b@r!um

Unlike Smith, Bryn Mawr does not run its own study abroad programs. Instead our students enroll directly universities overseas or attend programs that are run by other colleges. For French, we have "approved" programs in Paris, Avignon, Toulouse and Strasbourg (France), and Dakar (Senegal).

There is nothing special about these programs that qualifies them to be on the approved list. They are approved because a Bryn Mawr student has petitioned to attend them in the past. If you want to go somewhere else (be it in Switzerland or Haiti or the Republic of Congo), petitioning to attend a program there is a very real option!

In my experience the real benefit of a study abroad program comes from full immersion into the culture and language there. You *have* to find a way to express yourself in the other language because there is just no other option. That is also the drawback of studying French in Switzerland: many people are fluent in English, and some even prefer English over one of the official languages of the country. That creates a temptation to switch back to English when you are having a hard time with French. Just something to think about.