American University of Paris

The American University of Paris
Established 1962
Type private
President Celeste Schenck[1]
Academic staff
 105 [2]
Students 1,000 [2]
Location Paris, Ile-de-France, France
48°51′32″N 2°18′13″E / 48.8590°N 2.3037°ECoordinates: 48°51′32″N 2°18′13″E / 48.8590°N 2.3037°E
Campus Urban, eight buildings
Website www.aup.edu
AUP campus
Plaque

The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts and sciences university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe. The university campus consists of eight buildings, centrally located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank near the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, and the Seine.[3]

The university's language of instruction is English, although students must prove a level of proficiency in French prior to graduation.[4] The university has approximately one thousand students, representing over one hundred nationalities, with an average student-to-faculty ratio of fifteen to one. The university's faculty members represent over twenty nationalities, with eighty percent holding doctoral degrees.

The university sponsors more than two hundred lectures and seminars every year, exposing students to a wide range of topics. Past lecturers at AUP have included David Lynch, Martha Nussbaum, Jane Goodall, J.M. Coetzee, National Geographic photojournalist Reza, Calvin Klein, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Additionally, the university has hosted many international conferences, inviting an aggregate of over a thousand scholars, including Gary Becker, Nobel Prize-recipient of Economics in 1992 and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Michel Rocard, former Prime Ministers of France.[5]

Accreditation

The American University of Paris is accredited in the United States by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The American University of Paris is a non-profit educational institution incorporated in the state of Delaware and licensed by the State Board of Education as a Delaware institution of higher education. The American University of Paris is registered in the United States as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

The University confers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Master of Science degrees accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The institution is authorized to offer Bachelor's and Master's degrees through the State of Delaware.

The American University of Paris is declared to the Rectorat de Paris as an établissement privé d'enseignement supérieur libre. The Rectorat de Paris has also acknowledged that the undergraduate majors and Masters programs taught at the American University of Paris are of higher education level (les formations dispensées par l'établissement American University of Paris sont reconnues de niveau d'enseignement supérieur), which allows its students to be registered in the French social security system. AUP degrees are also recognized by the Ministries of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Turkey.[6]

Academics

Undergraduate programs

The university offers 27 majors and 36 minors in its undergraduate program, along with courses covering a wide array of other liberal arts subjects, including Anthropology, Art History, Astronomy, Biology, Drama, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Sociology, and Languages, including Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Latin, and Ancient Greek.

The university's academic departments include:

The University offers particularly motivated students the option to create a Self-Designed Major as well.

Graduate programs

The university offers fifteen graduate programs:

Campus

The university is clustered among eight historic buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the left bank.

One of the university's buildings houses the AUP Fine Arts Gallery.[7] The gallery was created in 2003 by Ralph Petty, who is the university's Curator and an Associate Professor of Fine Arts.

Library

The AUP Library, open to the AUP community, is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, a block away from the Eiffel Tower. The Library is one of the most dynamic academic services on campus. Its selective collection provides support for the undergraduate and graduate programs. Partner Parisian academic libraries enhance access to the extremely rich scholarly information existing in the city. A constantly growing collection of book, journals, films is complemented by a large collection of online resources (e-books, e-encyclopedias, e-journals, full text databases, etc.). Group study rooms and informal reading areas, wireless access, sufficient electrical outlets for laptops and large flat screen monitors facilitate collaborative work. The AUP Library works closely with the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and Information Technology Services (ITS) to provide the best possible services to students and faculty.

Athletics Program

After the re-establishment of a small sports activities program in Fall 2008, today's Athletics Program of AUP participates regularly in the Regional University Championships (CRSU) with various teams. Students can go to tryouts and integrate competitive teams, but have as well the possibility to engage in recreational sports clubs.

Thanks to its collaboration with local sports clubs and fitness companies, AUP students benefit from preferential deals for gym memberships. The Athletics Office also supports students in launching their own sports team/club at the university.

The student athlete community involves in annual fundraising events for local charity organizations. On campus, student athletes are represented by the AUP Captains Committee.

Many AUP Alumni claim that their involvement in sports has impacted their lives in very positive ways, such as lifelong friendships, acquisition of competitive mentality, improvement of team-working and leadership skills and understanding cultural diversity.

Student Life

The university has about 1,000 students with over 95 nationalities represented on campus.

Almost any undergraduate class of 20 students has about fifteen nationalities, with many of the world’s cultures and religions represented. Americans represent about one third of the student body, Europeans (from more than twenty-five countries) another third, and the final third come about evenly from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Students have the opportunity to learn and meet other students through a large number of clubs and organizations. Some of the most popular include the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots, AUPPA (student political association), WhiteMask Theatre club, AUP’s debate club, Model United Nations, Photo Club, Student Government Association (SGA), and the Graduate Student Council (GSC).

Students also manage several student-run publications, including the monthly student newspaper, The Planet; Core, AUP’s humanities journal; Scripta Politica et Economica; and Paris/Atlantic, a journal of creative work.

Students live off campus, many near the university. The Housing Office helps AUP students find lodging in chambres de bonne (small, private rooms generally found on the top floor of older French apartment buildings), with French hosts, or in apartments. Students also have the opportunity of living in student housing (Campuséa Residence) in the 13th arrondissement of Paris half an hour by metro from AUP.

ARC@AUP (the Academic Resource Center) is a project designed to link technology to the curriculum and to supplement academic support services at AUP. On the ground floor of the Grenelle Building, ARC provides multiple services to students, including library research stations and video production equipment. Peer tutoring services, including the Writing Lab, are also available in the ARC space.

There are five student computer labs containing 100 Windows and iMac computers. Students have free e-mail accounts and Internet access as well as use of a variety of software, printers, projectors, and scanners. WiFi is available throughout the campus buildings.

Notable professors

Alumni

Individuals of note who have attended the university include:

References

  1. ↑ "Celeste Schenck Named Twelfth President of The American University of Paris". American University of Paris. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. ↑ Campus Map. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  4. ↑ French Language Proficency Requirements. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  5. ↑ AUP News & Events, Past Conferences. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  6. ↑ AUP Accreditation. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  7. ↑ The Combes Gallery

External links

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