below.
| Recommended semester credits (to be determined by student’s home institution) |
||
Intermediate
French language |
10
hours/week |
8
credits |
Two
French seminars (taught for all Centre Universitaire students) |
2
hours/seminar/week |
4
credits |
One
English seminar (taught by the Centre Universitaire for AIFS students) |
3
hours/seminar/week |
3
credits |
|
Total: 15 credits |
||
Advanced French students usually
take:
|
||
French 301 |
6 hours/week |
4 credits |
French 304 |
2 hours/week |
2 credits |
Translation 303 |
2 hours/week |
2 credits |
Four seminars in English or French |
2 or 3 hours/seminar/week |
8 credits |
Total: 16 credits |
||
| The minimum course load for semester students is 12 credits. Once the semester begins, students have two weeks to drop or change seminars without penalty, given a valid reason. After this, if students wish to withdraw from a course, they must sign a declaration to this effect and obtain the Director’s signature so the transcript will show “withdrawn.” Students may not withdraw from a course under any circumstances in the final eight weeks of the semester; if they do, an F is registered on their transcript. | ||
Grades
The system used at all levels of education in France is based on a scale of 20. Exceptional students usually earn between 14 and 16, while grades of 17 and above are rare. A grade of 12 or 13 is good; an average of 10 represents work that merits promotion or the conferral of a diploma. Grading is usually more competitive than in the U.S. At the University, the interpretation of the French 0-20 scale in terms of U.S. grading standards is:
French |
U.S. |
French |
U.S. |
16-20 |
A |
11 |
C+ |
15 |
A- |
10 |
C |
14 |
B+ |
9 |
C- |
13 |
B |
8 |
F |
12 |
B- |
||
No “D” grade is recorded on the University of Grenoble transcript.
Student advising
The Resident Director provides advice on academic, cultural and local life. She also serves as a liaison between the University, host families and local administrations.
Transcripts are issued by the University of Grenoble (including English translation) for all courses taken. It details courses, class hours and grades, but does not indicate the recommended units of credit on the course descriptions page. The home institution must approve the amount of credit to transfer.
