External Language Study

At AUP, we encourage you to learn new languages and to improve the level of the languages you already speak. You can do both while earning your degree. The University offers language courses in French, Italian and Arabic to both undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates may take language courses as part of their degree. Graduate students may request to audit AUP language classes for no extra charge on a space-available basis.

 

What are external language courses?

If you're interested in a language not offered at our University, you have the option to take a language course through an outside institution. If you have at least a 2.8 grade point average you can register the course for academic credit at AUP.

To register your outside class, find a language institute that you are interested in attending and supply the registrarataup.edu (Registrar’s Office) with your certificat d’inscription, or registration certificate, as well as your completed  External Course Pre-Approval form.

We recommend that you get in touch with the Registrarataup.edu (Registrar's Office) before signing up for courses at another institution to make sure that your credits will transfer correctly. Note that online language courses are not accepted as part of the external Language Study Program.

 

Earning credit for your course work

Language classes are graded on a credit/no credit basis only. That means that the grade that you earned outside of the University will not affect your grade point average. Credits for external language study are awarded based on the amount of full 60-minute classroom hours, so called contact hours, of the chosen program:

  • 40 contact hours = 2 credits
  • 60 contact hours = 3 credits
  • 80 contact hours = 4 credits
  • 100 contact hours = 5 credits
  • 120 contact hours and above = 6 credits (maximum transferable credit for external language courses).

If you are working towards a Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL) qualification, the CECRL translates to AUP course levels as follows:

  • 1000 (A1/A2)
  • 2000 (A2/B1)
  • 3000 (B1/B2)
  • 4000 (C1/C2)

It is important to understand that the semester start and end dates of language institutes may not match AUP’s course dates. Holiday schedules will vary as well, but our students are expected to regularly attend classes at their chosen institute as well as at AUP. If the external course runs longer than the AUP semester an incomplete grade will be awarded until the course is completed and a proper grade can be processed.

 

Paying for external language courses

There are several payment options for external language courses. If the course is taken for 4 or 6 credits as part of a student’s 18-credit-hour schedule, AUP will cover the program tuition as part of the semester tuition upon receipt of the invoice from the language institute. The course will appear on the transcript as part of the semester in which it was registered.

If the course is taken as a fifth class outside of the 18-credit-semester limit, the student will have to cover the program fee. AUP will then accept the external course credit as transfer credit upon successful completion of the class.

Finally, if the language course represents a 1 or 2 credit class, it can be added onto a full course load within the 18-credit semester limit. In this case, the student covers the program fee and will be reimbursed by AUP upon successful completion of the course once proof of payment is provided. The course will appear on the transcript as part of the semester in which it was registered.

 

Finding a language institute

There are many language institutes in Paris for you to chose from. To help you make your choice, we have compiled a list of some of the institutes that AUP students have previously attended. Be aware that these language institutes teach the foreign language in French. You should therefore be comfortable in working with up to two foreign languages at the same time. Advanced French language skills are strongly recommended.

All external language courses at any institution must be preapproved for transfer of credits before the course begins.