Hello everyone. It is the beginning of a new year, 2014 and marks the start of a new semester. Today, I would like to talk about the university system here in France. It is quite different from the Canadian system.
The credits that are given upon completion of courses are called ECTS, which stands for European Credit Transfer and accumulation System. Each course is usually worth 2 ECTS, while some are worth 3 ETCS. Six ETCS are worth 0.5 Carleton credit and thus, to earn 1.5 Carleton credit, 30 ECTS that must be completed per semester. That is 15 courses per semester.
It may seem reckless to take so many courses squeezed in one semester, but in reality, it is not as chaotic as you'd think. In most classes, there are only one or two group assignments during the semester, and a final exam that is worth either 50 per cent or 100 per cent of your final grade. The assignments vary depending on the courses, but in most cases, they consist of group presentations and papers.
Having a studying opportunity in France allows you to understand the French culture and European Union. There are many courses offered at the school that introduce students to topics like film production in France, and the importance of France in the European Union. There are also history and law courses that demonstrate the uniqueness of the EU.
The course schedule in France is different as well. Since we are taking a lot of courses, the schedule changes every week. For instance, you may have a corporate communication class for five hours everyday for the first week. Then, during the second week, you may have five hours of marketing for one day, and the next day French culture. Thus, you must keep yourself organized and be on top of your schedule.
I personally felt confused and uncomfortable at first with the French system. With all the different courses starting and ending at different time, I was worried about whether mixing up classes. However, unlike what I was expecting, the schedule was easy to follow, and the assignments due dates were really clear. I was able to get used to the schedule fairly quickly. The only downside is that, there are times when many class assignments due dates overlap, thus students were confused about which assignments they need to be working on first. But if you do keep everything organized, it would not be a problem.
Thank you for reading. I hope this post have given everyone a general idea of the education system in France. See you all in the next update!