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City description | Host institutions |
Costs | What's included | Course offerings | Photos |
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City Description
Aix-en-Provence is many things; it is a center of culture, art, academics, and a place of amazing beauty. This small city of
approximately 137,000 people is located in southern France in the region of Provence. Provence, one of the wealthiest regions in France, is bordered by the Mediterranean on its southern coast and offers hot summers and mild winters.
Provence averages 300 days of sunshine a year, creating light and warmth throughout this southern region of France. The region's primary income is tourism, which is not at all unreasonable when one sees the beauty of the countryside and the small medieval towns. A booming information technology sector accounts for Provence’s secondary income.
The Provence region of France appeals to its inhabitants and to those who visit not only because of its beauty, but also because of its diversity in offerings. The ambiance of Provence ranges from the lively and crowded capital of Provence, Marseilles, to the quiet peacefulness of Avignon. Adventure can be found in a variety of ways; biking, walking, and paragliding are just some of the ways to enjoy your surroundings.
In Aix, you can spend days walking the twisted cobblestone side streets or exploring the numerous fountain-filled, mansion- lined squares that make up this quaint city. The city's main cathedral, Cathedrale St-Sauveur, is one of the major attractions, as it exemplifies the major architectural periods spanning the 5th to the 18th centuries, including Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles. Also, the workplaces of Paul Cézanne and and subjects of his paintings can be found throughout the city and its environs.
Founded in 123 BC as a military camp on hot springs that still flow today, Aix-en-Provence blends its past and the present with the help of its many students. Several French universities are located in Aix, including the Université de Provence Aix-Marseille I, Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II, and Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III.
In addition to Aix's regular cultural offerings and nightlife, the summer months absolutely explode with music festivals. During the month of June, you can attend Musique dans la Rue (Music in the Street), a month full of free concerts, from classical to jazz to pop. In July, Aix hosts the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, an international opera festival founded in 1948, which attracts opera lovers from all over the world. It features about three weeks of opera and classical music performances in a variety of locations in Aix, and sometimes master classes as well.
Aix-en-Provence also has a fantastic culinary reputation. The world's top ranking producer of almonds, Aix is known for its trademark almond-shaped candy called Calisson. The freshest fruits and vegetables you can find, along with the famous Provencal lavendar soap and other goods made in the surrounding country, are sold at weekly open-air markets.
An elegant university town, Aix-en-Provence offers
something for everyone in addition to a great education. There are cafes, cinemas, restaurants, discotheques, museums, churches, monuments, bookstores, festivals and concerts to satisfy a wide range of interests.
The Aix Center click here for course offerings
Founded in 1957 under the auspices of l'Université d'Aix-Marseille, chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, The Aix Center is one of the oldest institutes in Europe for study abroad students.
The Aix Center classes are taught in English or in French. The curriculum is broad, offering archeology, art history, studio art, French language, literature, and civilization, European and international studies, social sciences, business, comparative literature, economics, education, government, history, philosophy, political science, and psychology.
Students in the Aix semester program take five 3-credit courses, and summer students take two 3-credit courses. Along with their electives, students are strongly encouraged to take at least one French language class, and many students take two.
The Marchutz School of Art click here for course offerings
The Marchutz program is an intensive and well-rounded studio art program that allows students to also take one French class and one art history elective of your choosing. It is open to students with any level of French and any level of art background.
The Marchutz School welcomes students with any level of studio art background - from students who are majoring in art to those who have never picked up a paintbrush.
The fundamental principle of the Marchutz School is simple: the synthesis of sight (a perception of the world) and insight (a
perception of art) can be the precursor to fresh, original painting.
Students at the Marchutz School begin on this principle. They draw and paint - every day if possible. They work from models, children, musicians, and dancers. They interrelate figure drawing, portraiture, landscape and still-life with interpretative copies of master works, memory work, and sketch book journals. Painting and drawing, study in museums and reading/writing assignments challenge students to explore the correspondences between
natural and artistic forms.
Group and individual critiques are integral aspects of each
student's process. Technique is developed in concordance with each student's vision and imagination. Individual projects give
students the freedom to explore their unique concerns.
The core of the Marchutz program consists of 6 studio painting and drawing credits, plus a 3-credit seminar all taught at the Marchutz School locale on the outskirts of Aix. Students
additionally take two 3-credit elective courses at The Aix Center to complete an academic load of 15 credits. The elective courses may be chosen from any of the offerings at The Aix Center.
Students who attend the Marchutz semester program take at least 9 credits of core art classes taught at the Marchutz School of Art, plus one French language course and one Art History elective of their choosing, taught at The Aix Center. Marchutz summer students take 2, 3-credit art courses and a French language “survival course,” which is not for credit.
Excursions are an integral part of the Marchutz program. Students visit small towns and villages of Provence, which in the past have included St. Remy, Arles, Luberon Valley villages of Bonnieux and Lacoste. In addition, the Marchutz program often takes students on a longer painting trip. Students have enjoyed such destinations as Paris, Giverny, and Venice.
The Nightlife
Aix is a college town full of cafes, clubs, bars, cinemas and everything else you would expect
from a college town.
Many students will meet out at one of numerous restaurants in town for a fantastic meal and a
nice bottle of wine before heading out to jazz club, to see a movie, or to stroll the beautiful
streets in the old part of the city.
For those who want to get away, Marseille, the capital of Provence, is only 30-minute bus ride away
and is filled with everything you would expect of the capital of one of the most glamourous
areas of France.
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