The information outlined below is intended for new and returning students to prepare for arrival in Paris for the Spring 2021 semester. You will learn about the policies and guidelines that will govern our return to campus, read important information about travel and classes and discover details about our hybrid teaching approach for this Spring. If you have any questions, please contact your Admissions Counselor.
(Last updated: January 15, 2020)
This is a quick overview of the steps you must take before arriving on campus:
Travel from outside the Schengen Area into France has been restricted. The French government has explicitly stated that student visas are still valid and that students are still permitted to travel to France, but additional requirements apply for certain regions around the world.
No specific access restrictions to the French territory; an attestation of an absence of symptoms of Covid-19 and of contact in the fourteen days preceding the flight with a confirmed case may be requested: Member states of the European Union (EU) as well as Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, United Kingdom, San Marino, Holy See, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Bring with you – all countries with travel restrictions:
Source: https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/services/news/coronavirus---information-to-passengers-traveling-from-paris. The information listed on this page is updated regularly.
AUP’s Health Office (healthaup.edu) can provide helpful information about where to get tested for Covid-19 in France, but we are unable to assist with testing in other countries. Students currently in the US can find out about local testing options by visiting this page on the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
You will only be permitted to enter France if you have the required student visa.
For students who attended the first semester remotely and decide to attend the second semester in person, you must request an additional document from Student Immigration Services (sisaup.edu) that will allow you to request a student visa to enter France.
If you have already applied for or received your visa, then no additional steps need to be taken. Immigration authorities in France will permit you entry, so long as you have your student visa, along with the other required travel documents.
Who will have access to the airport shuttle?
Students arriving at CDG airport. Students should sign up for the shuttle bus via the pre-arrival step. The shuttle bus will drop students off at one of the residences used by AUP this semester. If students not housed by us want to use the shuttle, they are welcome but need to figure out with the help of the AUP people present at CDG which residence is closest to their independent housing
How can I register for it?
Students who don't have access to the airport shuttle should take a taxi into Paris. The fee should be no more than 50-60 euros.
New undergraduate students in AUP housing will receive an email before arrival listing their address, residence name, roommate’s name (if applicable), and other important details. New and returning grads as well as returning undergrads should get in touch with the Residential Life team immediately if they still need help to secure independent housing. The best way to do that is to fill out the Housing Search Webform.
Students housed through AUP will be welcomed to their residence on February 8 and greeted by student advisors.
Keep your boarding pass after your flight, and bring both your passport and boarding pass with you to in-person orientation for your session with Student Immigration Services.
Please consult your primary care physician to determine the best way to receive a PCR (Covid-19) test within 72 hours before you travel to France.
All questions or concerns should be addressed to the AUP Health Office at healthaup.edu.
Is Covid-19 testing available to anyone who requests it?
Yes, but people with symptoms and a prescription will be given priority.
What are the main symptoms of Covid-19?
Symptoms include fever, cough, chest pains, respiratory discomfort and a loss of the senses of taste and smell. You may request a test even if you are not experiencing any symptoms yet.
Are there different types of tests for Covid-19?
Yes. There are two that you should be aware of:
Do I need a prescription to get a test?
No. But MSH insurance won’t reimburse the cost of the test without a prescription from a doctor.
Where can I be tested?
There are currently two main ways to be tested in France:
Are Covid-19 tests reimbursed?
Yes, if you have a prescription.
Am I still contagious if my Serological ELISA test is positive and I've developed antibodies?
Possibly. Having antibodies doesn't necessarily mean you can't transmit the virus or contract the virus again. Social distancing is still necessary. Also, there's a 5% false-positive rate for serological tests. Serological tests can't replace a PCR test.
Sources: French Ministry of Solidarity and Health: (https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/soins-et-maladies/maladies/maladies-infectieuses/coronavirus/tout-savoir-sur-la-covid-19/article/se-faire-depister-lieux-et-conditions)
We will begin the semester online on the published date of January 18 commencing the semester with three weeks of remote learning for most courses. Exceptionally, studio art courses, computer lab courses, and science lab courses will begin, as is legally authorized, with onsite instruction on January 18 (although students in those classes can also elect to learn remotely until in-person classes begin three weeks later).
Our library and all student services will be open and available by appointment beginning January 18. There will be a five-day, long weekend break from February 6-10 allowing any students who have not yet returned to Paris to travel here at that time. All classes will then resume onsite instruction beginning on February 15.
As previously indicated, all classes will be available remotely throughout the semester for those students unable to travel to Paris or wishing to continue remote learning for the entire academic year. We will redistribute Spring Break to a second five-day break February 24-28 and a four-day Easter break April 3-6. Classes will end on April 28, two days earlier than previously planned and we will go into reading week as planned.
Please view the complete academic calendar for Spring 2021 on our website.
You should come equipped with a working laptop. While we expect to be teaching face-to-face in classrooms on campus, many of your professors will be using technology to enhance your learning. We also need to be prepared for remote teaching if necessary, during which periods it would be essential that you have a laptop and reliable internet connection.
The learning location declaration form will be available to all students via their checklist. Students will be able to make a preliminary learning location declaration and to update their final learning location during Orientation/ Returning Student Check-In at the start of the semester. This declaration form includes the full policy for all learning location options: On-site, late arrival and remote learning location.
All Cultural Program activities are designed with the latest Covid-19 travel and safety recommendations in mind. Please go check the Cultural Program page on AUP Engage and the Cultural Program webpages for the latest news.
The American University of Paris is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment for students, faculty and staff when our buildings reopen. To that end, we will continue to follow the recommendations of the French government as regards a return to university campuses in the context of Covid-19. To protect our community, we are calling upon all members of the AUP community, including students, to share in the responsibility of drawing a protective circle around our campus and the University community itself by being attentive—in both our personal and professional behaviors—to public health recommendations, University policies, your own symptoms and those of your friends and families, as well as your masking and social distancing behavior both on campus and off.
We fully expect the unexpected in this second attempted “normal” semester after the advent of the Covid-19 crisis and intend to follow all French government recommendations for health and safety, as well as further confinement (and return once again to full remote learning) should that be required either intermittently or longer-term. In many instances, AUP policies are stricter than government policies, although they remain in alignment with those that have been published to date. We are currently in a fluid, changing situation requiring open communication amongst all members of our community. Respect on the part of all for the difficulty of the conditions we are navigating should determine our relations with one another during this challenging period.
We have developed the following expectations and support systems for students as we look to the Spring semester. Our policies will necessarily continue to evolve as the situation on the ground changes, and French government guidelines are issued. Our intention at present is to offer the Spring semester as planned with in-person learning the norm. Consult our academic calendar here for the dates of the Spring 2021 semester.
During Orientation, all new students will receive training on the security protocol put in place to protect our community. Attendance at this important session is mandatory, and your presence will be required and recorded.
Our expectation, given the high-touch service that is AUP’s trademark, is that most AUP faculty and staff will be in their campus offices by the beginning of the Spring semester. All University spaces have been studied and where necessary remodeled to permit social distancing and/or barriers to ensure a safe environment for all.
Students coming to campus from other countries must follow the immigration testing and quarantine instructions dictated by the French government. Please check the requirements for your country a week before you leave for France.
AUP students will be expected to follow all French government health recommendations for the practice of barrier methods that inhibit transmission of Covid-19: social distancing, frequent hand washing, regular use of sanitizing gel and wipes, use of disposable tissues, and covering the mouth and nose in the event of coughing or sneezing.