Learning outside the classroom
We help our students get involved in the community and interact with French people.
Housing: la vie à la française
Accès arranges housing for all students where they will interact with French people on a daily basis: with host families or in student boarding houses (called foyers). Host families provide breakfast and dinner every day. Accès offers a stipend to foyer students so they can cook their meals with French students. All families and foyers are located within walking distance of the city center and the university campus.
Ateliers culturels
Accès organizes several ateliers culturels (cultural workshops) per semester where students gain practical experience, such as: French cooking with chef Jean-Yves Roth, First aid certification at the Croix Rouge, Diatonic accordeon workshop with Cédric Martin or Alsatian folk dancing.
Activities
We encourage all students to participate in at least one regular activity throughout the semester such as volunteering to tutor children at a centre socio-culturel or participating in Model UN, or joining a sports team, or singing in a choir.
Internships and service learning
Accès works with a number of NGOs, associations and businesses to provide internship and volunteering opportunities. Internships require 96 hours of work at the host organization (about 10 hours per week), and service learning requires 48 hours of work (about 5 hours per week) Students must also carry a full course load of at least 12 credit hours at the university. Placement at an internship must be prepared before arriving in France. Service learning can be arranged once students arrive in France. Some internships require students to have intermediate French. See the guidelines for Internships and for service learning.