Bordeaux
Students studying in Bordeaux enroll in university courses at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne and/or at Sciences Po Bordeaux.
Course offerings span the humanities and social sciences in Bordeaux. (There is no science option in Bordeaux, so students interested in studying science should explore options in Paris, where science courses are available at one of the local universities, and Poitiers, where Middlebury runs a STEM track and where a spring semester lab research project is available.)
Academic Program
Middlebury in Bordeaux French history course (1 unit)
French as a foreign language (FLE) course at Sciences Po Bordeaux (0.5 units)
Students’ remaining 2.5 units of credit each semester are obtained through direct enrollment courses at Université Bordeaux Montaigne or Sciences Po Bordeaux.
You can select one of the subjects below to explore the program’s website. In general, you should look at Licence 2 (second year) level courses, and Licence 3 (third year) level courses within your major discipline.
Université Bordeaux Montaigne
To view a video presentation of the university, please click here.
Archéologie
Arts plastiques
Cinéma et audiovisuel
Culture humaniste et scientifique
Cultures modernes et contemporaines
Danse
Etudes théâtrales
Géographie et aménagement
Histoire
Histoire de l’art
Littérature française et comparée
Musicologie
Philosophie
Sciences du langage
Study Abroad: Bordeaux, France
I really liked Bordeaux as a city because it was big enough that there were always things to do. It’s very beautiful. You walk around and there are these grand archways. Sometimes you feel like you’re sort of in a movie, almost. Even though I was there for four months, I felt like I knew the city and it was my home, but I still felt like there were a lot of things that I still could have done.
I liked how expansive being abroad feels, because when you’re abroad there’s no pre established routine. You have a lot of freedom to do what you want, and sort of be who you want as well. You’re not sort of stuck in the mold that you’ve created for yourself at your normal college campus.
In Bordeaux, I was living with a host family. In terms of language immersion, I think it really is the best way to pick up the mannerisms and the vocabulary of just a French person. You think that after so many years of learning French, that you would be able to express yourself very coherently as soon as you get there, but it’s just a very different ballgame.
Just know that it’s gonna take a lot of effort. It’s not gonna be just, you’re gonna plop down in France and all of a sudden you’re gonna have impeccable accent after four months. It’s gonna take a lot of practice, a lot of making a lot of mistakes and everything.
Study abroad is really important, because you have this little bubble of a world, and you think that’s all there is to it. You go to the dining hall, everything’s already prepared, and you go to class and your life is just very regimented. But as soon as you go abroad, I think you realize, no, no there’s a lot of things about your culture that are very different from other cultures.
It gives you a wider perspective of everything. Because you meet people that you wouldn’t have met otherwise, and who have completely different ways of life. Okay.
Sciences Po Bordeaux
To view a video presentation of the university, please click here.
Course Catalogue: French Language Track
Students wishing to take courses at Sciences Po Bordeaux must also be accepted by Sciences Po Bordeaux, on the basis of their language skills and academic background. The application procedure is simple, but is separate from application and acceptance to the School in France. The deadline for fall and academic year students is April; for spring students it is early November.
Certificat d’Etudes Politiques à titre étranger
Academic year students at Sciences Po Bordeaux may enroll in the Certificat d’Etudes Politiques à titre étranger, which includes interdisciplinary coursework in political science, international relations, economics, etc.