CUPAProgramsCUPA Immersion

Methodology

“I really needed help in ensuring I was doing the methodology correctly, and having that kind of support was essential for me to succeed. It was a great reassurance to have that resource during the semester, to reread my work and check the methodology or to give initial advice on how to proceed with the assignment.”
– Hana Hallahan, Willamette University

French methodology training is part of the academic support provided by CUPA. The French educational system is very different from what American students are used to. The intensive pre-session thoroughly prepares students for the expectations of university professors and allows them to assimilate a more research-based approach to coursework. The methodology training thus encourages students to take their analytical skills a step further and gain more perspective on their learning experience as active participants within the French academic environment. Throughout the semester, students continue to have access to office hours with CUPA’s methodology professors.

Methodology

Why Learn About French Methodology?

Thinking is universal. Ideas, on the other hand, are in large part cultural constructs. In each country, we teach children, and later students, how to think. Family, schools, and universities are spaces where we build and transmit these intellectual traditions that are unique to each culture. These methods that determine how we think and express our ideas are rarely the subject of formal study since their transmission is almost invisible. As a result, students coming from an American academic context are unfamiliar with French university methodology and adapting can be challenging. The methodology program aims to present the various methods of thought that form the foundation of the work expected of university students in France. Throughout the term, students can attend office hours with CUPA faculty should they have any doubts about French methodology.

Objectives of CUPA's Methodology Support

To learn what French university professors expect of students in regards to specific types of homework, as well as the rules and methods required to meet those expectations
To explore elements of intellectualism that are unique to the French method
To learn about the history and reasons behind French methodology
To compare the differences between the anglo-saxon intellectual tradition and its French counterpart