The City of Lyon

The history of Lyon goes back more than 2000 years to the Roman occupation of Gaul and vestiges dating from this period can still be seen today. In the Middle Ages Lyon's trade fairs attracted merchants and bankers from all over Europe; some of them settled here and they built the district known today as Vieux Lyon, an exceptional example of 15th and 16th century architecture, now carefully restored and officially designated as a World Heritage site. The traditional industry of Lyon was silk weaving, and the silk trade was the basis for the economic development of the city. Other industries such as chemicals and mechanical engineering developed around silk manufacturing. Lyon is also the capital of the Rhône-Alpes region, a prosperous region with a dynamic economy.

Today the Greater Lyon conurbation has a population of almost 1.5 million, making it France’s second biggest city after Paris. Lyon has everything one would expect to find in a big city: there are theatres and cinemas, museums and art galleries, an opera house, smart shops, cafés and restaurants, yet it is a city on a human scale: the city centre is compact and the countryside is hardly more than half-an-hour away. Lyon has an Opera House and a national symphony orchestra, a national centre for contemporary art, a house of dance, the Lumière cinema institute in homage to the 1st film in the history of cinema (which was made in Lyon) and a wide variety of sites of artistic creation. There is an exceptional range on offer in all fields: film, theatre, music, dance, museums, theme cafés, university public lectures and more. Many major events punctuate cultural life: for example, the biennial dance festival, the biennial contemporary art festival, the science festival, the “Nuits de Fourvière”(popular and classical concerts, plus theatre, from the Roman amphitheatre). And, every year, on 8 December, the city is illuminated for the Festival of Light. Within the city the public transport system, with buses, trams and metro, is fast and reliable.

In October 2004, representatives of the Mayors of Lyon and Philadelphia signed an agreement of economic cooperation which is broadly equivalent to the inauguration of a Sister City relationship between our two cities.

L’Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3

Created in 1973 following the reorganization of the Université de Lyon, the Université Jean Moulin-Lyon 3 is one of the city’s three public universities. It is part of the Pôle Universitaire Lyonnais, an association of the three public universities (U. Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, U. Lumière-Lyon 2, and Lyon 3) and three grandes écoles (Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon) which together offer instruction to some 100,000 students.

The Université Jean Moulin-Lyon 3 enrolls about 21,000 students and specializes in the Human Sciences, providing multi-disciplinary education in five Facultés: Law, Business, Foreign Languages, Humanities, and Philosophy. The University has two campuses, the first is known as “Les Quais” because of its location downtown on the bank of the Rhône in a beautiful 19th century building. This is the main campus and houses the administration and is the site of most upper division course teaching. The other site is a former tobacco factory called Manufacture des Tabacs, also commonly referred to as “La Manu,” and is about two kilometers away from Les Quais. First and second year courses in law, business, philosophy, and humanities, as well as some languages, are taught at La Manu. The two campuses are linked quickly and easily by direct metro and bus lines and each contains its own library.

Program website: http://www.univ-lyon3.fr/

Penn Students at Lyon 3

With the exception of the orientation course and any refresher course taken in French as a Foreign Language, visiting Penn students are expected to take a full load of the same courses as regularly enrolled Lyon 3 students at the same level of background. To assist students in their studies, the Penn on-site coordinator can arrange for tutoring in a variety of subjects. This resource has been very helpful to students in gaining a better understanding of the material and the expectations of French professors. Penn students normally choose courses at second and third-year licence (bachelor) degree level and occasionally at the master degree level.

Penn exchange students are permitted to select courses from different Facultés and at different levels simultaneously. Students needing to take a course in a subject area not available at Lyon 3 may request at the time of application to take a course at one of the other Lyon universities.

Course Load

Teaching is organized in the format of lectures and practical classes. Lectures (cours magistraux) are given in lecture amphitheaters or large classrooms to large numbers of students without opportunity for student/teacher interaction. Practical classes (travaux dirigés) make it possible to explore in more detail what has been covered in lectures through discussions with the lecturer or a lecture tutor in groups of 30 to 40 students. For each cours magistral, there is a corresponding session of travail dirigé.

The standard course load at the undergraduate level at Lyon 3 is 30 ECTS (European Credit Transfer Scheme) credits per semester. The number of different courses and number of hours of instruction are subject to variation depending upon the subject and level. Since Penn students, unlike regular students, are permitted to choose courses in different Facultés and at different levels simultaneously, only advisors on site are able to determine the proper weighting of course work in different subjects. The Penn Abroad advisor for France will communicate with Lyon 3 advisors and Penn’s resident coordinator about an applicant’s preliminary subject selection and will assist applicants to arrange a full course load that meets requirements. Academic credit for business courses will not be awarded. Students may elect, however, to enroll in a limited selection of business courses at the Ecole de Management though the Penn Abroad Lyon Semester Program option.

Grading

French university grades are awarded on a 20 point scale (including decimal points, e.g. 13.5). Ten points are needed to pass. The scale is not based on an equal distribution of points nor on a percentage. In the French system, a perfect exam or paper may not always be awarded a grade of 20 depending on individual professors’ practices. Students are assessed on the basis of continuous work, and mid-term and final exams. Grades are reported on the French scale and are converted to Penn grades according to standard French – US grade equivalencies: A = 14-20, A- = 13+, B+ = 12+, B = 11+, B- = 10+, C+ = 9+, C = 8+, C- = 7+, D = 6+. As on all Penn Abroad programs, grades are recorded on the Penn transcript and are calculated in the cumulative grade point average. The pass/fail option can be exercised according to the Penn on-campus policy.

Academic Calendar

Fall Semester: late August - mid January

Spring Semester: mid February - late June

Living Arrangements

Penn students in Lyon are expected to live with local French host families as a means of deepening their study abroad experience linguistically and culturally. Students are housed individually with French families where they can experience daily life à la française and develop their skills in idiomatic French. The families often invite students on excursions, to sporting or cultural events, and occasionally even to family gatherings. Meals provide excellent opportunities to exchange opinions about events in the news, or to ask questions about something that you, as a visitor from another country, may not have understood. The host families provide breakfast, dinner and weekend meals. Students make their own arrangements for lunch and have access to subsidized university restaurants.

Student Life

Penn has selected Lyon as a study abroad site in which to encourage cultural immersion and the development of cross-cultural competence. Each student is encouraged to become involved in a university-based or community-based activity as early as possible in the semester, and to remain involved in the activity for the duration of his or her stay in Lyon. Non-credit internships may also be arranged for spring semester students. Penn’s on-site coordinator will help guide each student in the choice of activity—or activities—which may include recreational, cultural, artistic, or community-service activities. The coordinator arranges regular presentations and discussions about French culture to help students in their cultural integration. Because developing cross-cultural competence takes effort and time, it is expected that students be willing to devote several hours per week to community and university activities, and they must be willing to speak French at all times.

The University has over 60 clubs and associations for every kind of interest. There are numerous sports teams that students can get involved with, everything from karate and rugby to diving and horseback riding. Numerous activities are organized throughout the year including ski trips, dance classes, concerts and more. Various excursions are organized which give students an opportunity to discover the heritage and cultural highlights of the city of Lyon, including the Opera House, the Célestins theatre and the Fine Arts museum. These visits are often free of charge, or at drastically reduced prices.

Insurance and Health Notes

International students attending French universities are required to purchase a supplemental medical insurance policy. This policy can be obtained upon arrival at Lyon 3, and will cost approximately $325 for the academic year.

Visa

The French government requires that all program participants obtain a student visa and that year-long participants have a carte de séjour. Instructions are provided to admitted students. Non-US citizens must consult a French consulate for visa requirements.