2023 Applicant Open Day 

Would you like to find out more about the International Politics programmes offered at the University of London Institute in Paris? Watch Dr Eugene Brennan's video providing detailed information about our programmes.

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Would you like to find out more about the French Studies programmes offered at the University of London Institute in Paris? Watch Dr Charlotte Legg's video providing detailed information about our programmes.

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Meet our academic team members and find out more about their research interests.

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The most recent intake in September 2022 included 40 students studying French Studies as their major (of which a third chose the IR minor) and 40 students studying International Politics as their major (of which half took the French minor).

Module-specific reading suggestions are normally sent in early summer. 

Meanwhile, we can recommend the following preparatory reading: 

French Language

If you are going to be studying French as part of your course, any reading in French will be useful, as it will help you be more at ease with the language. Engage with French media and press, such as Le Monde, Libération, Le Figaro just to name a few, and read the sections of the press that interests you. Getting to grips with news and current affairs is always a good preparation.   

You can also watch French TV news channel like France 24 to prepare your ear. You can also check RFI’s website where you either expand your knowledge of French culture and/or learn French at the same time by selecting a topic (may it be Culture, History, Environment or more), an objective and/or a content type. 

You can also improve your French vocabulary by switching your Language preferences to French on your devices! 

Useful Links:  

• Le Monde 
• Libération 
• Le Figaro 
• France24 
• RFI Savoirs 

French Literature

Project Gutenberg gives you access to thousands of works of fiction in French. Here are just a few suggestions from different time periods: 

• Madame de Lafayette, La Princesse de Montpensier (17th century) 
• Guy de Maupassant, Apparition et autres contes de l’étrange (19th century) 
• Romain Gary, Les trésors de la mer rouge (mid-twentieth century) 
• Pierre Péju, L’idiot de Shanghai et autres nouvelles (contemporary) 

Authors whose works will be studied in our modules include Voltaire, Maupassant, Marguerite Duras, Jen Genet, Annie Ernaux, Mehdi Charef to name a few.  

Useful links : 

• Project Gutenberg 

International Politics

The E-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS website, edited by Stephen McGlinchey, is a great resource. It includes a collection of free online articles which introduce key concepts and core themes studied in the International Politics programmes.   

To name a few of the Postcolonial theorists from the Francophone world that will be explored during the programme, and more specifically to understand the dynamics of colonialism and anti-colonialism political struggle, there is Orientalism by Edward Said and The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. Other examples of authors you can explore include Aimé Césaire, Achille Mbembe and Andreas Malm. Many readings are available in English and/ French.  

Useful Links:  

• E-International Relations  
• Les Damnés de la Terre, de Franz Fanon  
• Orientalism, by Edward W. Said  

International Politics

For the International Politics core modules, there are no exams, they are assessed by continuous assessment, which means a mixture of research essays and different types of assignments such as field reports, book reviews and class group presentations.  Field reports are a way to invite you to explore various spaces in the city of Paris, what we call sites of international politics and think about the international politics and relations dynamics of these spaces in the city.  

One of the unique aspects of the International Politics programmes is that there is a big emphasis on research, which is quite unique for an undergraduate programme. 

Useful link:

• International Politics course outline 

French Studies

The French language modules are assessed through a combination of written coursework,  translation exercises, oral assignments such as mock interviews and group presentations, as well as formal exams. 

The French content modules and elective modules are assessed through a variety of assignments such as oral presentations, commentaries, source analyses, essays and formal exams. 

Useful Link: 

• French Studies course outline 

International Relations can be used as a descriptive term to describe the relationships between nation-states and the international order. When it is used with capital letters (IR), it is referring to this specific academic discipline that dates back to the earlier 20th century and which became the dominant way of studying politics in academia. In IR the primary actors are the nation-state and how they interact with one another.  

The reason we called the programme “International Politics” is because we want to foster a broader conception of what political action is, it encompasses much more than just state actors. In International Politics, the big focus is on non-state actors, which encompasses everything from religious groups, terrorist organisations, democratic social movements, indigenous actors, climate and youth movements, all of which don’t really fit in the centric nation-state paradigm. This doesn’t mean we ignore International Relations discipline, as we have some IR modules, but the focus is expanded to different sites of political movements today.  

ULIP students can apply for financial support from the Student Loans Company. This includes students from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland but currently not Wales as Student Finance Wales does not fund students for studies taking place entirely abroad.

As registration institution for ULIP students, you will need to list Queen Mary University of London as your university when applying for Student Finance, make sure you follow the instructions on our Funding webpage.

Unless they have an EU passport or residency card, then International Students, including UK students, will need to apply for a student visa.  

Students can apply for a long-term student visa three months before the planned travel date.   

Students will receive more detailed guidance about the visa application process in May. Meanwhile they should ensure that their passport will not expire within 12 months of beginning their studies.

Timescales for booking an appointment at the visa centre will vary from location to location so we recommend that you consider completing your application form 2 to 3 months before planned travel so that you can book your appointment at the visa application centre no later than 3 weeks before travelling. Note that the visa application centre will keep your passport for 2 to 3 weeks so you will not be able to travel abroad during that time.

Students with conditional offers applying from the UK should note that the visa fees are non-reimbursable so they may decide to book their appointment at the TLS Contact visa application centre for after the publication of the results. 

You can check some of our resources posted here, such as our accommodation guide which provides an overview of the various housing options, as well as the Living in Paris presentation.   

For students interested in the Nexity or Estudines halls of residence, a link to the booking form will be emailed to applicants by the end of May.  

If you are looking for a flatshare or independent studio, you can start looking now, but landlords may want to rent out as soon as over the summer if you book it now. Contact current students via the Facebook group and ask for their advice/opinion.  

Useful Links:  

• Accommodation Guide  
• Living in Paris video presentation 
• Student Halls web page  
• Prospective Students Facebook Group 

Student Induction and Freshers’ Week will be the week starting 18th September. Teaching will start on Monday 25th September.   

The Students’ Union will organise a range of workshops, activities, visits and social events. All new students will also be assigned a student buddy from the years above to help them integrate into life in Paris and ULIP.

Useful Link:

• SU Instagram account

There is no compulsory internship or work experience as part of the programme but we do encourage students to explore work opportunities during their studies and a number of our students do carry out internships during the year or the summer (in that case we can sign an internship agreement/Convention de stage). 

Queen Mary’s Careers and Entreprise service provides a variety of resources such as links, international databases, one-on-one appointments, CV developments and interview practice which ULIP students have access to. ULIP also partnered with WeAreOne, which is a coaching collective, where students can be selected to take part in mentoring sessions over the course of the semester and meet different students and networks to help find work after graduation.  

For casual work, many opportunities are posted on the Facebook group, particularly English-teaching opportunities. Nannying opportunities are also easy to find.

Useful link:

• Queen Mary Careers and Entreprise