American University of Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The American University of Paris
Motto: Knowledge, perspective, understanding.
Established: 1962
Type: private
President: Gerardo della Paolera
Faculty: 105 [1]
Students: 1,000 [2]
Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Campus: Urban, eight buildings
Website: www.aup.fr

The American University of Paris (commonly referred to as AUP) is a private, independent, accredited, nonsectarian, liberal arts and sciences university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is the oldest American institution of higher education in Europe. The university campus consists of eight buildings, centrally located in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank near the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, and the Seine [3].

The university's language of instruction is English, although students must prove a level of proficiency in French prior to graduation.[4] The university has approximately a thousand students, representing over a hundred nationalities, with an average student-to-faculty ratio of eighteen to one. The university's faculty members represent over fifteen nationalities, with eighty percent holding doctoral degrees.

The university sponsors more than two hundred lectures and seminars every year, exposing students to a wide range of topics. Additionally, the university has hosted ten international conferences, inviting an aggregate of over a thousand scholars, including Gary Becker, Nobel Prize-recipient of Economics in 1992, and Michel Rocard, the former Prime Minister of France.[5]

Contents

[edit] Accreditation

The American University of Paris is accredited in the United States by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The university is a non-profit educational institution incorporated in the State of Delaware and licensed by the State Board of Education as an institution of higher education [6]. The university is also recognized in the United States as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is declared to the Recorat de Paris as an établissement privé d'enseignement supérieur libre.

The Institut de Commerce International et des Sciences de l'Information (ICISI) which includes the Departments of International Business Administration, International Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Science is recognized by the French Ministry of Education as an Etablissement d’enseignement technique privé [7].

[edit] Academics

[edit] Undergraduate programs

The university offers 14 majors and 28 minors in its undergraduate program, along with courses covering a wide array of other liberal arts offerings, including Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Drama, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Sociology, and Languages, including German, Italian, and Spanish. Its academic departments include:

[edit] Graduate programs

The university offers six graduate programs from two schools:

Graduate School of Business

Graduate School of Government

[edit] Strategic Alliance with New York University

In 2006, the university and New York University announced a strategic partnership allowing students at both universities to attend and obtain degrees from either institution [8]. The two universities are working on plans to develop a major new educational facility in Paris. This development, which would be undertaken on an island in the Seine at the southwest edge of Paris, Ile Seguin, would entail the construction of an academic building with classroom space, office and meeting space for faculty and administrators, a library, cafeteria, and lounges [9].

[edit] Campus

The university is clustered among eight historic buildings in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank. One of the university's buildings houses The Combes Gallery. The gallery's cultural mission is to present works of art created by the university's students, alumni, and faculty, as well as to highlight the university's cultural diversity through the exhibition of works by professional artists from different backgrounds and cultures.

[edit] Student Life

Located near the Eiffel Tower, and within walking distance of the Champs-Elysées, the Louvre, and the famous Quartier Latin, students are able to fully participate in the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the "City of Light".

[edit] AUP in Film, Television, and The Arts

Dan Brown featured the university in his novel The Da Vinci Code. The university and its campus were the location for a lecture on symbolism, by lead character Robert Langdon.

[edit] Alumni

Individuals of note who have attended the university include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  2. ^ Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. ^ Campus Map. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  4. ^ French Language Proficency Requirements. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  5. ^ AUP News & Events, Past Conferences. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  6. ^ Middle States Commission of Higher Education. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  7. ^ AUP Accreditation. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  8. ^ New York University, Office of Public Affairs. NYU and the American University of Paris Announce Start of a Strategic Partnership. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  9. ^ The Embassy of the United States - Paris, France. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.

[edit] External links