Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV

I feel the french higher education system could do with a huge overhaul. The student is left alone, be they native or international, to struggle their way through the relevant courses. It is very rare to be given a module outline, let alone a printed reading list. The university library has a very limited stock and therefore, buying a number of books is often the only solution. The "travaux diriges" (equivalent to our seminars/tutorials etc) are held once a week for each module however it is more akin to being in primary school than university. There is little or no teacher/student interaction. The teacher stands in front of you and speaks non stop, only pausing to pick on individual students for questioning on any given subject. Students are expected to write mini essays for each t.d. Marks are then given for attendance, answers given in class and work submitted. Students have no access to their teachers, neither by phone/email nor are there are any office hours as such. Academic life in France is not something to be relished. I found it a huge challenge and I must admit, most of the difficulties arose from the archaic teaching traditions of the university and not the module contents.

Try to look for student who did your program before you and ask what courses they took and what their experiences were. Because there's a big difference in courses, and some professors just don't like erasmus students, while other professors really like them. You should also try to get some French friends who can help you by lending you their notes! :-)

I would make huge changements in the French academic system, to be honest. There is almost no interaction between students and staff, you are expected to solve everything yourself. The professor just reads his text for 2 hours and the students just write every word down. At the end of the period, you just study those notes by hard, because on your exam you will be asked to write a piece of these notes down, with all its details, in the specific order the professor read it in class. You do not have to think for yourself, you just repeat. So for a learning system, that's horrible! On the other hand, I did have some courses on international political systems. Those courses were often given by professors who were not French themselfs or who had travelled a lot or studied abroad. Those classes were very interesting and I still use that knowledge today. So that's why you should get informed before you choose your courses!

French course system is not well adapted to modern studying. Very academic style of teaching.

Internet is not used as a place of exchange of information between students, it may be difficult to interact with french sttudents

On the fall term you may have more choice of courses.

More discussions during courses would not do any harm.

Just prepare yourself to work!

I think we could use a little bit more of the teachers comprehension...but just an opinion.

Be carefull spanish erasmus.

"Destination Europe" is an ex Erasmus association that helps very much to foreing students