Make the most of France’s capital city! The eight-week Paris Summer Internship Program combines coursework that focuses on Paris with internships at companies in the greater Paris area. Classes are taught in French and English.
Requirements & Considerations
- All students must enroll according to, and remain in compliance with, the Boston University Study Abroad Course Load Policy.
- A minimum of four semesters of college-level French or the equivalent are required
- Some courses carry prerequisites
- Admissions requirements for all programs
Curriculum
Required Courses
Students enroll in one of the following courses and the internship course.
French language courses
- CAS LF 300 Living French in Paris: Practical Communication and Current Culture, Level 1 (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
- Oral and/or Signed Communication
- Recommended for students whose most recent French language course is a fourth- or fifth-semester equivalent
- This course aims to refine students’ written and oral expression by improving their overall level of French (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) with a special emphasis on better integrating them into their daily, academic, or professional environments, through linguistic and cultural activities.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
Courses Taught in French
- CAS AH 356 Modern and Contemporary Art in Paris (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Aesthetic Exploration
- Historical Consciousness
- Designed under the format of half visits and half in-class sessions, this course explores the history of "modernity" focusing on the principal art movements in Paris from 1850 to today, including painting, sculpture, photography, installations, and urbanism, in relation to the historical, economic, and sociocultural contexts of the time period, and its influence in other parts of the world.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
Courses Taught in English
- CAS AH 383 Paris Architecture and Urbanism (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Aesthetic Exploration
- Historical Consciousness
- Critical Thinking
- Traces the development of Parisian architecture and urbanism, from the Roman era to the present, emphasizing dynamic relationships among architecture, urban development, and socio-political history. Course format: half in-class sessions, half visits.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- SHA HF 150 Experience Management (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Digital/Multimedia Expression
- Social Inquiry II
- Creativity/Innovation
- Central to the hospitality as well as other industries is the provision of memorable, high-quality customer experiences across digital and physical touchpoints. This allows organizations to turn satisfied customers into brand evangelists. This course introduces the emerging domain of customer experience management (CEM)–the discipline of understanding and managing customer interactions with the organization to improve satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. CEM is a unique domain that draws on practices from the fields of marketing, marketing research, technology and data science, and operations and service science, with the aim of understanding and improving customer experiences with the organization. The course will will integrate the Paris business environment through numerous visits.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
*The Syllabus changes every year. The posted syllabus is merely indicative and subject to change.
Internship Area
Please note these are examples of past internship placements only. While BU Study Abroad guarantees an internship to program participants, specific placements vary from semester to semester and may not always be available. Likewise, internship placements may be available in academic areas not listed. The level of proficiency in the target language is an important factor, which internship supervisors will take into account.
Internship Areas
- Arts & Arts Administration
- Serve in galleries, and related cultural institutions. Recent placements have included Area Corp, Amélie Maison d’Art, Galerie Inlassable, Galerie Beauté du Matin Calme and Theatre in Paris.
- Business & Economics
- Serve in the communications, IT/data science, or research departments of French companies. Recent placements have included Finance Innovation, and La Chaire Gouvernance et Régulation de l'Université Paris Dauphine, Supervizor and Streammind.
- Film & Media
- Experience small film and production companies, namely by helping in video editing. Recent placements have included Forecast Pictures, European Producers Club, and ECU Film Festival, Studio Coquillettes.
- Hospitality Administration
- Serve in the hospitality industry in such fields as hotel or event management. Recent placements have included Hotel Apostrophe, Hotels Paris Rive Gauche, Les Secrets Gourmands de Noémie, Flavors of Paris, Feel Parisien, and Bocamexa.
- International Relations
- Serve in NGOs or international companies, by helping on research, translation or communication tasks, for diverse causes (peace, human rights, women’s rights, environment, international development, etc.). Recent placements have included Robin des Bois, Children of Prisoners Europe, Prométhée Humanitaire, CRIDES, Aurore, and HAMAP Humanitaire.
- Journalism
- Help with research and translation with some limited writing tasks for online magazines. Recent placements have included FSJU-RCJ, and WorldCrunch.
- Marketing
- Serve in marketing and product development, press relations, social media management, events management, or public relations within small Parisian businesses. Recent placements have included Inea Conseil, GuestReady, CityTRI.
- Health & Human Services
- Observe and assist in hospital, therapy, or educational programs. Serve in health centers, social and cultural centers, or community care centers. Recent placements have included Hôpital des Quinze-Vingt, Hôpital Franco-Britannique, Centre Maia Autisme, Centre Social Roquette, and Centre Social Belleville.
Internship Course
Study Abroad will enroll students in a non-credit Hub co-curricular and in a four-credit internship course, which includes a classroom component in the form of mandatory workshops. The four-credit course number will depend on the area of specialization in which students complete their internship or focus their reflection for the Internship Course assignments.
The Internship Course workshops are designed to encourage students’ reflection on their internship cultural and professional experience, as well as to prepare for the internship course assignments, a process which results in a final mock professional interview, where students highlight the professional value and benefits of their internship experience.
Upon successful completion of the internship experience, students will receive a Hub unit in the area Individual in Community from the co-curricular HUB SA 330.
Internship Courses
- Non-credit Hub Co-curricular: HUB SA 330 Study Abroad Internship
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- Individual in Community
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- CAS AH 505 Internship in Art/Architecture Abroad (4)
- CAS EC 497 Internship in Business/Economics Abroad (4)
- COM FT 493 Internship in Film and Television (4)
- SHA HF 390 Internship in Hospitality Administration (4)
- CAS PO 405/IR 455 Internship in International Organizations Abroad (4)
- COM JO 412 Internship in Journalism (4)
- COM CM 471 Internship in Advertising or Public Relations (4)
- CAS PS 495 Internship in Human/Health Services (4)
- Syllabus
Housing & Student Services
| Local Homestay | or | Student Residences |
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There are gyms at the university dormitory and in town. Students can study at the BU Paris Center. Many students study at home, as university libraries have more restricted hours than in the US.
Program Dates
- Summer Term: Mid-May to mid-July
Application Timeline
This program follows rolling admissions and may fill before the official deadline.
Summer Semester
- Applications Open December 1
- Applications Deadline March 1
This program is rolling admissions; applications are reviewed once all application materials are received, prior to all deadlines. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all required materials are received by the BU Study Abroad office. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible as some programs and internship tracks have limited space and may fill up before the deadline. Submitting a complete application prior to the application deadline, does not guarantee acceptance. Students will be emailed an admissions decision within three weeks of a completed application.
Information for BU Students Awaiting an Admissions Decision and exceptions to the standard admission calendar for all students can be found here.
Cost & Financial Considerations
- Summer 2025 Tuition & Fees: $10,571
Cost includes tuition, housing, cultural activities, overseas medical insurance, and emergency evacuation coverage. - Estimated program budget, including cost of living expenses for Summer 2025
- Grants and Scholarships available
- BU Study Abroad arranges a trans-Atlantic group flight that is not included in the program fee. We recommend that students take this flight.
