The French and Italian department received final faculty approval Thursday to move the French Foreign Study Program from Toulouse to Paris and to relocate the Blois Language Study Abroad program to Toulouse beginning next fall.
Students on the new Toulouse LSA will study higher level French classes, making the program an "LSA Plus," while the French LSA in Lyon will remain unchanged.
The LSA Plus program is the middle ground between the LSA and FSP, according to French and Italian department chair Lynn Higgins.
Previously, students who had tested out of French 3 were ineligible for an LSA, but the LSA Plus allows students who have placed out of or taken French 3 to study abroad.
While it is more advanced than the basic LSA, it is a more intermediate course of study than the FSP, Higgins said.
In deciding to move the FSP to Paris, the department focused on the cultural opportunities in Paris, including its museums and historical sites, Higgins said.
Being in Paris allows professors the freedom to accomplish the dictated goals of the FSP with a wider range of cultural activities than was possible in Toulouse, she said.
Students on the LSA Plus will study French 8, 10 and 12 at the University of Toulouse.
French 8 and 10 are the prerequisites for the FSP, so by taking the LSA Plus, students may earn admission into the FSP in Paris and spend two consecutive terms studying in France.
The FSP curriculum will not change. Students will still take French 29, 30 and 31 with one course each on language, literature and culture.
The program will draw on faculty from various Paris universities, although it will have no formal university affiliation. Instead, the FSP will use classrooms in Reid Hall, a center maintained by Columbia University that houses programs for American students.
Students will also continue to be housed by French families.
Higgins said these changes were made to "provide as many options as possible for students who are interested in studying in France."
As one of the chief proponents of the LSA Plus in France, Higgins said she is excited about the increase in opportunities for students who want to study abroad.
It is not clear if the LSA Plus model will cross over to the other language departments. Faculty and students greeted the idea with enthusiasm, but have not yet made any plans to adopt a program, Higgins said.
