Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

About Our Program

Clemson French Immersion: Belgium is a study abroad program offered each spring. The program is customized for students majoring or minoring in French, French & International Trade, or even students in other majors who are passionate about the French language and Francophone culture.

As a participant in the Clemson French Immersion program in Belgium, you will benefit from the guidance of two program directors: one at Clemson to help you prepare for the experience, and one at UCL to assist you while you are there. Your "core" courses in French language and culture will provide you with a "home away from home" environment of thoughtful, helpful instructors and other international students who want to perfect their French, like you. You can also venture out on your own and integrate yourself fully into the Francophone environment by enrolling in courses in other disciplines, such as business, education, art history, linguistics, economics, and MANY MORE!

L’Université catholique de Louvain

Clemson French Immersion is held at Belgium's largest French-speaking university, the Université catholique de Louvain. UCL, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe, was founded in 1425. The Francophone section of UCL has been located in the pedestrian town of Louvain-la-Neuve for nearly forty years.

UCL is ranked 42nd among European universities, and the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement ranked it 116th in the world. Many students choose this top-notch institution to study abroad, for its 21,000 students hail from 122 countries.

The UCL campus, in the pedestrian town of Louvain-la-Neuve, has everything that you will need on a day-to-day basis: a shopping complex, exhibition center, cinema, and train station. But the campus is also ideally located for your European travel--UCL is only a short train or bus ride from Brussels, the capital of Europe. Brussels, now an important center of international politics, offers numerous cultural facilities, impressive landmarks, and beautiful architecture. From Brussels, you can arrive in many other popular European destinations within just a couple of hours.

Curriculum

The French language immersion program is designed to increase your fluency in the language and heighten your awareness of cultural nuances.

The program begins on January 11th with a group flight to Belgium, followed by a 3-day faculty-guided stay in Louvain-la-Neuve and Brussels. Before the official semester begins, students participate in a 45-hour intensive language "crash course". This course, for which you earn 3 hours of credit, will continue 1 hour per week once the semester starts. You will take 9 hours of French language and culture, chosen from the following:

• FR 312: Writing in French I
• FR 317: Contemporary French/Francophone Civilization
• FR 398: Directed Readings
• FR 409: Writing in French II
• FR 411: Advanced Conversation and Composition
• FR 498: Independent Study

You may also choose to take additional courses for transfer credit in other departments, or at the Louvain School of Management. These can include courses in history, literature, linguistics, education, sciences, economics, management, and marketing, among many others. UCL is an extensive university with many different areas of specialization, so you will have many choices during your time as a student there.

The equivalents of the courses below have been pre-approved by the Clemson University Registrar's Office, though yearly availability may vary and additional courses may be available. As mentioned above, possibilities for taking courses in other subjects are endless, thus these are not the only ones available for Clemson Students:

• ECON 314
• ECON 315
• ECON 410
• MKT 301
• MGT 423

Program Directors

At Clemson:
Dr. Kelly F. Davidson
Clemson University
Department of Languages
864.283.4445
kdavids@clemson.edu

At UCL:
Prof. Philippe J. Denis
Université Catholique de Louvain
Institut des Langues Vivantes
010 47 85 59
Philippe.J.Denis@uclouvain.be