FAQs for Columbia College Trip to France
When is the trip?
May 16-29, 2011. This is between the spring and summer sessions at all Columbia College campuses.
Who can go?
Anyone! Columbia College students, faculty, staff, and their family and friends are all invited to take the trip.
(There are age restrictions-- children 12 and under must be accompanied by a chaperone for each child.)
When is the deadline to enroll?
The online registration deadline is Jan. 26, 2011, but registration by phone is open until Feb. 25. BUT the sooner
you sign up the cheaper it is!
Are there different payment plans?
A non-refundable deposit of $150 is due at the time of booking.
1. If you opt for our standard monthly payment plan, your credit/debit card will be automatically charged
equal payments each month, reaching full payment by 35 days prior to the trip.
2. If you prefer our Alternative payment plan (no monthly payments charged) you must make a $300
payment 30 days after booking, and your final balance must be paid by 99 days prior to your trip’s
departure.
What does the price of approximately $3,768 (per person) include?
Overnight stays:
Paris* (2)
Nice* (2)
Avignon* (2)
Biarritz* (2)
Loire Valley (Tours)* (2)
Paris* (2)
Day trip to Normandy
Entrances included to the following sites:
Notre Dame Cathedral, Lourdes Shrine, Versailles Palace & Gardens, Grotto Of Massabielle, Maison
Natale de St. Benadatte, Arc De Triomphe, Amboise Chateau, Les Invalides, Chenonceau, Perfume
Factory in Eze, Loire Valley wine cellar, Amphitheatre Nimes or Arles, Chambord, Pont du Gard, Papal
Palace in Avignon, Louvre, Calanques cruise, D-Day beaches, Pointe du Hoc, American Cemetery and the
Caen-Normandy Centre for History and Peace.
Included in the price:
• Round trip airfare
• Transfers to and from the airport and hotel and between destination cities (as per program itinerary)
• Overnight stays in first-class, superior tourist class or tourist class hotels (all with private bathrooms)
• Continental breakfast daily
• Dinners on day 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 13
• Full-time services of an EF Tour Director
What’s not included in the price?
• Customary gratuities for your tour director, local guide and driver (approximately $175 for the entire
trip – you will pay this to the tour leader and she will distribute it as necessary and return any unused
monies)
• Porterage (if you choose to use a porter to carry your luggage).
• Personal Insurance (Everyone must sign up for insurance, it is Columbia College Policy. It is $135.)
• Dinners on day 3, 5, 7, 9. 11 & 12
• Beverages and lunches
• Public transportation to and from free time activities
 $360 twin room supplement, if you chose to be in double room instead of a triple room.
 $780 single room supplement, if you chose to be in a single room instead of a triple room.
Are there any courses offered with the trip?
Study Tour Course Procedures
In the day and nationwide campuses, students enroll in Study Tour courses as part of the spring
semester (day campus) or the March session (nationwide campuses). They enroll at the campus where
they are taking classes. The classes will be listed on the spring semester or the March session schedules
in each of these venues. This will allow students eligible for financial aid to receive aid for these courses.
Special permission will be given to allow nationwide students to earn more than 12 hours of course
work between January and May.
These courses will be offered in a 8-week format. Classes begin in March. Students enrolled in study
tour courses will receive an incomplete at the end of the term. The trip will take place in May. A final
grade will be assigned by the instructor at the conclusion of the trip and once all work has been
completed for the course, which should occur by the end of the summer session.
All students enrolled in these classes must participate in the trip. In some circumstances, students will
receive an additional amount of aid to assist with the cost of the trip. Students should check with their
Financial Aid Office to see if they qualify for assistance.
All courses are web-assisted. The same instructor teaches a course for all venues using Desire2Learn
(D2L). All course interactions prior to the trip will take place online. Students from all venues (and even
other institutions) could enroll in these courses, as they will be conducted online and face-to-face
contact will only occur during the trip.
Do you have to take a course to go on the trip?
No! Anyone can go on the trip whether they take a course or not.
Can I use financial aid to pay for the trip?
Students enrolled in courses may apply available federal financial aid toward the cost of the trip.
General Columbia institutional aid may be applied only towards course tuition. Students can also apply
for the Columbia College Study Abroad Scholarship. The deadline for application in January 18th.
Courses for France Study Tour 2011
ARTS 277 Nineteenth Century French Art (3 hrs)
An introductory course on French painting, sculpture, and architecture covering the art of Ingres, Delacroix,
Daumier, Rousseau, Courbet, Puvis de Chavannes, Bouguereau, Moreau, Delaunay, Pissarro, Manet, Degas,
Cezanne, Redon, Rodin, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, Bonnard, and Matisse.
Prerequisites: None
ARTS 377 Impressionism and Post Impressionism (3 hrs)
This course offers an in-depth examination of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Students will participate
in detailed examinations of the art of late-nineteenth century France, including Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Degas,
Cezanne, Morisot, Seurat. Van Gogh, and Gauguin. This course will focus on figure and landscape painting,
criticism and exhibition strategies, social economic and political history. Explore new perspectives on these
artists by placing artworks in a wider social and historical context.
