program DETAILS
- Arrival date: 06/25/2021
- Departure Date: 07/20/2021
- Program length: 4 Weeks
- Dickinson Credits: 1 (equivalent to 4 semester credits)
- Program Fee: $6,890
- Pre-requisites: None
- Application Deadline: 04/01/2021
Get a
Study abroad should be more than tourism, more than a language barrier, more than culture shock… it should challenge you as a person. Take on a summer program that makes you think critically about the world around you, teaches you to navigate situations with empathy and respect, and helps you develop the skills and knowledge base to not just learn, but to do.
Summer in
program highlights
- Take college-level coursework
- Expand your understanding of global issues and interdependence, and their impact on local communities
- Live in a homestay and experience life in France as locals do
- Travel to Albi and Carcassone, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites
SUmmer TAKEAWAYS
- College credit on an official transcript from Dickinson College
- Develop a solutions-focused mindset in the face of complex issues
- Build independence, confidence, and experience as you live away from home and experience a new culture
- Exposure and advancement with learning the French language
Global Learning from
Take on Global Issues
Explore broader global themes and issues at every level—how they influence you on a personal level, how they play out in a US-based context, and finally what they look like nationally in France and regionally in Toulouse. Compare American civic engagement with local norms and processes. Examine French national identity and culture against that of the US. Then connect with peers all over the world for even more perspectives.
Introduction to Global Perspectives
Your core course explores global interdependence through identity/power/culture, public health, environmental sustainability, and civic engagement. To foster a global understanding inclusive of many perspectives, you and your Global Perspectives peers (based in Italy, China, Spain, Japan, and Washington, DC) maintain a summer-long discussion online. Compare respective responses to environmental emergencies, juxtapose national identities and cultures, and identify the most critical barriers to public health across all countries. See the class syllabus.
Learning the Language
French language learning is weaved into every module throughout the summer. Not only do you learn vocabulary and grammar sets that help you navigate your daily life abroad, but you also learn terminology specific to the program’s academic themes. And because you can’t learn a language without real-world practice, your assignments use Toulouse as an extended classroom.
Exploring France
Enjoy worry-free travel with program-sponsored excursions that go beyond your home base in Toulouse. Take a day trip with your peers and group leader to Carcassone and wander the medieval narrow streets. Or travel to Albi, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its monumental brick cathedral and the renowned Toulouse-Lautrec Museum.
In Partnership With
CET works with Dickinson College to offer options in France and Spain, where we don’t operate college programs. You study at the Dickinson center in France and interact with Dickinson’s on-site staff. CET oversees the curriculum, hires group leaders, and advises you during the pre-departure stage.
YOUR FRANCE Itinerary
Summers with CET + Dickinson are packed with classes, activities around the city, and even regional travel. These are a few highlights to give you a better idea of what your summer might look like outside the classroom.
Week
1
- Attend orientation and get to know your group during the welcome dinner
- Guided walking tour of Toulouse to see the city's rich history and culture
- Explore the markets on Capitole grounds with your class
Week
2
- Practice speaking French with locals during a survey assignment
- Visit a French university campus and learn about local higher education
- Explore Carcassonne for the day, a famous fortified city east of Toulouse
Week
3
- Capture footage around the neighborhood for a short-film project
- See innovative sustainability efforts at a local wastewater treatment plant
- Board the bus for a day-long excursion out of the city
Week
4
- Travel to Paris via overnight train for a 4-day trip with the group
- Reflect on colonialism and post-colonialism at the Mosquée de Paris
- Attend the closing dinner before heading back home
Life in
- Known locally as: Toulouse
- Population: 1.3 million
- Local Currency: Euro
- Famous for: duck in cuisine, rugby, the River Garonne, St. Sernin's Romanesque basilica
Toulouse is one of the most beautiful cities in France, in part because of the way the ancient and the modern exist side by side. You and your peers can start by exploring the markets down by town hall, then pack a lunch and eat at the River Garonne as a group. Assemble a rugby team with your classmates and challenge local students to play Toulouse’s favorite game. You and your fellow students will see so much beauty in Toulouse that you’ll never want to leave.
HOUSING & MEALS
Where you live and what you eat is another layer of developing your global perspective. You go beyond a tourist’s experience and live with a local host in a residential neighborhood in Toulouse.
- Local homestay
- 1-2 CET students per homestay
- All meals included
- Internet access, bed linens, basic furnishing, kitchenware
Because each home is different, you either have your own furnished room or share one with another CET student or a host sibling of the same gender. Homestay hosts are hand selected and trained by Dickinson staff to best support your daily life in France. All residences will look different but provide the same general amenities. And as the locals do, you commute to class via public transportation (typically subway or bus).
Connecting Locally Starts in Your New Home
Living in a homestay is the best way to get to know and experience life in another country. Not only does your host house and feed you, they provide you with instant community—help your host parent prepare Saturday morning breakfast, talk about your day over dinner, or even explore the city together. At the end of your time together, you’ll find that France isn’t simply somewhere you visited, it’s a place you called home.
Eating in Toulouse
Your program fee includes three meals a day, giving you ample opportunity to explore the delicacies of home-cooked French cuisine. Because mealtimes are shared with your host, you have a built-in daily platform for cultural exchange over food. And throughout the summer, you and your peers also try local cuisine during group meals. Discover why Toulouse is famous for its duck dishes by sampling duck burgers to duck sausage to cassoulet (a duck and white bean soup).
Program
2021 Summer Fees: $6,890
CET’s high school programs are designed to be as inclusive as possible. You pay for your flights and your own personal spending, and we take care of the rest.
All of your classes and course materials are included with your tuition.
All of your meals are included with your program fees.
We arrange for you to live with a local family in a CET-vetted homestay in Toulouse. Families are vetted and trained by local Dickinson staff, and matched with students based off the housing questionnaire.
We are your support network. From pre-departure questions to academic support to emergency management, we’ve got your back.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue. It even includes evacuation coverage for individual medical emergencies.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!
You receive a CET Certificate of Completion and an official transcript from Dickinson College at the end of the program… the icing on the cake for your college applications.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $1,600 - $2,000
- Personal Expenses: 300 EUR
For CET high school and pre-college programs, you must:
- Be between ages 14-18 at the program start date
- Be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior in high school, or a recent graduate not yet enrolled in a college or university degree program
Competitive applicants are motivated high school students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. However, admission decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, so students with lower GPAs are still encouraged to apply.
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your current or previous instructors.
Priority Application Deadline:
February 1st
Final Application deadline:
April 1st
Questions? Get in touch!
Melanie Mackenzie
Student Services Coordinator,
High School & Pre-College Programs
202.846.7662
[email protected]
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.