Click here for course equivalency information (pdf).
Université Catholique de l'Ouest
CIDEF (Centre International d'Études Françaises)
Tel: (011) 33.2.41.88.30.15 or (011) 33.2.41.81.66.30
Fax: (011) 33.2.41.87.71.67
Email: cidef@uco.fr
Website: www.uco.fr
E-Mail: UMabroad@umn.edu
Web site
For further information, please schedule an appointment with the program advisor by contacting Linda Litzinger in the International Office at 814-332-4891 or llitzing@allegheny.edu.
Université Catholique de l'Ouest (UCO) is located in Angers, a city of 120,000 inhabitants located on the Loire River. The region is known for the purity of its French, its proximity to the great chateaux in the Loire Valley, and for its mild climate. Angers is about 1.5 hours from Paris by train, one hour by car from the Atlantic Ocean, and an hour from Brittany and the abbey of Mont St. Michel. It is a city of art and history, with a medieval quarter, a twelfth-century cathedral, and a thirteenth-century chateau, which contains the famous fourteenth-century "Apocalypse Tapestries."
Through the exchange program, Allegheny students may study for fall or spring semester or a year at UCO; UCO students spend a year at Allegheny.
Most Allegheny students enroll in the UCO language and area studies program for international students at the Centre International d'Études Françaises (CIDEF); those with the appropriate French language proficiency can enroll in courses in the various departments at the university.
In order to participate in the language and area studies program, Allegheny students must have completed four semesters of college level French (through FREN 225 at Allegheny) and have a 2.75 GPA in French order to be eligible for the program. Students who do not meet the language requirement can meet with Professor Dodge (Ruter Hall 202) to discuss the possibility of taking French language classes only.
Allegheny students are first approved to study off-campus before applying to their chosen program. Stop by Reis Hall for a copy of the approval guidelines, or access the guidelines on the web at http://www.allegheny.edu/accel/international/studies/guidelines.php. Deadlines to submit the approval packet are February 20 for the fall program and September 20 for the spring program. Approval packets will be reviewed immediately following the appropriate semester deadline.
Students will have housing in a private residence. Arrangements for meals are made between the student and the host: either all meals can be taken at "home," or only some meals. On campus, students have access to the university library, computer room, study rooms, email, and student lounges. Field trips are available through CIDEF.
Students are charged Allegheny tuition, room and the $300.00 off-campus study fee. Allegheny aid, except work/study, is applied to program costs. Students pay their meal costs directly to their host family in Angers. Additional costs include insurance, international airfare, personal expenses (including passport, visa, local transportation, laundry costs, internet charges, telephone charges).
