Volunteer Community Service

  France

• Montpellier: 
Montpellier

Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks and 3-6 months
Typical Duration of Program: 3-6 months
Dates: Fall Semester, Spring Semester and Summer

Description: This program allows foreign students to get involved in the community as volunteer helpers.

The course deals with the major issues in society and the way they are met by French institutions.

Students are expected to reflect thoughtfully on their experience as volunteers in regular journal entries. They must also write a final assignment in order to receive academic credit for their placement.

Students are awarded credits for their demonstrated commitment to their involvement and the extent to which they learn from the experience.

Highlights: The Volunteer Program combines voluntary work within the community with a program of study.

The IMLS organises the study programs at the University of Montpellier in French language. It arranges community service (about 10h/wk) in a number of agencies depending on students' skills and interests: hospital for children, NGOs, conversation classes in schools, soup kitchens, associations for handicapped people etc.

This program offers foreign students to get involved in the community as volunteers. It has a radically different approach to education from traditional study-abroad programs.

The objective is to further the development of values and skills outside the classroom and to link up theory and practice while immersing oneself in a significant component of French culture.

Thus the student will not be enclosed in an academic ghetto on a university campus but will be part of a richer relationship with the city as a whole.

Students have been responing enthusiastically to this alternative form of education. They benefit immensely from a linguistic, social and personal point of view.

Qualifications: No particular qualifications are required.

Cost in US$: information on request

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: yes

No

Typical Volunteer: The IML places students at sites that are consistent with their educational background, abilities and interests. They spend 8 to 10 hours in the agency and write a journal which reflects on the experience. The course deals with the major issues in society and the way they are met by French institutions.

Age Range: 20 upwards

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Transcript
• Written Application

Institut Mediterraneen de Langues & Services's Mission Statement: The Institut Mediterraneen de Langues/Services (IML/S) aims at combining education with culture. It forms the strategic center between universities in France and abroad and offers specific services for students wishing to immerse themselves in French culture and experience the otherness of Europe (administrative procedures, registration, academic courses, housing and excursions).

Year Founded: 1988