The Academic Experience

Smith’s JYA Program in Paris Program is a yearlong, immersive program that welcomes and accommodates students from every discipline in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences. 

Students in Smith’s Paris Program design their course load for the year, in conjunction with the Program Director and their advisor, by selecting from a wide variety of courses, including:

1. Courses organized by the program and taught by French faculty at our headquarters in Reid Hall;

2. Courses organized in conjunction with partner programs here in Paris (Hamilton, Vassar, Wesleyan and Sarah Lawrence Colleges);

3. You can take courses at one of our French partner institutions:

   • Sorbonne Université;

   • Université Paris Cité;

   • Sciences Po;

   • École Normale Supérieure d'Architecture Paris Val-de-Seine;

   • Académie de la Grande Chaumière;

Finally, Paris provides many students with the opportunity to do internships of various sorts, including in research labs, start-ups, NGO’s, archives and museums. Many students in the Paris JYA program choose to stay in Paris or in France after the end of the program in order to pursue an internship, often with the support of a grant or fellowship.