Saint Francis has established a study-abroad partnership with the Université Catholique de Lille (UCL) in Lille, France. Beginning this summer, SFU students will have the chance to study at this institution.
UCL’s location in northern France, near the border with Belgium, will offer SFU students easy access to various European cities, including Brussels, Paris, London and Amsterdam.
With nearly 8,000 international students, UCL offers more than 200 English-taught courses across its five schools to accommodate student needs. Tuition for a semester at UCL will be the same as that at SFU.
“A lot of our students appeared to be interested in France following the closure of our previous site in Ambialet, so we started looking for institutions like SFU with a Catholic mission,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael McGinnis.
“Another key aspect of our search was making sure that classes would be offered in English.”
Leona Horner, SFU’s Director of International Education, learned more about UCL while attending last year’s National Study-Abroad Conference (NAFSA) in Washington, D.C.
“Shortly after the closure of our site in Ambialet, I went to the NAFSA conference,” said Horner. “My mission changed from learning more about study abroad to figuring out where we are going to send SFU students.”
Horner interviewed individuals from approximately 50 different study-abroad sites during the conference. When she spoke with a woman from UCL, she felt that the school would be an ideal fit for SFU students.
“I was speaking with a woman from UCL and it seemed almost too good to be true,” said Horner. “I was able to visit campus a few weeks later and I knew from that point on that it was going to be a really good partnership.”
In addition to Saint Francis students taking courses at the Université Catholique de Lille, UCL plans to reciprocate and send some of its students to Saint Francis to continue their studies. Both institutions have signed an agreement to minimize costs for SFU and UCL students.
McGinnis believes that UCL is suitable for almost every major offered at SFU, with a focus on students studying at the French school during their sophomore year. Most students at other stages of their studies can be accommodated, depending on their major.
“Our study-abroad (program) is very close to our mission,” said McGinnis. “You can go to other Catholic institutions and study abroad anywhere in the world, but we are being very specific about where we are going to go.
“I think that it is important for our students to have a similar institution to study at, while still getting that cultural and global experience.”
Horner said that the University’s partnership with UCL is hopefully the first of many new opportunities for students through SFU’s Office of International Education.
She said the University is looking to expand the number of semester-long and short-term programs available to students – to a variety of destinations – in the near future.
Applications to study at UCL in Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 are currently being accepted.
