Université de Bordeaux

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1 REPORT 1 exchange application process PREPARATION It was rather straightforward. Both the learning agreement and grant agreement are rather clear, should you need help, the international office can help you out without a problem. The only thing to keep in mind is that it takes a while before you can get you documents signed at both the sending and receiving institutions. counselling & support at Utrecht University It worked out fine, the people helping you are kind and do their jobs well. academic preparation It was not necessary, as I was sufficiently prepared to follow the courses at the university in Bordeaux. For students wishing to have a rather thourough preparation, I recommend following preparatory courses for the subjects you'll be taking. language preparation The main challenge for me was to get an appropriate level in French. After completing French in highschool I followed a French course in university. This course (Frech language acquisition 1) had a rather high workload and it wasn't too easily combined with my normal studies, but with rigorous planning it is possible. For other Governance students I recommend taking it in the third year if possible, if not, it is doable in the second year. finances Housing was rather cheap (243 euros a month). For transportation to and from Bordeaux, I took a plane, but I suppose travelling by car or even Eurobus is possible. Groceries cost about the same as in Utrecht, as do most other things. You will however be needing a public transport card (30 euros monthly) and going out for drinks is generally more expensive than in Utrecht. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I took 7 courses, of which I completed 6. It was a mix of politicology, economy, law and a bit of French. There is the possibility to choose any cours magistral, which is not unlike a dutch lecture. This includes masters' subjects and due to different examination for Erasmus students, some of these were doable. There is the possibility to sit in on any subject for the first few weeks. Use this to make your choiches, as some lecturers are better than others. Furthermore, the method of evaluation varies a lot and subsequently the effort needed to pass a class does as well. academic quality of education activities Generally the academic quality is ok. You should however keep in mind the previous knowledge of the other students. The two first year courses I took set a good example. One of them was French political history, which was very challenging due to the fact that every French students starts with a lot of knowledge and the lecturer uses that as a basis. The other one was political economy, a course for which I hardly had to learn because of a previous economy course at the UU. The French way of working is however rather different: during undergrad it revolves about memorisation. The two masters courses I took were of higher quality, they required students to write an essay.

2 counselling & support at receiving university abroad This was generally good, the international office communicates clearly. Do however expect a daunting amount of bureaucratistic nonsense. This will mostly come from other organisations than the university though and they will be glad to help should that be necessary. Some of the other students developed a rather deep seeded hatred for the women of the international office though, so your mileage may vary. The best advice is to be very kind, apologise for not understanding and they will help you, afterall, its their job. transfer of credits I am not yet done with this, but anticipate no significant difficulties. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE It was a rather short (one day) programme and you don't really get to know a lot of people. To mediate this, join the wine association, exchange numbers and add eachother on facebook. Ask people if they want to hang out, because people might just have forgotten you without bearing you ill will. accommodation I would like to strongly recommend fellow students NOT to house at CROUS. They regularly suffer infestations from rats, bedbugs, cockroaches and other vermin. I myself experienced a bedbug infestation and the doctor I went to told me that my dorm (Village 5) was a zoo. Should you be hellbent on staying with CROUS because of the money saved, avoid villages 5 and 6. CROUS really likes their protocols, so if you want something better than their protocols (like a bug free room), you'll have to take it up to managerial level. leisure & culture Bordeaux is a very nice city, there is a lot to do. Students can get opera tickets for 8 euros if you book less than 72 hours (I think) in advance. There are some nice musea, a beach (at le lac), bars, clubs and whatever a student might otherwise want. Like probably every French city Bordeaux is also called little Paris, because it has nearly the same amenities but is a lot smaller (and cheaper). suggestions/tips Take a daytrip to Arcachon when the weather is nice, it is a quaint seaside town. ESN organises quite a few things, most of them are good so do check them out. Do join a few students organisations, that is the best way to get to know some locals. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I really like the city of Bordeaux and would definately recommend it. That said, French bureaucrary is horrible, prepare to document your entire life again. You get good guides from both the university and ESN though, so follow those guides. As for the university itself, you will only follow lectures and will be excluded from seminars (werkcolleges). Should you mind this, find another university. Having listed the two main downsides I'd say: do go! There is good wine, a great climate, a fun city, a beautiful region and a university that really cares for exchange students. do you have any additional advice or comments? Should you worry about your level of French, a B1 level should see you through most of the courses. In your application the university stresses that you either take English courses or French ones, but this is not true at all. You can mix and match however you want, so do as you like.