Prerequisites: ARTS 105 or ARTS 112
BIOL277/ENVS 277 Biodiversity and Conservation Applied to France (1-3 hrs)
Students will investigate the basic principles of biodiversity and its importance to humans and a healthy
biosphere. Human activities and cultural attitudes that influence biodiversity will be investigated. Students will
apply their knowledge during the France trip by making observations and interacting with the community.
Prerequisites: None for 1-2 hours, BIOL 112 for 3 hours
Chem 277/BIOL 277 Enology: The Science of Wine (1-3 hrs)
Students will investigate in a scientific manner the factors that influence the taste of wine. These factors
include weather, soil, harvesting techniques, fermentation processes and storage. The small local wineries of
France offer a great variety in these factors and, we will attempt to associate them with the local products of the
Bordeaux region of France.
Prerequisites: None
ENGL 377 Hemingway’s Paris (1 hr)
The course will focus on Hemingway’s experience of Paris.
Prerequisites: None.
ENGL 377 Travel Writing (3 hrs)
The course will focus on the genre of travel writing, leading to students producing their own original essays.
Prerequisites: ENGL 112
ENGL 377 Troubadors to 21st Century – French Poetry (3 hrs)
The course will focus on French poetry (in translation), from the 12th C troubadours to contemporary work.
Prerequisites: ENGL 112
HIST 277 The History of France from Antiquity to the Enlightenment (1-3 hrs)
The history of France is a microcosm of the history of Europe. This course will focus on the history of France
from the days of Gaul through the beginnings of the Enlightenment. Students will learn about France’s history
and its place in the development of Western Civilization through the study of primary sources and historical
sites. This will be supplemented with a standard text on the history of France and instructor led discussion.
Prerequisite: HIST 101 or HIST 102
HIST 377 Memory, Monuments and History in the United States and France (1-3 hrs)
This course examines the place of historical monuments and historic sites in society and the ways in which these
monuments are created. Broadly defined, historical monuments includes ruins, statues, memorials, triumphal
arches, homes, and other sites that figure into the creation and preservation of national and group identities.
The course will approach the study of these monuments using the theoretical framework of collective memory,
focusing on the construction, preservation, and interpretation of sites from various time periods. Students will
consider monuments that are local, national to the United States, and those that will be visited throughout the
tour in France.
Prerequisites: 3 credits in history
MATH 177/PHIL 177 The Philosophical Pursuit of Mathematics in 17th Century France
(1-3 hrs)
The seventeenth century saw dramatic advances in mathematical theory and practice than any era before or
since. Descartes and Pascal, both French mathematicians, and Leibniz, who came to France and studied their
works, are three key early modern scientists that envisioned their work as useful for cultivating virtue and for
pursuing a good life. Their scientific and philosophical innovations stemmed in part from their understanding of
mathematics and science as cognitive and spiritual exercises that could create a truer mental and spiritual
nobility.
Prerequisite: MATH 150, ENGL 112, and HIST 102
SOCI/HUMS 277 Patterns of French Social Organization (1-3 hrs)
An exploration of the European model of social organization with an emphasis on France. The European model
of social organization differs somewhat from what exists in the United States. For this course France will be
explored as an example of the European model. What are some of the historical factors that influenced its
development? In what ways does it differ from what exists in the United States? How does it actually operate,
and finally, what is the opinion of the typical French citizen toward the French welfare state? Finally, how has
this experience with the French welfare state affect your opinion of it as well as your life in the States? These
represent issues to be addressed in the course and in the culminating experience paper.
Prerequisite: SOCI 111
Columbia College Study Abroad Scholarship
Who is eligible to apply?
Applicants must:
1. Have a 3.2 GPA with at least 24 hours of coursework at Columbia College;
2. Be a full-time student planning to participate in an approved program from Columbia College or
another provider for at least 3 hours of academic credit
3. Be returning to Columbia College for at least one semester immediately following their experience.
What are my obligations as an award recipient?
Serve as a Columbia College Global Ambassador while abroad and following your return. During their
experience, scholarship holders must document their experiences, such as through a journal, blog or
photos that could be posted on the Columbia College Study Abroad website. Following their return,
scholarship holders will be expected to work a minimum number of hours for the Study Abroad
Coordinator helping to promote Study Abroad to other students. The amount of service required will
be contingent on the size of the award received.
What will the award pay for? How much will it be?
The award can be used to pay for tuition and program fees associated with any approved study abroad
program. The funds can be used to pay other institutions or providers for their services. Funds may be
used for semester or summer study. Award amounts will range from $500-$1500 for summer study
and up to $5000 for semester study during summer or fall 2011. The amount will depend on the
quantity and quality of applications.
Who makes the award?
The Study Abroad Coordinator and Study Tour Director(s) will work with the faculty Honors and Awards
Committee to review applications and select recipients
How do I apply?
Applicants should submit a completed Study Abroad application, a letter of reference from a faculty
member, and a 300-500 word essay explaining their interests and goals in studying abroad, as well as
their interest in being a global ambassador.
Applications will be due to Brian Kessel St. Clair 207 by 5:00 p.m. Feb, 4, 2011.