French and American universities – not du pareil au même.

Hi everyone! Has this past week seemed different for you? It definitely has for me; not only because of Indigenous People’s Day and so missing a full day of class and educational content, but also more pragmatically as we’re slowly switching from enjoying the chill student life to “Oh no sorry I have to study, I have 3 midterms next week”. 

In addition to this new exam pressure, my home university has opened the master’s application process for my year, and I found myself immersing myself again in the course offerings for all the life paths and degrees I’m considering to further my education. 

As I have been diving into both my American and French studies, it seems so obvious to me how different the education system is in both countries. Another realization; because of movies and TV shows, I already knew so much about American universities, and I was even familiar with APs, whereas the reciprocal does seem far from valid. 

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you might be considering doing a study abroad program, and thus might be (I hope !) considering France! Even if this is not your case, why not compare today what I have noticed from the functioning of the American system and what I know of the French one? 

1. Classes & Teachers 

First of all, the way to take a course and the link you might have with a teacher is widely different. Back in France, apart from language or very technical classes such as mandatory informatics (that we call PIX as it is the certification it leads to), all classes are divided into a cours magistral so a lecture, focusing on content, which will be given in an amphitheater (which mean you are studying amongst 50 to 300 students at the same time !), and then, at least the equivalent time of a smallercommittee class given by a teacher assistant, which we call a TD or travaux dirigés (directed works), which might give more precisions on the content of the course, but will most of the time focus rather on methodology, exercises and readings. 

Because of that, it is highly unlikely that one might have the opportunity to ever talk to the lecturer since all your questions can be answered by your TD teacher. Moreover, apart from a common midterm and final exam, all course examinations will occur during your TD and will be corrected and graded by your assigned TA. 

Having that in mind, imagine how surprised I was with the concept of an office hour? You can just walk into the lecturer’s office to talk about points you have not yet understood, methodological difficulties, research, orientation… Up until now, I have found this system to be super helpful and I’m convinced that humanizing the class content has made them more accessible and more retainable to me. 

However, mixing during the sessions without any separation, the reading discussion, methodology, and lecture has proved to be more of a challenge for me, as my brain has access to all three kinds of information at the same time and which it is unused to and thus finds it chaotic. 

2. Degree structure

Another divergence that comes to my mind when comparing both systems is how rigid French University is compared to here. Except in special schools, signing up for a license (equivalent to a bachelor’s) means you will follow the same classes as all of the people from your grade, and will likely not mix up with other majors. In the same spirit, though you might specialize during your second or third year, the concept of “changing your major” or “re-orienting oneself” if we translate the French idiom, will often mean starting your studies from scratch except if you had a minor (which is super rare and honestly, it gets more technical from here so let’s not get into details ;). 

Similarly, you do not apply to a French University, you apply to a program at that university, which means a double major is not an option you can decide on after having started classes, it is a whole separate degree that will need its own application. 

While the American system allows for a more varied educational background, with diverse skills that can be acquired all throughout the bachelor’s, the French one produces specialized and technical students. I personally enjoy having psychology students have such a different analysis from those of the historians in my history of religions and sciences class!

3. Professionalization  

What would be Drexel if it were not for the co-op? It is what makes the educational system so lively and innovative, and the people studying next to you so energetic and motivated! 

In France, if internships are popular, the system of co-op does not exist. However, in the later stages of your studies, you can do what we call alternance which is translated by apprenticeship; half of the week will be at your university, while the other half you will be employed by a company that will pay you and finances your studies. This system allows for graduating with a professional experience without pushing back your graduation, but is a one-time occurrence, meaning, unlike co-ops, you could not work in different industries or jobs since you only have one long-term alternance.

4. Masters? 

One last point, which might be the most eye-catching, is the relation to grad school. 

Not only does France not make such a difference between graduate and undergraduate, but almost everyone who has a conventional bachelor’s will go on to get their master’s afterward as a bachelor is not considered specialized enough in order to be proficient at a job. 

On the contrary, I’ve seen most of my entourage here looking to start working as soon as they graduate or at least take some gap years before moving on to grad school. 

So I feel that most people in the US actively take the time to think about what masters they might pursue, whereas, in France, it is not even a question we ask ourselves. .. 

Hope that comparison was interesting if not useful! 

Good luck to everyone for their midterms and talk to you next week!