3 REPORT 2 exchange application process PREPARATION I decided quite late in my third bachelor year that I wanted to go to Bordeaux. Fortunately, there was still a place left at Bordeaux after the first selection rounds. To apply I filled out my Learning Agreement and the other forms. I admitted on request of the International Office a coverletter in french explaining my reasons for choosing Bordeaux. counselling & support at Utrecht University One time I went to the International Office to talk about the fact that I was considering applying for Bordeaux. It was nice to talk with someone about this and to consider the options. academic preparation I had finished all my obligitory courses for my bachelor, then I requested to postpone my graduation so I could do a fourth bachelor year in Bordeaux. language preparation In Bordeaux ging ik mijn vakken in het Frans volgen. Om me hierop voor te bereiden heb ik wat Franse boeken geleend van bibliotheek om alvast een beetje te oefenen. Verder kon je online het regionale nieuws van Aquitaine, de regio van Bordeaux, kijken. Dit heb ik ook veel gedaan om alvast te wennen aan de taal. finances I made a financial plan in advance as a part of my application. My parents offered to help as well for a part of the costs. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD When I arrived in Bordeaux you could 'test out' the courses first. For two weeks you had the opportunity to go to all the courses available before you had to definitely decide which ones you wanted. There were English and French courses. I only opted for French ones, since that was the language I mainly wanted to improve in. The courses were in diverse topics, such as history, economics, sociology or law. I had courses about French history, the French political system (a obligatory course), history of economics, mircoeconomics, modern political research and introduction to comparative politics. I followed the Certificat d'etudes Politiques programme. This meant that I took all my courses in French, 60 ECTS, of which 3 obligatory courses. The positive thing about this programme is that it is more interactive than the normal courses. It also provides you with a group of international students which whom it is easier to get to know eachother better. These were things I appreciated. On the other side, I was under the impression that the academic level of these 3 obligatory courses would be a lot higher. I did not feel like I was challenged to do better, to participate in the courses or to think critically. Each time another students held a presentation about a topic that varied and that was basically it. Sometimes you had to read a little bit, but not a lot. The course Etudes Politiques was the nicest course of the three because there we discussed differents recent or historic events from the countries were we came from. I gave my presentation about the "Pietendiscussie". You could also take different sports, which was quite cool. I did not do this, but I would recommend to do it, because it is a good way to meet French students. In most cases taking these sports was free.

4 academic quality of education activities The courses are mostly taught in lecture halls with around students. The master courses are normally in smaller groups. The courses are not very interactive, the master courses a little bit more, but still not much. The professor talks for 1,5 hours and as a students you take notes. At the end of the semester you learn those notes for your examens as well as the powerpoint, if they use any. I missed that I did not have to read any literature for the courses, something I was quite used to in my bachelor in Utrecht. The academic quality varies, with some courses you notice that the professor really is an expert on his topic, with others I wondered if the professor was not just teaching his own opinion to the students. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The international office in Bordeaux was usually quite late with communicating. This is the main thing I noticed. Before I went they helped quite well, but when I arrived I mainly noticed that they were in general quite slow with communicating things. transfer of credits It took quite some time before I had my notes for the second semester. 6 weeks after my last examens I finally got them over the mail. You have to submit them for the Erasmus grant, so it is important to pay attention to this. In France they give grades from 1 20, at Sciences Po a 12 or 13 is already quite a good grade. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The orientation programme was very well organized. There was an introduction week. This week included a lecture with an introduction to France, a guide through Sciences Po and a guided tour through the city. We had to take some tests on our French language skills and for the students following the CEP programme there were two other tests, speaking and writing. I think everybody passed them, they were not to hard on us. The week ended with a tour to Saint Emilion a village nearby where we had a wine tasting and a tour through the old village. accommodation Through the international office I came in contact with two students from Sciences Po Bordeaux when I was still in the Netherlands. They were studying in Utrecht that year. We met for coffee and when I asked if they had any tips for accommodation one of the girls suggested that we could maybe search an appartment together, since she was already doing this with a friend of her. I was very lucky! I lived in an nice apartment together with two French girls, who were very nice. This also really helped to improve my French and learn some 'slang'. You can also find a house through the French 'SSH' with is named CROUS. It is important to be on time if you want this. It is cheap, but not very cosy. I recommend finding a private apartement, which is quite good to do. The French word for a student house is 'colocation' and there are enough facebookgroups around this. You generally find a room between 300 and 500 euros. leisure & culture I went swimming in the university pool together with a friend as my sport. It is quite cheap to do so, 25 euros for the whole year and than you can go whenever you want to. I travelled as well to other French cities such as Toulouse, Biarritz, Tours, Nantes, La Rochelle and Paris. These are all worth visiting. Bordeaux as a city it very pretty. Every first Sunday of the month you can visit museums for free, and they have quite a lot. You can also take the bus to the ocean, which takes around 45 minutes. suggestions/tips Sciences Po has a lot of associations. I did not join the one about wine, but if you want to learn about wine tasting and wines, this is definitely very cool to do. They organise a lot of lectures as well, these are interesting

5 to attend as well. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain If you are fascinated by the french culture, if you want to improve your language or if you want to study at one of the most famous institutions in France, this is definitely a good choice. I improved my French a lot and I am very happy about this. It was a nice destination, the city is quite different even though it is not to far from the Netherlands. do you have any additional advice or comments? If you are really serious about going to Bordeaux, try to get into contact with the students from Bordeaux studying in Utrecht this year. This could really help you.