Your academic experience abroad is going to be very different from home. Working under the policies and processes of the local institution, you may find a lot less structure, or a lot more.

Course Load

EDUCO students take five courses for 15 credits.  Two or more must be regular university courses at one or more of EDUCO's partner universities. (You can have a Center course and one or more at all three universities if that is what makes the most sense for your academic interests).

Students may request permission from their college to take 4 courses for 12 credits.

At the end of the French class during orientation, you will take a placement test to see whether you place into or out of the advanced language class that is offered.  If you are placed into the Grammar or Pronunciation and Communication, it will be one of your five classes.  If you place out of the class, you will be invited to a personalized workshop to focus on any areas of your writing or speaking that could use a little attention.

EDUCO and University Courses

EDUCO Center courses are small, discussion-based courses that may have activities or excursions attached.  They focus on subjects in a way that is not available to universities.  Only students from Cornell, Duke, Emory, and Tulane participate in these classes. They are designed to be 3000-level classes with no prerequisites so that they work for majors and non-majors alike.

University courses do not specify prerequisites, but second year courses assume knowledge from courses offered in the first year, and so on.  It is not uncommon for courses to have a lecture ("cours magistral" or CM) and a section ("travaux diriges" or TD). Classes must meet 3-4 hours a week to count as a full course.

Courses and Credit Approval

• To find information on specific courses,
  • Go to the "Programme d'Etudes" tab on the educo.fr website.
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the course catalog for previous semesters prepared by EDUCO staff that lists courses at Parisian partner universities.  Use the most relevant semester, not the most recent, to determine what courses are likely to be offered the semester you will be there.  You will receive the "catalog" for your semester after you arrive when full course information is available.
  • Courses are listed by subject area, university, and level (L1= first year of the undergraduate degree, or "licence" and L3 is the third or final undergraduate year - only recommended if you have a background in the subject).
  • For your Proposed Course of Study form, you need to provide a "good faith" outline of your academic plan while in Paris, not the actual courses you will take.  Once you arrive in Paris, you will be advised to sit in on many courses so that you can choose the ones that are best for you.
• To discuss program fit, such as program type, expectations, level of structure/independence, or to compare options, get advice from Global Learning advisors and returned students. 
• For assistance in selecting courses, see your faculty or college advisor. (Note: You may earn elective, distributional, minor or major credit depending on your major and college.)
• Complete the Proposed Course of Study form that is part of the Global Learning application for a record of how your courses will count for credit at Cornell.

Academic Policies

• Because you are taking classes in French, you do not need a "language class" if you place out of the language classes offered at EDUCO.
• Take the equivalent of 15 Cornell credits for a full semester, even if it is possible to take fewer and still graduate on time
• Complete all the academic work and stay until the end of the program, defined as the last officially-sanctioned exam for any course you take abroad

Registration and Grades

• You will be registered at Cornell and will earn credit for approved coursework for your semester/year study abroad
• Decisions on the final allocation of credit are made upon successful completion of the course (equivalent of a “C” or higher, in France, this is a "10" or higher—and no courses S/U)
• Grades will appear on the Cornell transcript in the same format as they are recorded on the original transcript generated by the study abroad program or university which may be a number between 0 and 20. Grades are not factored into the Cornell GPA.